Due dates for written work are c.o.b. For your paper topic and paper prospectus statements, due-dates should be taken very seriously, as a means of pacing your work. Ultimately, these assignments function as a kind of progress report, and you can get feedback from me only in proportion to the amount of input you have offered. If for any reason you know you will not be able to meet a deadline, let me know well enough beforehand. Requests for extensions should be made in writing and suggest a realistic date for completing your work.
Extensions become effective only when acknowledged in writing.
Acceptable justifications for an extension would include illness, family emergency, etc., along with documentable difficulties in getting specific sources for your research. If it is more than one week late, the grade goes down another grading-unit. Also, any extended absence from the University should first be reported to your dean, who will notify all your professors on your behalf. Ultimately, each student bears individual responsibility for meeting deadlines. Also, each student is responsible for taking the initiative in making up work due to illness or other absence.