This article explains the LatePasses feature in OHM that allows students to grant themselves an extension on a homework assignment.
What is a LatePass?
LatePasses allow students to grant themselves an extension on a homework assignment. This can help alleviate pressure when students need extra help, or when they get overwhelmed with a busy week. Teachers decide whether and how to use LatePasses in their classes.
When LatePasses are available, students can redeem them by clicking on the assignment.
How are LatePasses distributed to students?
- In Course Settings, you specify how many LatePasses are automatically distributed to students enrolled in your course.
- LatePasses may also be distributed from the Manage LatePasses page, linked from your OHM Roster.
What parameters can teachers set for how LatePasses may be used?
For each assessment, teachers specify in the settings:
- Whether the assessment allows LatePasses
- How many LatePasses may be applied to the assessment
In the Roster, under Manage LatePasses, teachers may:
- Specify the duration of the extension granted by a LatePass. The default LatePass period is 24 hours.
- View how many LatePasses remain for each student
- Add/remove LatePasses from students
What’s changed?
Previously, LatePasses could only be used before the due date or, if specified in the assessment setting, within one LatePass period. These restrictions caused significant confusion, particularly when students tried to apply a late pass on the due date if the “within one LatePass period” setting wasn’t enabled. These restrictions have now been removed.
Great! How about an example?
Suppose Homework 1.1 is set to allow the use of 3 LatePasses and is due on Monday at 5 pm. The professor has kept the default LatePass length to be 24 hours.
Before:
If the professor selected “Allow LatePasses after due date, within 1 LatePass period”, a student would have to use their first LatePass by Tuesday 4:59pm. They could apply up to 3 LatePasses total to extend the assignment as late as Thursday 5pm.
Now:
A student can extend the homework at anytime before Thursday 5pm so long as they have enough LatePasses.