Establishing Online Participation Policies
I teach Accounting for Managers -an entry level course. The participation expected from this course comes primarily from discussion postings and responding to class mates posting. Students are expected to have their initial posting by Wednesday at 11:59 P.M and respond to two of their classmates posting by Sunday 11:59 P.M. At the start of each week I strongly encourage student to make their posting and responses in a timely manner for them to earn maximum points. Failure to do so will result in loss of points. Discussion posting are not allowed after the Sunday 11:59 P.M deadline. This simple policy helps students take responsibility for the amount of points they want to earn as well as promoting collaboration in the learning process.
Neer,
Interesting that you have picked these days and time (11:59) for their postings. What was your reason for these days/times?
I am not sure what Neer's reason may have been, but the deadlines are set by the college I teach at.
Primary posts for a given week are always due by Wednesdays at 11:59 pm CT. Peer review posts and a summary post should be posted by Sunday 11:59 pm CT.
When I set my deadlines for Tuesday night (instead of Wednesday), I was asked to change it.
Some students have a strong propensity to post later than Wednesday, so I thought I was being proactive. If I asked for Tuesday night, I was fortunate when some posted by Thursday. Per school policy, we are not allowed to deduct points for late posts.
I am more than empathetic to students' hectic lives, but since primary posts are the ones the entire thread is built on, I think it would be fantastic if professors had a choice as to deadlines.
So, yes, the school policy.
Agnes,
Gosh, you don't even have that flexibility? The school does everything? Wonder why? And, you can't take off point for late work? I don't even accept late work. What does accepting late work say to the students and why can't you make assignments due at 5:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. so you don't have to be online at midnight answering students' questions? Any additional input would be interesting.
Thanks!
