I get this message from a college student:

“Can we prearrange that my assignments will be late? Not being able to submit my first two weeks of assignments doesn’t give me a reason to continue this course.”

I sat there, stunned as I read that message. Um…..no? We cannot prearrange that your assignments will be late.

Here’s backstory for this student. The first two weeks, she didn’t submit anything, but informed me her assignments were “running late”. She never reached out prior in the week they were assigned. She only reached out after she received zeros and asked if I would accept them late. She didn’t offer any excuse other than that she was taking three other classes. I said sure, the late penalty will just apply. And then she sent me the above message.

I will say, it is fun being on the professor side of these courses sometimes. As a student, I would never have guessed that this was an email someone would have sent. Now you may remember that I wrote a post titled “Doesn’t Hurt to Ask” a couple of months ago. And it still doesn’t hurt to ask. The worst I was going to do was say no, but you should also probably think about what your question may say about you.

When she sent me that question, it implied to me that she did not care about microbiology (why was I the professor being reached out to about arranging late assignments), that she had poor time management, and that she was upset I didn’t remove the late penalty for the two weeks she was late for. So while it doesn’t hurt to ask, you should consider what your question (and the phrasing of that question) will imply about your character.

I responded, advising her she should drop the class and take it at a time that better fits her schedule, as we cannot prearrange that assignments will be late. Unless you have accommodations (which is a completely different story), this isn’t how college works, and isn’t a deal you can usually make with your professor.

She got upset with me, and responded she still had a lot on her plate with her other courses and asked why I couldn’t work with her. Listen, I completely get it. If you want to talk to someone who probably takes on a bit too much, I’m your girl. Working one full time job, two part time jobs, teaching violin, and working for my Ph.D., I completely get being busy. But I would never reach out to my professors and ask them to just prearrange that I’ll submit my assignments late. If you can’t handle the workload, make it easier for yourself and drop something.

Additionally, her question asking why I wouldn’t work with her was probably not the best choice. I told her it was against the university policy to change due dates for students (which is what removing the late penalty would have done) without prior accommodations or excuses. Then, I filed a report with her advisor, informing them of the conversation in its entirety and suggesting that she drop the course and take it when her schedule is lighter.

She did end up dropping the course.

I guess the moral of this story is to weigh your question before you ask, and try not to be accusatory in the same breath you’re asking for a favor. Make sure you have ground to stand on, as being argumentative straight away will usually never help your case. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but you should also consider what your question will say about you.

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