Life is unfair. Some people get lucky, some don’t. Some students are single parents, struggling to fit their assignment load around child minding. Some students have a violent and stressful home life. Some have time-consuming work commitments. Some have sick relatives. Some get sick themselves.

What can I do about this? Very little, I fear.

One thing I could do is make it worse. I could say yes to all students who asked for an assignment extension on account of their personal circumstances. I would then be rewarding the people who complained about life, to the disadvantage of those who soldiered on, trying to do their best under the circumstances. That, I believe, would be unfair.

So, my general response to requests for assignment extensions is "No", except when:

• When you have been sick, and have a medical certificate to prove it, or
• You have had a death in the family, or
• You have suffered some similarly severe misfortune.

Even under those circumstances, I often prefer to find a different way to calculate your coursework mark, rather than giving an extension, since extensions just increase the time pressure you’re under for the rest of the course.