DS's professor saying assignment submitted at 11:59pm is late

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were the son, I would be so embarrassed that I tried to submit a paper at 11:59, with mere seconds to spare, that I wouldn’t even fight it.

+1

Just go and vent in ratemyprofessor.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were the son, I would be so embarrassed that I tried to submit a paper at 11:59, with mere seconds to spare, that I wouldn’t even fight it.

+1. This is the lesson here. Don't submit during the last minute. (Didn't they learn this with the Common App...)

Not gonna read all 12 pages of responses here, but as a practical matter, I suspect many profs aren't going to deduct from the grade for seconds late.

The prof in this situation is, according to OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The professor screwed up and the student didn't. All those people on here who are saying the student should learn his lesson about deadlines and personal responsibility are missing the obvious point that the professor gave an instruction that everyone in the class (or almost everyone) would interpret as allowing a timely submission at 11:59:59. Everyone from tax preparers to litigators to college applicants would be able to see that the professor is in the wrong. The professor is the one who needs to learn a lesson.

+1. Although submitting at the last possible minute is never a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were the son, I would be so embarrassed that I tried to submit a paper at 11:59, with mere seconds to spare, that I wouldn’t even fight it.

I would be embarrassed too, but if it would affect my grade I still might

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

What’s the point of a deadline then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were the son, I would be so embarrassed that I tried to submit a paper at 11:59, with mere seconds to spare, that I wouldn’t even fight it.

I would be embarrassed too, but if it would affect my grade I still might

I would have never told my parents about this is the first place, because they would have reamed me out for waiting til the last minute. Guess parenting has changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

These are the worst kinds of professors and bosses. They happen. They suck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

What’s the point of a deadline then?

Making a paper due by 11:59 and then saying it's late when sent in at 11:59 = different than enforcing a deadline, IMO. 11:59 doesn't necessarily mean 11:59:00. If you say it's Sunday, you're not wrong because it's Sunday at 7:00 and not midnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

These are the worst kinds of professors and bosses. They happen. They suck.

Yep, best to learn life now and plan accordingly. Turn stuff in on time, allowing for things like slow Internet, clock differences, and what have you. Communicate about difficulties or problems, or ask for favors like extensions, wellllllll ahead of time.

Time to grow up and face the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

What’s the point of a deadline then?

Making a paper due by 11:59 and then saying it's late when sent in at 11:59 = different than enforcing a deadline, IMO. 11:59 doesn't necessarily mean 11:59:00. If you say it's Sunday, you're not wrong because it's Sunday at 7:00 and not midnight.

Not sure if my Sunday example works, but if something is due by today, it's due not later than today unless a time is specified, not by midnight of today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

What’s the point of a deadline then?

I'm sure you never exceed the speed limit either.

[Anonymous]

So this adult has never learned this lesson before? Schools need to teach this early and often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another professor here. This whole thread is so funny to me. I can't believe a parent would take the time to post here about this. As PPs have mentioned, this professor is probably using Blackboard. That's what my university uses (I hate it, but we don't get to choose). When setting deadlines in Bb the options are limited. You can't set a deadline as 11:59:59 pm. You get a drop down menu with half hour increments, along with End of Day. To Bb, End of Day is 11:59:00. Anything that comes in after that is automatically marked late.

I use 11:59 pm as the deadline for my courses, because midnight is potentially confusing to some students. However, I make it very clear in my syllabi and all communications to them that the deadline is BY, NOT AT, 11:59 pm and that Bb will mark them late if they submit at 11:59:20. I tell them to avoid that whole situation by not waiting until the very last minute to submit things. That being said, if someone does submit something a few seconds or even a couple hours late, I generally let it slide unless they do it 2-3 times (at which time I email them saying that I've noticed they're having trouble turning work in late, and ask if there's anything I can help with... but also a warning that late work will be treated in line with the syllabus policy going forward). But I see my job as being more about making sure students learn the course content than "preparing them for the real world"... especially during a pandemic. I used to be a bit more strict, but experience has taught me that if I treat my students as humans with complex lives, they will respect me back. Of course, being a woman has played a role in this. As another PP mentioned, there are data showing bias in student evals of female profs. A hardass male professor is "respected"; a hardass female professor is "b*tchy and on a power trip".

This professor needs to warn students up front about how Bb treats deadlines if they want to be a hardass about enforcement. I wonder if (s)he is fairly new to teaching. Most of us start out strict because we think we need to do it in order to be taken seriously. But then we start to relax for the reasons I described above. It is just not worth battling with students over 30 seconds and dealing with higher ups being involved due to grade appeals etc.

OP, definitely do not get involved, and tell your son to tread carefully if this professor is in a field/department related to his chosen career path. He may end up wanting a letter of recommendation at some point, and a prominent professor's letter can carry a lot of weight. If your son gets a reputation as a whiner, it will be hard for him to get strong letters from this professor or others in the department. If this late assignment ends up having a significant negative impact on this final grade (e.g. the difference between an A and a B in the course), there should be a formal grade appeal process he can follow. The appeal process generally involves letting the student and professor each meet with a faculty committee to provide evidence and give their side of the story, with a final decision being made by the committee.

"I can't believe a parent would take the time to post here about this" Your post seems even longer than original post haha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lessons learned:
The professor is an asshole for not programming in a few minutes leeway for such situation.
There are assholes everywhere and this is a useful life lesson.
Let the kid deal with it.
Something similar happened to me; deal with it; in the end it doesn't matter.

What’s the point of a deadline then?

I'm sure you never exceed the speed limit either.

65 Mph speed limit may be the law. Most cops allow a few miles leeway except under extenuating circumstances. And the cop is not REQUIRED by law to ticket everyone going over 65. They use common sense. If there ever was a cop that said he had no choice for randomly ticketing someone at 65.001 mph, we know he’s a lying jackass.