Late & Missing Assignments

The Business Department is committed to fostering a learning environment that promotes responsibility, organization, and independent work. This policy is designed to be fair, flexible, and supportive of student success, in alignment with TDSB Operational Procedure PR.614: Evaluation of Late and Missed Assignments.

Student Responsibilities:

• Students are responsible for managing their time effectively and for submitting evidence of their learning of curriculum expectations within the specified timeframes.

• Students are responsible for understanding the due dates and ultimate deadlines for all assignments.

• Students should communicate with their teacher prior to the due date if they anticipate difficulty in submitting an assignment on time due to compelling reasons or extenuating circumstances.

Progressive Consequences for Late/Missing Assignments:

Level 1: Proactive Support & Initial Check-in (Emerging Patterns / First Late Submission)

• Action: Time Management Quiz

  • Brief teacher-student conference to discuss the following: 

    • Talk to the student about why the assignment is late; initiate contact with parents/guardians.

    • Check for IEP accommodations/modifications, if applicable, related to timelines.

    • Encourage use of Google calendar/BrightSpace calendar for organization or task completion.

Level 2: Targeted Intervention & Collaboration (Persistent Issues / Repeated Late Submissions)

• Action: Student Contract

  • Schedule a meeting/phone-call with parents/guardians if the problem continues.

Level 3: Mark Deduction (Chronic Non-Submission)

• Action: Apply mark deduction of 10%/day including weekends

  • The student's pattern of late submission will be reflected in the "Responsibility" and/or "Organization" sections of the Learning Skills and Work Habits on the Provincial Report Card.

Business & Careers Department Policy for the ultimate deadline is two (2) school days from the original deadline.

If an assignment is late but within this 2-day window, the teacher would initiate Level 1 "Initial Check-in" actions (e.g., asking for the reason, holding a brief conference, communicating with parents if necessary) and move quickly to Level 2 "Targeted Intervention" strategies if the assignment remains unsubmitted. This could involve setting up a student contract, referring to Student Success, or offering alternative demonstrations of learning.

After the Ultimate Deadline: a mark deduction, up to and including the full value of the assignment, may be applied because there is no evidence of learning to evaluate. This means the student's tendency to submit late would be reflected in the Learning Skills and Work Habits section of the Provincial Report Card (e.g., in "Responsibility" or "Organization").

Exceptions & Alternative Evaluations

1. If a student has a legitimate, documented reason for missing the deadline, and the teacher has not yet returned the graded assessment to the rest of the class, the student may submit the original task. This is contingent upon the submission being made within the teacher’s prescribed turnaround timeframe so as not to delay feedback for the rest of the class.

2. If the assessment has already been graded and returned to the class, the original task will no longer be accepted to protect academic integrity. In cases of a documented, legitimate absence (e.g., medical emergency, bereavement), the teacher will provide an Alternative Assessment of similar rigour. This ensures the student has a fair opportunity to demonstrate the same curriculum expectations as the original evaluation.

Academic Integrity: Plagiarism & AI-Written Work

Academic integrity is fundamental to learning and assessment in the Business & Careers department. Plagiarism, including the submission of AI-generated content as one's own, undermines the learning process and misrepresents a student's achievement.

Definition of Plagiarism (including AI-Written Work):

Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, without proper acknowledgement. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying and pasting text directly from a source (online or print) without citation.

• Paraphrasing without giving credit to the original source.

• Submitting work that was completed by another person.

• Using ideas or arguments from a source without acknowledging them.

• Submitting content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) as your own original work, without proper acknowledgement and explicit teacher permission.

Consequences of Plagiarism (including AI-Written Work):

The TDSB Procedure PR590 - Plagiarism Detection Service 32 outlines the school board's stance on plagiarism. In our department, the following repercussions will be applied, varying in severity based on the nature and frequency of the academic integrity breach:

• First Instance:

  • Student-Teacher Conference - teacher will discuss the following:

    • The student will be required to re-learn proper citation methods and academic honesty principles.

    • Depending on the assignment and the extent of the plagiarism, as per teacher discretion, the student may be given an opportunity to redo or revise the assignment to demonstrate their own learning. A mark reduction may apply, or the assignment may be graded only on the revised portion.

  • Parents/guardians will be informed of the incident.

• Second Instance:

  • Student -Teacher- Administration Conference - A meeting will be held involving the student, teacher, and school administration to discuss the following:

    • significant mark reduction (up to a mark of zero for the assignment), 

    • a mandatory re-education session on academic integrity, and 

  • Parents/guardians will be informed, and their support will be enlisted to address the issue.

• Third or Subsequent Instances:

  • Further instances of plagiarism will result in more severe consequences, which may include a mark of zero for the assignment, a mark of zero for the course, and significant administrative action.