So, you didn't read the email. Maybe you didn't check the calendar. Or maybe 6 weeks into the course you see that you missed something from week 2.
First, check the late policy on the syllabus. There may be a way to make up for it if there is something other than "No Late Assignments" written in there. Some professors have policies that let you turn things i n late, for a grade, for a partial grade, or maybe they actually drop a few of a student's low scores in the course. You need to read the Syllabus to know what your options are.
There are a couple of perspectives on late assignments. Some faculty allow them, some do not. Why would that be?
So let's look at it from their perspective instead of the student's perspective. It really comes down to time, respect, work ethic, fairness, responsibility, and accountability.
There is no doubt that a professor puts a lot of time and thought into planning how assignments, timeframe, and expected learning fit together. They are mindful of the timing so that they maximize the probability of student success. They also take into consideration the workload for both parties and how much time there is to complete tasks If a student misses something, it can affect the next thing and then the next thing after that. Professors "scaffold" their courses so that students have the skills and knowledge that they need to proceed, learn, and to be successful. Their goal is to teach and guide their students and hope that they will learn the material and use it to their advantage.
The professor expects the student to respect their position. Typically professors went to school for a very long time and now they are sharing the knowledge that they attained through school and practical experience. It took time to get where they are now, or anyone could do it. So when professors ask students to complete an assignment, or task, there is a goal in mind. They are not just there for the paycheck, because let's be honest, it isn't that great. They are there because they WANT others to learn and to benefit from what they know.
Professors put great effort into learning how to teach. Mathematics professors went to school for and really love what? Math! It probably came easy to them and was the most interesting subject to them. Does that mean that they can teach it? Not really! Who taught them to teach it to students that don't think it is easy and don't think it is the most interesting subject in the world? The answer is probably: no one. They loved math, they learned it, it was easy for them (most likely,) and they enjoyed it very much. The professor then begins to teach and find that their students don't understand and the professor can't figure out why. They themselves didn't experience a whole lot of the confusion and difficulty because again, they love mathematics and they are good at it. So now the professor has to learn how to teach mathematics, to think like a student, and to understand and address the confusion. That takes a lot more time. So when a professor puts a course together, the student can be assured that they gave it a lot of thought and tried to create a learning experience for the students that promotes success.
All of this goes to say that there is a plan. Some plans allow for late work, some do not. One reason for that can also be because they are on a schedule themselves. They are busy and they sit down to grade assignments that were due and they move on. They planned that time to grade and then they have ten other things to do, just like a student might. Why should they grade a group of assignments, just to have to schedule more time every time a late one comes in? Should a student's schedule force changes to the professor's schedule? What if the professor teaches two courses with 100 students in each one, and what if 50 lates of just that assignment trickle in the rest of the semester? What about 5 assignments with late assignments coming in all semester? They scheduled a certain amount of time to grade and now they find that all throughout the semester they are having to make more and more time for grading, to the point that they really have time for nothing but grading. I hope that you can see my point.
The professor has only so much time to plan, teach, and grade. As part of their job, professors are usually expected to conduct research, while providing committee and academic service work to the community, the college, and their department. Professors are also expected to write up their research and present it to their peers at conferences, as well as publish it in academic journals. There are endless meetings to attend on a regular basis.
These are only a few of the reasons why some professors allow late assignments and some do not. It is their choice based on their time commitments to their job and institution. When a professor has a "no late assignments" policy, it can be for many reasons. Time, respect, work ethic, fairness, responsibility, and accountability. The student's and the professor's. It applies equally.
A professor put time and thought into a course and its schedule. They have a "No Late Assignments" policy. A student forgets, misses, is busy, didn't check the schedule, or has four other reasons for why they missed it and want to make up the assignment. The student then asks for special treatment just this one time. This puts the professor in the position where they have to make a decision. The faculty member makes a decision that is fair to the class and to themselves and says no. The student's reason is no more valid or important than the professor's reason. The student agreed to the course timeline and requirements by taking the course and the professor laid out the rules in the beginning so there were no surprises.
I get why students want to fix their mistakes, who doesn't? But that isn't how real life works. And students should respect the contract and abide by the rules, whatever they may be, that they agreed to when they decided to take the course.
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