Professor not Grading Assignments on time? Here’s what to do

Grading assignments is an important aspect that helps, offer relevant feedback on students’ performance. Furthermore, it allows the student to reflect on what they had been doing in class.

In addition, it provides one with another learning opportunity as you will know if you are excelling in what you are doing or not. So, what if the professor fails to grade your assignments? Well, that is what we want to explore in this write. Read on.

If your professor is not grading assignments on time, you either need to be patient and wait or contact him or her in a formal but friendly manner.

This is because it may be because of valid reasons that are beyond his or her control. This happens because of outsourced grading, an overload of marking papers, and handling many classes at the same time.

Why do Professors get Late to Grade Assignments?

Several reasons explain why a professor can get late to grade your assignment. Some professes may delay grading due to the following reasons:

1. Outsourced Grading

Some professors handle a large class hence seeking a helping hand in grading the written assignments.

These professors set up a grading scale to determine the grade that one will get.

For that reason, the professor may hire a set of graduate students to assist in grading the assignment. If the graders are slow, it may cause the process to delay your results.

2. Grading Not a Priority

When a professor has much to handle like sitting on various committees or doing research. Grading may not be the priority. Also, such a professor may have another life to handle outside the academic life.

Even so, when they get overwhelmed by work, they may begin to procrastinate hence delaying grading. However, the professor should meet the deadline in grading as per the university policy which may differ in various institutions.

3. When all you want is Grade

The professor knows that some students are only interested in grades without knowing the feedback. They also know that few students value feedback. In the process, they may withhold grades and let students understand the feedback plus, to try and know where they should improve. Such actions cause the grading to be delayed.

4. It is Time-Consuming

The professor requires adequate time to look at the essay assignments before grading.

When the professor is doing it keenly and strictly, it may delay the grading process.

Moreover, it is not possible to begin to grade any work unless the process is through with marking.

That is true because it will be unfair if you grade others while leaving the rest until you finish marking their papers.

5. It is Objective

It is not a walk in the park to grade essay papers. Sometimes the lecturer has to go through more than 80 essays falling under the same topic which is time-consuming to check each detail. It takes keenness for a professor to distinguish one who has excellent knowledge of the course.

Such a professor may not have to go through all the essays but asses the critical points during grading. That also eats time since the same professor must attend to other issues.  The professor can seek help from other professors to assist in grading so that students get their results on time.

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What happens if a Professor doesn’t Submit Grades on Time?

When the professor fails to submit grades on time, he should ensure that it is before the registrar’s deadline.

When students do not have their grades on time, they may fail to know their areas of strength and weakness in the course. Such leads to confusion among students which could lead to friction among the professor and students.

Tips to Speed your Teacher to Grade

You can make arrangements with your teacher to ensure you get your grades on time. The following tips will offer you a great advantage to help you get your grades within the acceptable timeframe:

1. Ask the Teacher to limit the Length of the Assignments

Students can liaise with their professor and request reduced essay assignments that will make it easy for the professor to mark and grade faster.

If it is a 20-page essay and they happen to be more in class, it means that the instructor needs enough time to go through it before he begins to grade.

Students should have better tactics in knowing what to say in a few words.

Doing so will lighten the grading load for the professor and allow students to access their grades within a shorter period.

2. Students to Select a Response for Grading

Students may have an assignment where they have been practicing the same skill severally. You can agree with the professor that before submitting the assignment, they can circle the paragraph where they believe it has their best skills and knowledge.

The lecture should grade only the circled paragraph only. Students will be at peace to know the professor will only assess the circled paragraph since it represents their abilities.

The move makes matter easier for the professor to complete marking and assign grades to students within a short duration.

3. Conference with the Lecturer

You should allow students to have a conference with you while using a timer to allocate equal time. In this conference, you can give feedback by pointing out where you think one did not perform well.

Such a strategy puts a responsibility on them to know what to do to improve on what the professor pointed out. The lecturer should mark every error and complete the exercise as he clears the conscious with students.

Since some students want instructors to think of them, they will find direction. After that exercise, there should be an immediate grading.

You can read how to write a letter to your professor so that you can know how to request a meeting.

4. Use Google Docs

Grading on the computer can make students know the feedback immediately.

Google Docs has amazing features to grade your work automatically.

You can set a grading scale which the system will use to assign grades to you after you activate it.

This approach may not work for a professor who is a social media addict since he has to respond to various issues on various platforms which could be a distraction hence leading to some delays.

The secret lies in limiting the distraction and concentrating on marking assignments via the Google platform. Reducing destruction maximizes productivity and translates into smoother grading.

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FAQs on Professor Grading failures

Do teachers grade on the weekend?

Teachers do not grade on weekends because they are rest days in most educational institutions. However, some teachers use weekends to mark questions, especially when the workload is too much to be completed in normal working days and hours.

Teachers’ weekends may not be different from other professions in the labor market. However, they must plan how they intend to approach the preceding week. One of the things a teacher could do is to spend time with the family and participate in other communal work. More importantly, to also grade the work.

Should teachers have deadlines?

Yes, deadlines are very important to enforce discipline about how one should work. There should be a good place that specifies what action one should face when working outside the deadlines.

It is a very important approach to ensure that students get their grades within the right time and know which steps to follow after knowing their performance.

How long does it take for professors to post grades?

It takes between one and two weeks for a professor to grade and post grades. However, this time depends on how fast he will assess your assignment. However, the professor should stay within the schedule before meeting the registrar’s deadlines. For instance, a professor can begin to grade after going through all the assignments and validating their value.

How long does it take to grade a paper?

It can take around 7 to 10 days for a professor to grade your assignments depending on the number of students. If you have a few papers, it can only take you a few hours before you complete them. Suppose you are handling bulky work, then it means the grading process will be a bit longer.

Grading a paper is not hard as long as you have a grading scale. The only thing that could be changeful is to begin to grade the work when you are not yet through with marking.