The Group Presentation Deadline
Four students must submit one group report by Friday 17:00. The rules say: the report must be submitted by exactly one nominated submitter; late submissions lose 10% per day or part-day; and a report submitted by a non-nominated member is rejected outright. The group agrees that Layla is the nominated submitter. On Thursday, Layla messages the group: 'I have a family emergency and will be offline until Saturday. Someone else submit.' The other three - Omar, Fatima, and Yusuf - each have the finished file. It is now Thursday 22:00. The report is complete and correct.
1. What is the best course of action, and what is the main risk of each option?
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Options and risks:
- Have Omar/Fatima/Yusuf submit tonight. Risk: the rules say a non-nominated submitter's report is rejected outright. This is the worst outcome - worse than a small late penalty - because the work is lost entirely, not just marked down.
- Wait for Layla to submit Saturday. Risk: Saturday is one day or part-day late (after Friday 17:00), so the penalty is 10%. But the submission is valid. Cost: 10% of the grade.
- Try to change the nominated submitter before Friday 17:00. Risk: depends on whether the rules allow a change; if allowed, this is the best option (valid and on time). If not allowed, it fails.
Best course: first, immediately check whether the nomination can be formally changed (option 3). If it can, do that tonight and submit on time. If it cannot, accept the 10% late penalty and have Layla submit Saturday rather than risk outright rejection. A guaranteed 10% loss beats a possible 100% loss.
2. The group debates whether to submit through a non-nominated member anyway, arguing 'the marker won't notice.' Give a reasoned judgement.
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This is a judgement call, and the reasoning should weigh expected cost, not just the chance of being caught.
- If the rule is enforced: outcome = rejection (effectively 0 on the report).
- If not enforced: outcome = full marks.
- Alternative (Layla Saturday): outcome = 90% with certainty.
Suppose the chance of enforcement is even modest - say 30%. Expected value of the risky route ≈ 0.7 × 100 + 0.3 × 0 = 70, which is below the certain 90. The risky route only wins if enforcement is very unlikely (below about 10%).
Beyond the arithmetic, the rule exists for a reason (accountability for the submission), and deliberately circumventing it is a conduct issue, not just a tactical one. Judgement: do not submit through a non-nominated member. Take the certain 10% penalty, and document the emergency so the group can ask for leniency through the proper channel.
3. Suppose the group instead submits on Saturday at 09:00 through Layla. The deadline was Friday 17:00. Calculate the penalty under '10% per day or part-day' and state the maximum mark the report can receive if it is graded 78/100 before penalty.
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Time late: from Friday 17:00 to Saturday 09:00 = 16 hours.
The rule is 'per day or part-day', so any part of a day counts as a full day. 16 hours is more than 0 but less than 24, so it is 1 part-day → 1 day late → 10% penalty.
Penalty = 10% of 78 = 7.8 marks. Maximum mark = 78 − 7.8 = 70.2/100.
Note the trap: a student might compute '16 hours is less than a day, so no penalty' or '16/24 of a day = 6.7% penalty.' Both are wrong - 'part-day' means the full 10% applies as soon as the deadline is passed at all. The lesson is to read the penalty clause literally.