1. Introduction

[1] While online education was gaining popularity before the pandemic, with 37% of college students taking at least one online class in 2019 (Barshay, 2024), when campuses were shuttered due to COVID, colleges and universities across the world were forced to move virtually all their classes online. The sudden shift forced faculty with limited experience in online education into a modality of teaching that required different skills and unique approaches to students and course development. Faculty met the sudden shift by being much more flexible in their classes, especially with deadlines, partly to address the stress that many were feeling from the pandemic. Although campuses have since welcomed students back and are offering face-to-face classes again, schools have not returned to pre-pandemic numbers for online courses. In the fall of 2022, 54% of college students took online classes, a notable drop from the 75% during the height of the pandemic (Hamilton, 2024), but enough of a jump from pre-pandemic numbers to indicate that online education is more popular than ever with students. As we continue to see a growth in the demand for online courses, it is vital that we consider the impact taking a class online has on the student experience, including how students in online classes learn and what approaches to teaching best meet their needs.

2. Calls for More Flexibility

[2] Students in online classes have different needs and learning expectations than those in traditional face-to-face classes, so naturally the approaches to teaching online students are also different. These differences are explored in detail in Cohn and Greer’s (2023) recent book Design for Learning: User Experience in Online Teaching and Learning, which outlines ways for online faculty to create “trust, buy-in, and freedom for students” (p. 53), thereby establishing an environment that acknowledges the different needs of online students and provides a place for those students to grow and learn. To create that environment, Cohn and Greer stress the need for faculty to be flexible in their online classes, noting that students see flexibility as a key benefit of online classes and expect flexibility in a variety of online classroom elements, including how students engage with course content (p. 122), how they engage with other students (p. 138), and when they decide to access course materials and/or complete assignments (p. 153). Cohn and Greer (2023) are not the only scholars to acknowledge the need for flexibility in online classrooms. Atkinson (2022) notes that “flexible learning requires curriculum design that is designed to meet student needs and expectations in terms of time and location, but also institutional flexibility for assessment and duration of study” (p. 26). Newton-Calvert and Smith (2018) argue that “a deeply engaged and flexible instructor is a fundamental aspect of a successful online learning experience” (p. 173), and Garris and Fleck (2022) found that when COVID shifted face-to-face classes to an online environment, students found instructor flexibility to be a key factor in course quality. Sarvary et al. (2022) also researched student expectations post-COVID and found flexibility as one of the primary components of online classes that students want to see in their face-to-face classes.

[3] While there are numerous areas where faculty can introduce flexibility into their online classes, this article focuses on adding flexibility to assignment deadlines, something Atkinson (2022) refers to as assessment flexibility or “the ability to submit an assignment when the student is ready and to define the nature of their evidence” (p. 22). Students appreciate assessment flexibility, as indicated in a study by Sarvary et al. (2022) which showed that 85.65% of their post-pandemic students indicated that they wanted flexible deadlines for assignments. Traditionally, the standard in higher education is to stick to a strict schedule with specified due dates, yet studies are emerging showing that there are benefits to flexible deadlines. Patton (2000) compared classes with different policies regarding late assignments and found that instructors with flexible deadlines saw higher course completion rates and higher course averages. Similarly, Wang (2011) studied three different approaches to assignment deadlines in higher education (rigid instructor-defined deadlines, flexible instructor-defined deadlines, and flexible student-imposed deadlines) and found that students in the flexible deadline courses performed higher academically than peers in the same classes with either of the other two deadline structures. Wang does note that additional factors could impact grades, such as the fact that those students with flexible deadlines also completed their work at higher numbers than students in other groups, but there is a strong correlation between flexible deadlines and improved learning in the findings. Miller et al. (2019) also compared flexible deadlines to rigid deadlines and found that students given flexible deadlines earned higher grades on corresponding exams and assignments. When Nickels and Uddin (2003) waived the late penalty for work submitted within two class periods of the original due date, students reported they felt less stress, spent more time completing the homework, and improved their learning. Schroeder et al. (2019) also found that their online students reported less stress when given the option to submit work late without a penalty.

[4] In addition to reducing stress and improving learning, flexible deadlines help create a more inclusive online classroom. The online student is often not the same as the traditional student that many faculty are used to. Students in fully online classes are typically older than their on-campus counterparts, with half being married and supporting children under the age of 18, resulting in increased responsibilities and more demands on their time than their traditional college student peers (OnlineEducation). Those students who have families, hold full-time jobs, and are part of the demographic groups that are typically underrepresented in higher education are among the groups that most benefit from flexible deadlines (James et al., 2021; Bozzetti et al., 2024).

[5] Non-traditional students are not the only students who benefit from flexible deadlines. Flexible deadlines have also been shown to help remove barriers for students who are disabled or have life situations that would otherwise limit the ability to successfully complete their academic classes. As Hills and Peacock (2022) emphasize, many students have undiagnosed disabilities, have chosen not to seek accommodations in college, or have other circumstances that benefit from flexibility. As online educators are well aware, online education is often promoted as a viable option for students with disabilities or conditions that may limit their ability to participate and engage in face-to-face classes, another population who is aided when assessment flexibility is offered. Providing flexible deadlines to all students ensures that the online classroom is inclusive for everyone.

3. Faculty Responses to Calls for More Flexibility

[6] While students demand assessment flexibility, especially since COVID and the changes the pandemic brought, some faculty are not as receptive to the idea, with many noting that structure is a key element of college education and important to the learning process (Supiano, 2018). Faculty bring up the concern that if professors are too flexible, especially with deadlines, it will backfire and hinder students’ progress while also creating more work for professors who are already overworked (Supiano, 2023). This concern is highlighted by the time constraints in a traditional college course, which has a set date for grades to be submitted, or when designing classes that utilize the scaffolding approach where assignments continuously build on each other throughout the semester. Daniel (2016) notes that “there is abundant evidence that making courses entirely self-paced after enrollment leads to lower retention and completion rates” (p. 11). Others point out that while assessment flexibility has positive results for students, adding true flexibility to online classes can be difficult. “The existence of a curriculum in formal education virtually guarantees a lack of flexibility” (Atkinson, 2022, p. 23), and for most schools, Atkinson argues, assessment flexibility is not a priority regardless of the benefits to students.

[7] Naturally, no one is arguing that faculty should remove all structure; Cohn and Greer (2023) note that faculty are not expected to “bend over backwards to accommodate other people’s schedules” (153), indicating that deadlines and calendars are important, even in an online environment, but also leaving many to wonder how to have control in the learning environment while still providing the flexibility that online learners need to succeed. According to Supiano (2023), the biggest stress for faculty when it comes to being flexible is how to handle deadlines. A Reddit thread entitled “The paradox of flexibility” spurred agreement with the idea that the demand for flexibility creates more work for faculty (Doctor_Schmeevil, 2023). In that thread, faculty brought up several concerns in response to the article. User ExampleOk7440 noted that “some students, even including some who think they do better with flexibility, in fact do better with more structure.” Others agreed with that sentiment, with user episcopa arguing that “flexibility is good, but only for students” and questioning how flexibility can be considered good if it is not beneficial for all parties. Others noted that if colleges are training students for the real world, they must train students to have good time management skills and not expect flexible deadlines, noting that in many places, employers can fire employees for little to no reason and arguing that it is a disservice not to hold students to schedules with specific deadlines.

[8] As faculty continue to struggle with the request to be more flexible with their deadlines, they often see assessment flexibility as an “all or nothing” approach—either they make all deadlines flexible or they offer no flexibility. Many feel that offering any flexibility will cause students to take advantage of faculty’s kindness and request multiple extensions throughout the semester by creating a variety of reasons why they need extensions, leaving faculty to try to determine which excuses are valid and which are not, a task many faculty are not comfortable undertaking. Being flexible can also mean more work for faculty, especially considering the challenges of keeping track of extension requests, helping students who have missed several classes catch up with the course content and assignment requirements, providing feedback at staggered times depending on when students submit their work, and balancing kindness and empathy with the need to get work done and the time constraints of the semester. Faculty who use scaffolding as part of their assignment structure also find that flexible deadlines have a domino effect, where extending one deadline often means that the future deadlines must also be extended as the assignments build on each other.

4. Controlled Flexibility

[9] The challenges for faculty to increase assessment flexibility in online classes should not be understated. Effective online classes demand structure and consistency, and changing deadlines can make structure and consistency difficult. In addition, being flexible with deadlines can mean more work for faculty who must keep up with extensions and new deadlines as well as verifying the reasons given for needing extensions and determining which reasons are valid and warrant an extension. Because of those challenges, many faculty are opposed to incorporating assessment flexibility into their classes, preferring to stick to one calendar with set due dates and no flexibility. Those faculty argue that keeping consistent deadlines helps provide structure and consistency for all students, which is a key aspect of online learning. I argue that there are approaches to add assessment flexibility in an online class that do not require additional work for faculty, approaches I refer to as controlled flexibility. Controlled flexibility is when faculty offer students options on aspects of the course like deadlines or assignments and let the students decide how and when to take advantage of the options, giving the students agency in their learning but doing so in such a way that the new deadlines do not interfere with the course schedule or learning objectives and do not create additional work for faculty. I call it controlled flexibility because options are given to allow students agency and ownership, but they are done in such a way that they don’t interfere with the course content or learning objectives and don’t add work for faculty. The flexibility is controlled in such a way that students can take advantage of options for assignment deadlines without causing them to fall further behind in the course or to experience any negative impacts on their grades or learning.

[10] Controlled flexibility works well because it promotes ownership and agency for students; students are given options and have the authority to decide what works best for them and their individual circumstances, a process that helps to create self-regulated learners. The policies are incorporated in such a way that students who take advantage of the assessment flexibility do not experience negative effects on their learning or their grades; in fact, they will often submit more thoughtful work and earn higher grades because of the flexible deadlines (Miller et al., 2019; Nickels and Uddin,2003; Wang, 2011; Patton, 2000). In addition, because all students are given the same opportunity with flexible deadlines and do not need to submit justification for using an extension, the system promotes inclusivity, which is key in all higher education classes but especially online courses that often see more non-traditional students and students with different learning needs (OnlineEducation). All students get to choose how and when to use the options equally, providing them the agency to decide how to make the class best work for them and their current situation.

[11] It is important to note that a key factor of this method is that it does not eliminate structure; rather, it embraces structure with enough flexibility to give students ownership in their education. The policies are outlined at the start of the semester, they are applied equally to all students, they improve learning, and they provide student agency. At no point is the flexibility used to reduce learning or create an environment in which students cannot fail. The students are still responsible for meeting the course objectives and are graded as such. But the flexibility ensures students are graded on their knowledge and demonstration of skills related to course content without having their grades negatively impacted by life circumstances often out of their control.

[12] Controlled flexibility can be used in a variety of elements of the online course design, but this paper focuses on being flexible with deadlines. To fully understand controlled flexibility in relation to assessment flexibility and how it can benefit both students and faculty, it is easiest to look at a couple of examples.

5. Major Assignment Extension

[13] One easy way to add assessment flexibility to an online class while also giving students ownership in their education is to provide an extension for one major assignment, no questions asked. (See Figure 1 for a sample policy statement.) Once a student makes the request, the extension is given. This approach is a simple way to offer the students flexibility that they are in control of; students get to decide when and why to use the extension. The faculty is not responsible for determining if an excuse is valid, requiring or verifying documentation, or deciding if the reason is enough to warrant an extension. Instead, students are given the agency to decide when to use their one extension based on their own circumstances and their individual needs. In addition, since everyone in the class is afforded the same opportunity to take advantage of an extension on any one assignment without penalties applied, there is no concern about favoritism or not treating students equally, which is important because a key aspect of adding flexibility to the class is to be consistent among all students.

[14] For best results, I have found that the extension should not be extensive; 48 hours will work to provide students with extra time to complete an assignment they have fallen behind on without snowballing and affecting other assignments and due dates. When I provided an extension of up to a week, the students would often focus on the late work and fall behind on future assignments, resulting in the opposite desired outcomes. Of course, the extension time will vary depending on how your class is structured. For my online classes, deadlines are usually at the end of the work week, which means the 48-hour extension gives students the weekend to complete the work and get it submitted without interfering with future course modules.

[15] A key benefit of this policy is that faculty do not need to decide what constitutes a justifiable reason for an extension. One complaint about being flexible with deadlines is that faculty are then responsible for determining if the students’ reasons for needing an extension are worthy of offering an extension, something not all faculty are comfortable doing. In addition, students who have reasons that may not be approved can still have flexibility when needed. For example, students who cannot afford to see the doctor or students who are sick, but not sick enough to visit the doctor (a 24-hour stomach bug does not warrant a trip to the doctor) can make the decision to use the extension without having to explain their situation to their professor or produce a doctor’s note. Some students may need to use the extension because of poor time management skills or because they are facing technology or internet connectivity issues. With this approach, the reason for the late work doesn’t matter. The students decide if they want to use their one extension based on their individual circumstances. This policy gives students complete ownership in deciding when to use the extension, provides a safety net to get some extra time when needed, and shows that the faculty trusts the online students, thereby fostering learning in online classes.

[16] Implementing this option is not difficult. Faculty should include the policy (see policy sample in Figure 1) in the course syllabus and outline any specific requirements to get the extension, like emailing the extension request by a certain time. While it can be tempting to require that students must request the extension before the due date, it is better to be flexible there as well. If a student submits a paper late, there is no harm in emailing and asking if they would like to use the major paper extension that is outlined in the syllabus to avoid late penalties. Referencing the syllabus for details also reminds students the importance of referring to the syllabus throughout the semester. This simple approach lets students know that you care and want them to succeed while also putting their best interests first, which is a primary part of the design thinking process and key to online course development (Cohn and Greer, 2023, p. 19). Another way to ensure students are aware of the policy is to remind them about the option before major assignments are due. A quick announcement in an online class to point out that if students need extra time, there is the option to take the 48-hour extension can help students feel less stressed.

[17] When students email asking for the extension, it is best to respond to let them know you received the request, inform them that it was approved, and provide the new due date for the assignment to avoid any suggestions later that they weren’t sure what the new due date was. Then go to the LMS and add the extension for the assignment for that specific student. Most LMS systems have the option to add special access to assignment folders for one student which changes the due date for that specific student, a process that is typically easy and straightforward. The added benefit is that the student will see the new due date in both the LMS and in the faculty’s email response, avoiding any confusion of when the extension ends.

[18] This approach does require faculty to track which students have used their major project extension, something many faculty complain about when it comes to giving extensions. This task, however, is made fairly easy by using the online gradebook and creating an item that is worth zero points. If you add a grade item entitled “Major Assignment Extension,” make it a text field instead of a numerical field, and have the assignment worth zero points, you will have a place to record which assignment a student uses the extension for. Then faculty can add which assignment the student used the extension for as part of the recordkeeping process. The gradebook also keeps everyone on the same page. The students can easily see that it was added to the gradebook, so they are aware that they have used the extension. At the end of the semester, faculty should add an extension to the last major assignment for all students who did not already use the extension, again making sure everyone in the class has the same opportunities for a little extra time on a major assignment.

[19] I have been using this method for several semesters and it has worked very well. Most students (78.6%) use the extension before the last assignment. As I stress that they do not need to give a reason, most email requesting the extension without an explanation as to why, and many will add notes of thanks for the opportunity to spend more time on the assignments. Very few (1.8%) request an extension on their first assignment, but the requests increase as the semester continues and the demands and stresses on students increase. For the second assignment, 6.2% request an extension; for the third assignment, 33.2% make the request, and for the fourth assignment 37.4%. The students are able to choose the point during the semester to use the extension based on when it will benefit them the most.

6. Automatic Grace Period

[20] If the major assignment extension feels like it might create extra work by increasing last-minute emails and requiring faculty to track when students use the extension, another easy option to offer assessment flexibility and give ownership to the students while maintaining structure in the online classroom is to give students a grace period for all assignments. (See Figure 2 for a sample policy statement.) This approach balances structure and flexibility and puts the students in charge of their time and when they do the work and/or submit assignments, an important part of agency in the online classroom. The structure is created with the course calendar and outline of all due dates; students are given clear guidance with due dates for the course assignments, providing structure and setting up expectations. In addition, all assignments are given a grace period, a time after the original due date when students may submit their work without having any late penalties applied.

[21] Like the major assignment extension, I recommend a fairly short grace period of about 48 hours, enough to give students extra time to complete the assignment, but not so much that it will affect future assignments. Others have found success with longer grace periods. Schroeder et al. (2019) gave their online graduate students up to five days to submit work late without penalty and found the longer grace period helped reduce stress for both the students who used the grace period and those who did not. Personally, I have found that students who are focusing on catching up on previous assignments are often falling further behind on current work, so I prefer a shorter grace period. I am also teaching primarily undergraduate students, with many classes composed of only freshmen, as opposed to Schroeder, Makarenko, and Warren’s graduate students, which may also affect the most effective length for any grace periods provided.

[22] Providing a grace period on all assignments is an easy way to include assessment flexibility in an online course. The course continues to move forward after the original due date. The course content is still progressing as if everyone submitted their work according to the original due date. That original due date is communicated throughout the semester. All calendars, assignment prompts, and communication should have the original due date so that students are aware of when the assignment is due, and the grace period should be communicated through the syllabus and when asked about late work. It is also a good practice to remind students of the grace period, especially if there is an increase in the number of students asking about late work or other indications that students are struggling to meet the deadline. A quick reminder announcement in the LMS is always appreciated by students.

[23] One benefit of this approach is that students can have extra time without making demands on the faculty. Often the grace period can be designed so that students have extra time to complete the work but must ask any questions before the grace period ends. For example, many faculty like to have online assignments due each Friday by 11:59 p.m. That provides students Friday to ask questions, a weekday when most faculty are checking email and are available to provide guidance. However, if faculty are going to spend the weekend away from work and not grade until Monday at the earliest, it does no harm to give students until Sunday at 11:59 p.m. to submit work without any penalty. Because the work was originally due on Friday, there are no expectations that faculty should be answering questions about the assignment over the weekend, which provides the weekend for faculty to spend time away from work and the online classroom, promoting a work-life balance.

[24] This approach can seem like it is just extending the deadline for everyone, but in reality, faculty are setting a deadline but giving students the option to take more time if they need to. Similar to the major assignment extension, the grace period provides students flexibility when they need it, regardless of reason. Unlike the major assignment extension, the grace period allows faculty to grant agency to students without any additional work on the faculty’s part, as there is no tracking or responding to student emails. Students do not need to reach out to faculty or even let the faculty know that they are using the grace period, yet they can take advantage of it.

[25] The process is simple. All work has a due date, and that date is indicated in the LMS. It is important that the calendar and all assessments in the LMS indicate the due date, not the date the grace period expires, although all assignment drop boxes should remain open until the grace period ends. All of the major LMS systems differentiate between when the assignment is due and when the drop box closes. Keeping the assignment drop box open during the grace period allows students to submit assignments during the grace period without any work from the instructor. Students must know when the work is due and to plan their time accordingly. When students get stressed or overwhelmed, faculty can mention the grace period. By doing so, faculty are offering the gift of an extension without requiring students to provide excuses or rationale for why they were unable to complete the work according to the original schedule. It gives students agency and creates no extra work for faculty, providing assessment flexibility without stress and benefitting both students and faculty.

7. Conclusion

[26] While assessment flexibility can sound overwhelming for faculty, there are ways to add flexible deadlines without creating extra work. Doing so provides benefits to online students and puts them in charge of their learning by offering both flexibility and structure, making the students responsible for their learning while also supplying options that support the unique needs of the online learner. There are ways to incorporate assessment flexibility that gives students agency without sacrificing education or creating extra stress for faculty, something that benefits both students and faculty and makes the online classroom accessible and inclusive for all types of online learners.