Lateness Penalties
We expect our students to plan ahead to meet deadlines. This is an important skill and can also help to ensure workload across the semester is more evenly spaced out. Where extenuating circumstances make meeting a deadline impossible, we can consider making allowances, but late work without a valid reason is subject to penalties.
If you find meeting deadlines a challenge, we recommend talking to your personal tutor, reading our guide to independent work, or coming along to one of our structured writing workshops. Sheffield's 301 Study Skills Centre also offers advice on time management.
The following penalties for late submission apply to all coursework submitted for assessment. Penalties will be applied unless your work is submitted to Turnitin by the deadline (i.e. any time after noon on the day).
Each working day late will result in 5% being deducted from the mark awarded to your piece of work. So, for instance, an essay worth 60 would lose 3 marks a day, while one worth 68 would lose 3.4 and one worth 52 would lose 2.6. The eventual mark is rounded to the nearest whole number, therefore a mark of 59.3 would be rounded down to 59, whereas a mark of 59.5 would be rounded up to 60.
A 'working day' runs from 12 noon to 12 noon, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays, but including Monday to Fridays throughout vacations. After 5 working days your work will receive 0.
If you do not submit your work, you will receive a mark of ‘Not Complete’.
If you have submitted work late due to circumstances that were outside of your control, and would like to request that the penalty be removed, please use the Extenuating Circumstances process. Please note that you will be required to evidence why you were unable to submit the work by the deadline and why you were unable to apply for a deadline extension. Requests will be considered by the Welfare Team, and may be discussed (with your details anonymised) at the Extenuating Circumstances Panel preceding the exam board.
Please note: computer or technical problems are not grounds for removing a penalty. You should plan to submit your work in advance of the deadline in the event of any issues occurring.
If you are having issues submitting work, please email history.ugenquiries@sheffield.ac.uk before the deadline.
Example:
If your deadline is 12 noon on a Wednesday then (assuming no bank holidays) the following penalties would apply:
Submission by:
12 noon on Thursday (1 day late) = 5% penalty i.e. an original mark of 70 -5% (3.5 marks) = 67
12 noon on Friday (2 days late) = 10% penalty i.e. an original mark of 70 -10% (7 marks) = 63
12 noon on Monday (3 days late) = 15% penalty i.e. an original mark of 70 -15% (10.5 marks) = 60
12 noon on Tuesday (4 days late) = 20% penalty i.e. an original mark of 70 -20% (14 marks) = 56
12 noon on Wednesday (5 days late) = 25% penalty i.e. an original mark of 70 -25% (17.5 marks) = 53
After 12 noon on Wednesday (6 or more days late) = a mark of 0
Turnitin: If the upload is successful, you will receive an on-screen digital receipt and you may wish to print this off as proof of submission. If this does not appear then repeat the Turnitin process again. If you experience any technical problems with Turnitin, please email history.ugenquiries@sheffield.ac.uk or call 0114 22 22555. For more information on Turnitin please click here.