no assignments yet

Why it’s hard for students to “just turn in” missing assignments, and how to get them unstuck

Mar 29, 2023 | Blog

With the end of the semester on the horizon, many students may feel overwhelmed by low grades or feeling behind in some of their classes.

As a parent, it can be stressful to see that your student has overdue work, or get notifications from their teacher that they’re missing assignments. 

It’s even more frustrating when you’ve told them over and over again how important it is to “just turn it in”…but the work is still showing up as missing.

The reality is that no matter how simple it might seem to an outside observer, doing missing work is almost never as easy as “just getting it done.” If they haven’t done the work yet, there’s a good chance that something is getting in their way. 

If you can figure out what the problem is before jumping in to help them (or make them) do the work, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of success.

In our experience, there are usually 3 main reasons students resist submitting their missing work…even when it seems like “just turning it in” would be SO much easier!

Reason 1: They think it won’t make a difference

Once the due date for an assignment has passed, students often de-prioritize it and move on to focus on upcoming assignments instead. It’s tempting for students to justify this by thinking “there are lots of other assignments, missing one or two won’t matter.”

But what they often don’t realize is that because of the way most grading scales are weighted, even one or two zeros can have an enormous impact on their grade. Showing students the difference it makes to turn in just a few assignments can increase their motivation to get the work done. 

Here’s an example of the difference it can make to turn in just a few missing assignments before the end of the semester:

Overall grade with 3 missing assignments: 78.3%

Overall grade when assignments are turned in: 90.1%

It’s hard for students to calculate these averages in their head, so it can be really powerful for them to run the numbers and see firsthand exactly how much they have to gain from making up their missing assignments.

When we do calculations like this with our students, they are almost always surprised by how much this makeup work could improve their grades, and feel much more motivated to submit the assignments when they can see for themselves the difference it will make.

Reason 2: They think it’s too late

Another reason students often resist doing makeup work is that they think it’s too late to get credit for it. 

Even if they’ve done the math and know that submitting the work would make a difference in their grade, they still won’t want to turn it in if they think the teacher won’t accept it.

Especially for introverted or anxious students, it can be very intimidating to have conversations with their teachers. They might think they’ll get in trouble for asking to submit their work late, or worry that the teacher will say “no.”

The good news is that many teachers are flexible with their late work policies and allow students to turn in overdue assignments even when it is past the “official” deadline to submit them.

So if students can find the courage to ask for help, there is a good chance that their teachers will respond positively and allow them an opportunity to make up the work.

For students who are struggling to reach out to teachers, we often find it is helpful to roleplay these conversations in coaching sessions if they’re not sure what to say, or work with them to email their teachers if they’re not sure what to say.

Reason 3: They feel overwhelmed

Students who are behind on their work often have challenges keeping track of due dates, managing time, breaking down complex assignments, prioritizing work, staying focused, or following through with plans….which is why they fell behind in the first place. 

These challenges can become even more daunting when they are behind in their classes, and trying to complete makeup assignments on top of their normal workload.

This can feel so stressful that a lot of students avoid or put off doing makeup work even when they   know   how much it would improve their grade.

For these students to get their work submitted, it’s essential to help them find ways to…

• Break down the assignments so they have a realistic plan for getting the work done that they’re confident they can actually follow through with
• Lower the stress they feel while they are doing the work so they will be less tempted to avoid it
• Visualize the progress they are making so they can see that their efforts are making a difference

Providing support

When students have a lot of makeup work to complete, having some additional support to help them work through it can be invaluable. 

For some students, this may mean finding a tutor to help them with the content they didn’t understand when their teacher was first presenting the material. 

For other students, having a family member or friend nearby as a source of moral support to keep them company while they are working (and a motivating reward to look forward to as soon as the work is completed) can be enormously helpful.

Other students may benefit from working with an academic coach to help them get unstuck and started on their missing work. Sometimes, having someone else who is not a family member step in to help can reduce stress and conflict at home and make it easier for students to take the steps they need to get back on track in their classes. If you think this type of support would be helpful for your student, please feel free to reach out and we’ll be happy to help! 

• 2 I'd recommend on brushing up on the backend work that you're currently unqualified to do –  TheEvilMetal Commented Nov 7, 2022 at 9:36
• 2 Not a solution to your problem, just a note: what you right now do is not Scrum. There are no project managers in Scrum and you don't get tickets assigned in Scrum. It might be a transition to Scrum and I'm not going to judge whether it's going to work, but right now, it's not Scrum. By a long shot. –  nvoigt ♦ Commented Nov 7, 2022 at 11:53
• @JoeStrazzere He says that he & the team lead will look into assigning new tickets but he doesn't respond nor does it. Previously, he said that I had to watch an udemy course which has been completed. –  Wojtek322 Commented Nov 7, 2022 at 12:30
• 2 Let me add some specific points regarding Scrum. First your organization is doing Scrum completely wrong. You should be able to pick up any piece of work, not be assigned work. The fact that all the remaining work is blocked means you have a big problem. Bring this up at the retrospective, and make sure a way is found to prevent this happening in the future. –  DJClayworth Commented Nov 7, 2022 at 14:34

2 Answers 2

You should ask your manager what they would like you to do when they have not assigned you anything.

You need to be very clear and highlight to them how much time you are not allocated work.

It would be good if you had suggestions ready to go for that discussion.

Anybody here that pretends to know what your boss wants is merely guessing.

From a technical POV, you can grow in 2 directions: become better at what you already do, or learn other new things. You are already good enough (for your level) at what you do, and there is a lot of work about something you do not know about.

So you have here the opportunity to learn something new - the backend stuff. You will not become an expert over night, but you show initiative and you can get involved deeper. It can only help you long-term.

Obviously, in the meanwhile, continue informing your manager and your project manager that you need more work - as you already do now. Maybe even ask them about trainings for back-end work, or any other work they plan to be done in the future.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged project-management scrum .

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My course is missing assignments

Why is my course missing assignments.

If there are no assignments available in your course, there are a few possible scenarios for this:

• The assignments are past due or have not yet begun.
• The instructor removed the assignments from the course.
• You have reached the maximum number of takes allowed for an activity.

Contact your instructor directly to see if they can assist you.

View and navigate your assignments (educator)

View your Upcoming , Ready to Grade , Past Due , Returned , and Draft assignments in the Assignments app. You can view them by class, or view them across all your classes. Selecting any assignment will allow you to grade it, make edits, or view the assignment from a student's perspective. View all grades by selecting the Grades app.

View and sort assignments across classes

Navigate to your desired class team, then select Assignments . 

Tip:  Use your search bar to search for an assignment by keyword.

Assigned work

Upcoming tab.

All upcoming assignments you've sent to students or scheduled to assign later will display by order of due date under the  Upcoming tab .

Ready to grade tab

Any assignments with submissions that have not been graded, will be displayed in the Ready to Grade tab. 

Each assignment under this tab is sorted by the due date, and displays the number of assignments that are ready to be graded. Learn more about grading, returning, and reassigning assignments. 

Past Due tab

Any Past Due Assignments will display in the Past Due tab.

View returned and draft assignments

Note:  Assignments are considered "returned" when all of them have been returned to your students. When students turn in additional work or you return work for revision, the assignment will appear in your Assigned list again to notify you that there's work you haven't reviewed yet.

Filter Assignments by Modules

If you have added Assignments to a Classwork Module , you can filter for them in the Assignments list. You can filter for one or more Modules.

Filter Assignments by Grading Categories

If you have configured your class to use Grading Categorie s, you can filter for them in the Assignments list. You can filter for one or more Grading Categories.

Filter assignments by Tags

If you've added tags to your assignments , such as "Homework" or "Review," you can filter for them in your assignments list. 

View grades

Select an assignment's square to open it.

Select a student's name to view details about their grades and progress in your class so far.

Grading Averages

For each Assignment, you can view the Average Grade for the Assignment . For each student will show the average grade across for all assignments . You can also see the Average Grade and grade distribution of the class .

Note:  The average grade for the class is set for all assignments, if you choose to filter the gradebook, the average grade will only show for the assignment you have selected. If you have configured your class to use Grading Categories  only assignments with Grading Categories will be counted towards the average Grade

Selecting any Average Grade valu e will show a detail view from Insights . For Class Average , you can see the Distribution, Trend and Grading Categories average

Note. By default, Students do not see the Average Grade. You can configure this in the Assignments and Grade Settings for the class.

Grade settings

1. Configure Grade Settings by first selecting the gear icon for  Assignment Settings .

2. There are two sections; Assignment settings and Grade settings . Options under Grade settings available for configuration include: 

Grading Schemes:  This is set to a point-based system by default, but new schemes can also be added by choosing the Add schemes button.

Average grade:  Toggle on whether students should be allowed to check their grade percentage.

Weighted grading categories:  Set assignment types and assign weights to reflect importance.

Weighted grading categories

Weighted grading categories allow educators to assign weight to assignments to reflect their importance. 

1. Navigate to your desired team and select the Grades tab. 

3. Scroll to Grade settings and toggle Weighted grading categories to On .

4. A Manage grading categories window will appear. Select Add Grading category.  

5. Name your grading category and enter the percentage you'd like to assign as that category's weight. 

6. Repeat for each desired grading category. 

7. The percentages must add up to 100% in order to move on. When you've finished adding your categories, select Save .

8. In grade settings, your grading categories and percentages are now visible. To edit, select Manage grading categories.

9. Now you can select a grading category each time you create an assignment. 

Important:  In classes using grading categories, any assignment with points must have a grading category. 

Filter the Gradebook

You can filter the gradebook, to select a due date , one or more grading categories , and Hide and Show Inactive Assignments . 

To reuse the filter, you can save this as a bookmark for the class. The bookmarks is stored per person and per class.

View assignments across classes

Select Upcoming  to view any upcoming assignments.

Select Ready to Grade to view any assignments that has submissions that has not been graded

Select Past Due to view any assignments that are past due but have missing submission from students

Select Create to create a new assignment for any class from this screen.

Note:  Not seeing an older assignment? Navigate to individual class teams and visit the Assignments tab to load more assignments.

Review assignments

Create assignments

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Microsoft 365 Apps activation error: "You currently have not been assigned an office license that includes the Office desktop apps"

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• Applies to: Microsoft 365

When you try to activate Microsoft 365 apps, you encounter the error message:

You currently have not been assigned an office license that includes the Office desktop apps.

Try the following troubleshooting methods to solve the problem.

Note Some of these troubleshooting methods can only be performed by a Microsoft 365 admin. If you aren't an admin, see How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?

• Go to the Microsoft 365 portal: https://portal.office.com/account/?ref=MeControl#installs
• If you see the message "You currently have not been assigned an Office license that includes the Office desktop apps" this means that you aren't eligible to install Microsoft 365 Apps.
• If you see "Office" listed with an "Install Office" button, you're eligible for Microsoft 365 Apps.

Go to https://portal.office.com/account to check which Office version and edition you have available.

If no Office version is shown, you don't have an Office license assigned to the account you're signed in with. If you're signed in with your Work or School account, and don't have a license assigned, contact your Microsoft 365 Administrator to get a license assigned. How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?

If you have Microsoft 365 for Business Basic, you won't have any Office applications to install. You can use Office Online apps at https://office.com .

Make sure that the version listed (32-bit or 64-bit) matches your version of Windows. To check what version of Windows you have installed, go to Start > Settings (gear icon) > System > About , and check the System type .

If you have a different edition or version installed on your device, run the SaRA package to uninstall Office. Restart the device, and install from https://portal.office.com/account to get the correct version.

• Open an Office app, such as Word.
• Select your name and profile picture or icon at the top.
• Select Sign out .
• Select Sign in .
• Make sure you're signed in with your Work or School account, not your personal Microsoft account.
• Try activating Microsoft 365 again.
• In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center , go to the Users > Active users page.
• Select the row of the user that you want to assign a license to.
• In the right pane, select Licenses and Apps .
• Expand the Licenses section, select the boxes for the licenses that you want to assign, then select Save changes .
• If the license is already assigned, uncheck it, select Save changes , then check it again and select Save changes again.
• A Microsoft 365 admin needs to go to https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?source=applauncher#/users
• Make sure necessary sublicenses are checked. For example, if Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise is checked, make sure the Office 365 sublicense is checked.
• Open a browser in InPrivate mode (Microsoft Edge) or Incognito mode (Google Chrome) and go to https://office.com .
• Install Microsoft 365 Apps and try to activate.
• Try or buy a Microsoft 365 for business subscription
• Assign licenses to users
• Add users and assign licenses at the same time

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