By Emma Yeo, Third Year, English
At university, extensions offer an alternative to submitting rushed or incomplete work that have been affected by unavoidable circumstances including illness, bereavement, and other drastic life changes. When discussing upcoming assignments, it is not unusual to hear that someone has received or is planning to apply for an extension. They appear to be a normal and common aspect of studying at university. Sometimes it even feels as if only a small minority of students have not received one during their studies. While they are useful and often necessary, concerns regarding how normalized they have become are emerging.
Universities face a significant issue in defining what warrants an extension. The problem seems to stem from the fact that universities need to maintain academic rigour but equally must acknowledge the challenges students may face during their studies. While most requests appear to have obvious reasons that require academic adjustments, Stallman and Muncey found that students often referenced things which would not justify a deadline being pushed back. These reasons included issues such as time-management problems, academic stress, and lack of concentration.
With this in mind, Epigram spoke to several students and identified that many of them had a notable confusion regarding what counted as grounds for an extension. Therefore, while it may be a challenge for universities to establish reasonable extension guidelines, students seem to experience a similar difficulty understanding them. This is not merely a recent issue. In fact, one third-year student said: ‘I avoided submitting any extension requests until midway through my second year as I was not 100% sure on whether my request was valid and the process just seemed so complicated.’
‘the prevalence of extension requests remains a “pervasive” issue, despite many universities reverting to pre-Covid rules or reforming policies.’
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have complicated this further. Having had a stark impact on how universities conducted the extension process, the pandemic led universities to relax their extension guidelines. These changes varied between universities; however, common adjustments included not requiring evidence for extension requests, allowing self-certifications, or having greater leniency surrounding when requests should be submitted. These adjustments aimed to allow more extension requests to receive approval to accommodate both the physical and mental effects of the pandemic. According to Natalie N. Schoettler and Kailea Q. Manning in Times Higher Education, the prevalence of extension requests remains a ‘pervasive’ issue, despite many universities reverting to pre-Covid rules or reforming policies.
Looking now at how universities manage extension requests, there are apparent differences between each university's policy. At the University of Bristol, extensions require students to fill out a form detailing what has happened and how unexpected it was, alongside providing supporting documents. Conversely, some universities have been implementing limits on the number of extensions a student may have per year. Included in this category are the University of Edinburgh, which allows three coursework extensions per academic year without evidence, and the University of Oxford, which allows for two seven-day extensions per academic year without evidence. This could raise the question as to whether the University of Bristol needs to revise their policies in line with guidelines at other universities.
However, limiting the number of extensions per year does not come without its own problems. In fact, one anonymous student stated: ‘I have a medical disorder which causes unpredictable flare-ups, so extensions are vital for me. If they were limited to a certain amount per year, I would risk my grades dropping or would have to sacrifice my health just to complete work.’
‘We [students] get used to that facility being there and might have difficulty adapting to stricter deadlines in the workplace.’
Indeed, regardless of each university’s policy, extensions are certainly beneficial and crucial in some circumstances. Nevertheless, questions regarding their efficacy have been raised. Most notably, Jack Grove, writing for Times Higher Education, expressed apprehension regarding the use of extensions and the future implications this may have on students’ careers. Citing Helen St Clair-Thompson’s study, Grove accentuated the fact that deadlines in the workplace are not flexible and a reliance on extensions could damage careers post-university. Looking to the future, one second-year student noted: ‘We [students] get used to that facility being there and might have difficulty adapting to stricter deadlines in the workplace.’ This is indeed a worrying predicament that could have long-term consequences, including lower work performance and graduates being unable to meet required job standards.
Subsequently, another issue has been raised: whether extensions are not allowing students to develop necessary skills. Knowing that they can apply for extensions to push back deadlines, students might not need to learn how to manage their time or prioritize tasks. This could cause students to misuse extensions and leave assignments until the last minute, then apply for one knowing that they will not finish it in time. Therefore, in giving students more time to complete assignments, could universities inadvertently be stunting students’ academic development?
Daisy Yates
Georgia Rowe
Finally, it is also worth considering how students use the extra time granted by an extension. The student, in ideal circumstances, receives an extension, allowing them to proceed with completing the assignment by the new deadline unhurriedly. However, this is not the case in all situations. For example, one anonymous second-year student revealed that after receiving an extension they ‘forgot about the assignment and still had to do it last minute.’ This was not just an isolated experience; in fact, several other students detailed similar situations of still doing the work last minute despite having a week’s extension provided.
The discourse surrounding extensions is divisive. While some stress the necessity of having support readily available for students, others suggest perhaps we have become too lax with how extensions are supplied. The question as to whether extensions are helping or hindering students does not come with a straightforward answer and may instead depend on how individual students use these adjustments. These concerns perhaps indicate a need for careful review and consideration of the use of extension procedures within higher education.
Featured Image: Epigram / Anna Dodd
Do you feel the extension policy at the University of Bristol should be changed?
