Faculty and student mental health

[Caracal]

I'm just trying to propose giving the students (customers) what they want, which is a class without real deadlines.

For what it's worth, I give extensions to anyone who asks and I tell students that before every assignment. It doesn't effect my workflow in the slightest, and the vast majority of students who get extensions complete the assignment.

That said, reasonable accommodations and flexibility can be helpful for students who are managing mental health conditions. But when it becomes too much for them to manage academically, no amount of flexibility is going to help. An analogy to physical conditions is useful. If a student has a chronic illness or medical issue which causes them to occasionally miss class or have a week where they can't get anything done, some flexibility is appropriate as long as the student can make up the work and keep in touch as much as possible. On the other hand if a student suffers a serious injury and is in the hospital for two months in the middle of the semester, they should get a medical withdrawal and hopefully they can come back next semester. That's not a moral judgement about their gumption or something-it's just that some things can be managed and some things can't. If a student has a major depressive episode and can't come to class or do any work for a month, they need and deserve support and compassion, but there's just no way they are going to be able to catch up in their classes.

[artalot]

I give an automatic extension on all papers. The essay is due Monday, but everyone gets until Thursday. No questions asked, but no additional extensions unless I get a note from the accommodations people. It helps the ones who are bad at time management, since they freak out on Monday when I remind them that the essay is due, but then they have a few more days. I find that it works really well and I get to grade the essays in batches, too.
Students who can't submit the essay within the extension period generally have such major issues (health, mental health, etc.) that they won't pass the class anyway. The extension period helps those with manageable or one-time issues, and I definitely get fewer breakdowns.

[mythbuster]

Artalot, how do you prevent them from then just thinking of the essay as being due on Thursday? I deal with huge issues with students who think the due date is the DO IT date. Do you not tell them about the extension unless they need it? I can see other students getting upset that other people got more time. Please explain this Jedi Mind trick to me.

[Caracal]

Artalot, how do you prevent them from then just thinking of the essay as being due on Thursday? I deal with huge issues with students who think the due date is the DO IT date. Do you not tell them about the extension unless they need it? I can see other students getting upset that other people got more time. Please explain this Jedi Mind trick to me.

I do it a bit differently than artalot, but I announce to students before a major paper is due that if they need an extension and they write me, I'll give it to them.  I would say it's usually somewhere between 20 and 35 percent of students who write asking for an extension. It has zero effect on me-I'm not going to get all the ones turned in on time graded by the time the late ones arrive-if anything it helps because I also tell students that I prioritize grading things turned in on time, which means I can take more time to grade the late ones without worrying about student grumbling.

When I have drafts, or proposals do, or some other project where it's important for students to get something done so they can go the next part, I don't make extension announcements because if it's at all possible for them to get it done, they will be better off if they do so. If somebody asks, I'll usually still give the extension but I am trying to discourage it in those cases.