Being Flexible and Mindful About Deadlines

Having high academic standards and encouraging students to prioritize their well-being do not need to conflict with one another. College brings with it many challenges and that academic pressure is associated with many common issues, including anxiety, depression, substance use, and poor sleep quality (Pascoe, et al., 2020). Additionally, the challenges of COVID-19 have affected students’ mental health and have shown the need to adapt and be flexible (June, 2020). You cannot control what happens outside of class, and world events may affect students’ well-being (and yours). If something important happens in the news, it may be helpful to create a space in class to acknowledge it or spend a few minutes discussing it before going into class content.

Ensure the workload for class is reasonable and communicate grading and deadlines clearly. Sometimes it helps to have a reminder that students are human, and so are you. There may be a lot going on in a student’s life that is unseen. You can show empathy by being flexible and mindful about deadlines. Providing students some grace may be an opportunity to engage and intervene early. Additionally, you can be intentional about what time of day assignments are due. If it is early in the morning, it may encourage students to pull an all-nighter.