Q: I have a 10% per day late penalty set in my course, but Quercus is applying a higher-than-expected deduction for some students who submitted late. For example, for an assignment worth 9 marks, the penalty should be 0.9 marks per day, but some students received a 1.6 mark deduction instead. Where did this number come from? Is there a way to correct the late penalty calculation?
A: This typically occurs when an assignment’s total value is changed after grades have already been entered. In this case, late penalties are calculated using the original value and do not automatically update.
For example, if this particular assignment was originally worth 16 points, the late penalty would be calculated as 1.6 points (16 × 10%). If the total value was later changed to 9 points, previously applied late penalties will not automatically update.
To recalculate late penalties
- Go to the course Gradebook
- Select Settings > Late Policies
- Uncheck Automatically apply deduction to late submissions
- Select Apply Settings to save the change
- Re-check Automatically apply deduction to late submissions
- Select Apply Settings again to save this change
This will prompt Quercus to recalculate late penalties based on the current assignment value.
Important: Before making changes, download any annotated student submissions from SpeedGrader. This helps prevent accidental loss of student work or annotations.
Quick overview
Here’s how late penalties behave in Quercus when an assignment’s total value is changed:
- Late penalties are not recalculated for submissions that have already been graded
- New or ungraded submissions use the updated assignment value
For full details on late penalty behaviour, refer to the following Canvas instructor guide: How do I apply a Late Submission policy in the Gradebook?
Recommendations for Future Assignments
If you expect to change assignment values after receiving student submissions, you may:
- Consider disabling automatic late penalties
- Apply late penalties manually outside Quercus
This gives you more control over deductions and avoids issues caused by rounding (e.g., Quercus rounds late time up to the next full day or hour).
Chat with us!
For further questions or assistance with organizing and managing course groups or creating group assignments, please contact the EdTech Office or book a consultation!