Turning in an assignment right before the deadline is a time honored tradition in most colleges.
But apparently not all professors believe in that tradition.
A student turned in their assignment with a documented deadline of midnight at 11:46PM. To their surprise, the professor marked the assignment as late.
Thinking the professor made a mistake, the student emailed the professor to find out why ten points were deducted from their score.
They wrote:
"I properly submitted the document in a timely manner before the due date at 11:46 p.m."
The professor responded by saying no mistake had been made.
"The assignment was submitted 13 minutes before the posted due date."
"However, you must understand that it was handed in on a last-minute basis, which is the reason why you received a late penalty."
"As a result, I will not be removing the late penalty deduction and I would advise that you submit your work no less than an hour before the due date going forward."
You can see the email conversation here:
from mildlyinfuriating
The internet had a whole lot to say about this situation.
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Dr. Lee\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Me at the dean\u2019s office an hour before opening the next morning:\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Waiting outside the dean\u2019s office bright and early the next morning\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea dean + slashed tires tbh\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Me on my way to the deans office to tell\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Professor would\u2019ve had to see me, on God. I\u2019d be running the fade and going straight to the Dean. Foh.\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea On the way to the dean or program director\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
Other comments made some pretty good points.
\u201c@heyyitsjanea What is the point of them setting a deadline if they are just going arbitrarily deduct points when you submit it before the deadline ends? Madness. I hope it\u2019s something you can challenge.\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@heyyitsjanea I know that this is not a law professor (or at least not one who has ever practiced law), because filing at 11:59 p.m. on the deadline is a time-honored tradition.\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
Somehow, there were even comments that sided with the professor.
\u201c@heyyitsjanea Follow their rules or drop. That\u2019s life. We aren\u2019t entitled to anything more.\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
\u201c@BarnesSpinfuel Uh oh\u2026. Looks like you tried it and it didn\u2019t work\u2026\u201d— \u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442 (@\u03b1\u03b7g\u03b5\u2113\u03b1 \u0432\u03b1ss\u03b5\u0442\u0442 s\u0442\u03b1\u03b7 \u03b1cc\u03c3\u03c5\u03b7\u0442) 1675544923
Unless it's in the syllabus you must turn your assignments in an hour before the deadline, people don't really see why there is any debate.
It is the students' job to follow directions, but it's also theprofessor's job to make those directions something that can be followed.