IB Diploma Deadlines

It is expected that CCS IB Diploma students show a high level of accountability and responsibility in meeting deadlines. This involves open communication between students, teachers, parents and coordinators.

IB Diploma students complete at least ten major coursework assignments over the two-year program. Each piece of coursework is a major piece of work, usually taking several months to complete. Depending on the subject, coursework components may comprise between 20-100% of a student’s final grade for that subject.

The IB stipulates that teachers may give written feedback on only one the First submission. For this reason, every piece of coursework at CCS has 2 major deadlines:

• Deadline 1: First submission (students receive written feedback on this submission)

• Deadline 2: Final submission

Teachers may also set other deadlines for other assignments not submitted to the IB. 

Why is it important to meet deadlines?

The CCS teaching team works together each year to develop a calendar of deadlines for each IB Diploma cohort. Our aim is to ensure that deadlines are spread throughout the programme as much as possible, but there are bound to be times when students are faced with multiple deadlines close together.

Missed deadlines have a snowball effect on future deadlines. Students who miss deadlines suffer from greater stress and perform much worse in the end across the whole programme. Additionally, teachers need time to carefully read student work, craft useful feedback, and assess work for authenticity — all while meeting external deadlines set by the IB.

CCS shares an assessment calendar with students and parents at the beginning of Year 12. The assessment calendar includes first and final deadlines for all subjects. The calendar is continually updated throughout the two-year programme and shared with students and families regularly.

Consequences for missed MAJOR deadlines

Missing the “First Submission” deadline

Students who do not submit their First Submission for feedback on time may not receive feedback from their teacher.

Missing the “final submission” deadline

The student's First Submission for feedback will be submitted to the IB in lieu of a final if the teacher and DP Coordinator consider it to be in a submittable state (i.e., contains citations, list of references, etc.).

Otherwise, students will receive an “N” for that subject from the IB, and therefore fail their IB Diploma.

Requests for Extensions

If IB Diploma students are unable to meet an assessment deadline:

1. IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY to write an email to their teacher and the DP Coordinator 48 hours prior to the deadline with a reason stating why they will not be able to meet the deadline. A proposed plan of action also needs to be included, together with a suggested date by which the student feels the work can be completed.

2. Teachers will have a discussion with the student first and then reply to their email (parents will be copied) with a brief response, action plan and a negotiated due date (if approved).

3. If the student fails to meet this second deadline:

   1. If it is a MAJOR deadline (i.e., First Submission for feedback or Final submission), the consequences will be as listed above (i.e., no feedback, or a failing condition of the IB Diploma).

   2. If it is any other deadline, the DP coordinator and parents will be advised by the teacher that the student will be required to attend one or more ‘study periods’ after school until the work is complete. If parents or students have any questions, they are to be directed to the DP Coordinator.

Here is a document with some examples of how to write emails to make these requests.