Long-term Assignment Planning Tools
Keeping on top of far-away deadlines can be a challenge in college.
Many students struggle to work on long-term papers or projects over time and end up doing them the night before they’re due. There’s no shame in that. But it puts you at risk for falling asleep while working, or simply running out of time before the submission deadline. If you’re ready to try getting started on assignments sooner, help is available!
Check out online planning tools!
Many college libraries offer helpful online “assignment calculators” or “assignment planners” that create a schedule you can follow. I like this one from the University of Toronto. You plug in the date you’ll start, the date it’s due, and it gives you a schedule to follow. (You don’t have to use all of the steps it gives you, but you can choose the ones that make sense to you to follow.)
If that one doesn’t suit you, do a search using the terms “university assignment calculator” and see if you can find one you like better.
What to do with the schedule the tool has created for you
Advice for parents or professionals working with students
If you are a parent or professional reading this who is interested in have students have a little experience thinking about what steps go into managing a long-term paper (before they use a tool like the one above), this free downloadable tool (pictured below) helps walks them through the steps involved in planning for something like that.
I don’t recommend using it for every assignment, but it can be useful as a lesson to raise students’ awareness of how many steps are involved in planning. That awareness is important in getting students to think about how far out they need to start an assignment – something they’ll have to do once they start college, where deadline extensions (AKA extended deadlines or more time for assignments) isn’t commonly approved.
1) Follow the process to sign you want to use your accommodations again
You may be surprised to hear that DS likely won’t assume you want to use your accommodations each term. They may email you before the start to ask if you want to do so. You may have to simply respond to the email or log into their accommodations system and provide the information they require, such as class sections and professor names.
I’ve written more about this renewal process, and also about what happens if students didn’t use their accommodations last term.
As with everything, you’re responsible for how quickly you do this.
2) Follow DS’s processes for communication and complete their accommodation processes
As discussed above, you’ll likely have some responsibility for informing your professors (and others who need to know) about your approved accommodations. You’ll also have to alert DS to your upcoming exams, texts and materials you need in alt format, and more.
