Comparing the Impact of Strict and Flexible Deadline Policies

Computer science courses employ a variety of assignment deadline policies ranging from strict policies where no late submissions are accepted to flexible policies where extensions, sometimes lengthy ones, are permitted without grade penalty. Many instructors have moved towards increased flexibility for students to alleviate pressure, help students succeed, and better manage the administrative burden of granting extensions. Using data from eight offerings of three computer science courses, we compare assignment submission rates and times as well as course outcomes under different deadline policies. We also compare how similar deadline policies were used by students in different courses, including first- and upper-year courses.