Grace periods can bridge the gap between deadlines and accessibility, streamlining and fostering equity and accessibility in education for all
When finals season is upon us, as dread and deadlines fill every crack and corner of the libraries, an extension is nothing short of a miracle. Grace periods, reformulating extensions into universal systems of accommodations built into assignment deadlines, can be a game-changer in creating flexible and accessible learning environments.
Grace periods refer to a window beyond the original deadline, during which students can submit assignments without incurring penalties.
Such in-built buffer periods streamline the daunting process of asking for extensions as students or having to coordinate back and forth as educators. Grace periods give students an equitable opportunity to display academic competency in a more forgiving manner. They allow students to maintain academic performance and flexibility, without added administrative duties like MSAFs.
Traditional deadline and assignment structures are often based on the assumption that students have equal opportunities, roles and responsibilities with equal barriers. In contrast, grace periods are a more realistic and streamlined way to alleviate the impact of unequal barriers while maintaining the integrity of assessments.
Grace periods are a more realistic and streamlined way to alleviate the impact of unequal barriers while maintaining the integrity of assessments.
Additionally, grace periods help reduce the pressure of hard deadlines which can significantly lower anxiety for students facing challenging circumstances. This flexibility fosters an environment where students can focus on producing quality work rather than rushing to meet deadlines.
While some might argue that grace periods are glorified or free-handed extensions, adhering to hard deadlines has never directly correlated to the specific learning goals of a course. This is especially true in a university setting, where a lot of learning is self-regulated.
Instead, hard deadlines primarily facilitate standardization for evaluation. This can still be fulfilled through grace periods while also accounting for students' diverse needs and circumstances.
Hard deadlines primarily facilitate standardization for evaluation. This can still be fulfilled through grace periods while also accounting for students' diverse needs and circumstances.
The flexibility that grace-periods offer also more accurately reflects how deadlines work in many professional settings. In many such cases, projects are aimed to be finished by certain set time periods, but when difficulties are encountered, a whole project is not shut down. Instead, work plans are adapted with the goal of still in the end producing a good product.
Grace periods overall maintain a level of objectivity and standardization for students to be evaluated according to while also recognizing the diverse circumstances of individuals. Considering this and how they streamline administrative duties for both students and faculty, the university is moving in the right direction by including these in more and more courses.
A new proposal from the Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities suggests the province is looking to reduce deferral fees, regulate ancillary fees more and put a threshold on flat-fee charges.
According to the Ministry’s proposal, which has not yet been made public, changes to tuition payment and ancillary fees across Ontario could be implemented starting in 2015.
The Ministry outlined a province-wide cap on late fees and reduction in deferral fees. Student advocates have been outspoken about deferral fees being an unnecessary penalty for students struggling financially and those who receive OSAP in two instalments.
While student groups including OUSA and CFS-Ontario acknowledged the Ministry’s work to address the issues, they continue to push for elimination of deferral fees and flat-fee tuition.
Currently at McMaster University, students opting into an OSAP “Flex Plan” are charged $35 per term in deferral fees.
Non-OSAP students unable to make a full payment by Sept. 1 are charged a one-time $35 late fee on top of monthly interest, which amounts to 14.4 per cent annually.
Spencer Graham, Vice-President (Education) of the McMaster Students Union, said deferral fees are unfair and should ideally be eliminated, not just reduced.
“We believe universities should have flexibility in their funds for students who will end up paying their tuition anyway,” Graham said.
The Ontario government also addressed ancillary fees in its proposal. According to OUSA, Ontario students pay some of the highest ancillary fees in the country. The Ministry proposed to clarify that institutions cannot charge extra fees for credential completion or graduation.
“We’re pretty happy the government is starting to talk to us more about technology,” Graham said. “A lot of programs use technology that charges students extra – if those things are made mandatory, that’s not allowed.”
Both the MSU and OUSA are recommending a 20 per cent off rebate for students who have to buy e-learning materials. Their estimate is that 20 per cent is roughly the evaluation component that should already be covered in students’ tuition.
The MSU’s “Stop, You’ve Paid Enough” campaign launched this fall encouraged students to report and take notice of “mandatory” course materials besides textbooks that they had to pay for out of pocket.
For example, software such as APLIA, CAPSIM and Mastering Chemistry should not be mandated by professors for evaluation purposes.
“To get around the Ministry’s rules, professors can make it an optional part of your grades. For organic chemistry, for example, it’s just not included in your course breakdown so you would be evaluated based on 90 per cent instead of 100,” Graham said.
“You may also have the option to have a percentage added to your final exam…But we don’t think students should have to opt out of assignments.”
Graham said he is currently following up on one student’s report of Top Hat Monocle’s interactive classroom software being mandated in a course.
While many students are required to buy iClickers, the technology does not fall with other e-learning materials that cannot be mandated, since students can still use their iClickers or sell them after they complete a course.
The Ministry’s proposal to put an 80 per cent threshold on flat fees would not apply to McMaster, which charges tuition per credit. However, nine universities in Ontario currently have flat-fee models. The University of Toronto, for example, charges students taking a 60 per cent course load the same tuition as students taking a full course load.