The sheet columns

It is helpful to appreciate that for most of the columns, you are answering a yes/no question, where tick means `yes', cross means `no', and ``E'' means `no but excused'.

1. Attendance at [session date and time] This is a tick, a cross, or an E.
   • tick means the student was there. This should never be entered in advance of the session: do you have a crystal ball?! If you are tempted to write a tick in advance, you probably should really be writing an E - see below.
   • cross means the student was not there, and has (so far) given no suitable explanation.
   • E means the student was not there but has given an acceptable excuse (ill, etc.). You must briefly write the excuse in the margin or at the bottom of the sheet. Attendance excuses are usually recorded in retrospect, e.g. when the student next attends, but might be given through a friend (say) at the time of absence. Attendance excuses can also be given in advance of the session, which means the student is (probably) not going to be there but has given an acceptable explanation (e.g. a job interview, or prolonged illness). Typically the Laboratory Book contains the sheet for the session following the current one to enable such advance things to be recorded.
   Once the session has passed, a blank is interpreted as a cross, so you don't need to worry about putting crosses in here, but feel free to.

2. Completed by [session date and time] This is recording whether the work was completed by the deadline (i.e. without the need for an extension). It is a tick or a cross.
   • tick means the student did complete the work by the end of the session. This may be recorded in advance of the session if the student is working ahead.
   • cross means the student did not complete the work by the end of the session.
   Once the session has passed, a blank is interpreted as a cross, so you don't need to worry about putting crosses in here. But you must tick here if the student does complete on time.

3. Extension to [extended deadline date and time] This records whether the student asked for the extension (usually to the start of the next session). It is a tick, a cross, an E or a hyphen.
   • hyphen means the student did not need the extension (i.e. there is a tick in the previous column).
   • tick means the student did need the extension and did ask for it.
   • cross means the student did need the extension but did not ask for it (this means their work will be flagged as late).
   • E means the student is excused for not asking, (i.e. you retrospectively turned a cross into an excuse). Please briefly write the excuse in the margin or at the bottom of the sheet.
   Once the session has passed, a blank is interpreted as either a hyphen or a cross depending on whether there is a tick in the previous column (the work was completed by the deadline) or not. So you don't need to worry about putting crosses (or hyphens) in here. But, you must put a tick if the student does ask for the extension.

   A tick (or even a cross) is interpreted as a hyphen if the student has a tick in the previous column (completed by the deadline), so you don't need to worry about scribbling out a tick if the student unexpectedly manages to complete in time.

   A student may not be given the extension, nor an excuse for not having asked for the extension, if they have a cross in the attendance column. So, if an absent student retrospectively wants the extension, he or she must first explain the absence! If you accept (and record) this excuse for being absent, the student is automatically given the extension.

4. Completed by [extension date and time] This records whether the work was completed by the extended deadline. It is a tick, a cross, an E, or an S.
   • tick means the student did complete the work by the extended deadline (usually the start of the next session).
   • cross means the student did not complete the work by the extended deadline, and has not (yet) been excused. The work is thus flagged late.
   • E means the student did not complete the work by the extended deadline but has been excused by you (or the Laboratory Manager) for a good reason. This excuse gives the student an extra extension until the excuse expiry date, usually this is one more session. If the work is not completed by then the excuse automatically expires. You must briefly write the excuse in the margin or at the bottom of the sheet.
   • S (special excuse) means the student has been given a specifically negotiated extra extension - only the Laboratory Manager may award this, as it is meant for special cases that we should know about. If the S appears in lower case, it has been manually expired by the Laboratory Manager.
   Once the session has passed, a blank is interpreted as a tick for those who completed it by the end of the original session, or as a cross for those who did not. This means you must put a tick here if the student does complete the work by the extended deadline.

5. Or completion date This records the date the work was completed if it was after the extended deadline (including perhaps, on the same day as the extended deadline, but after the start of the session on that day). It is either a hyphen or a date.
   • a hyphen means the student completed the work by the original deadline, or by the extended deadline.
   • a date means the work was completed on that date, and that date is after the extended deadline. Note that the extended deadline is the start of a session (usually the one after the original deadline). Work completed on the day of the extended deadline, but after the start of the session, should be noted by putting a cross in column 4 (completed by extended deadline) and the date of the extended deadline in column 5 (completion date). The date is written in `dd/mm' format, with an optional `/yy' (if the year is omitted, then the date is automatically treated as being in the correct academic year for that laboratory).
   A blank is interpreted as a hyphen for those who completed by the original deadline or the extended deadline. You must write a date here for any hand-in after the (time of) the extended deadline: it will be crucial in any retrospective excuse negotiation.

6. The mark This is the raw exercise mark: please do not turn it into a percentage etc..

   Whenever you accept work for marking from the student you must always put an entry in one of the `Completed by [session date and time]', `Completed by [extension date and time]', or `Or completion date' columns as appropriate. This must be done immediately, even if the work is actually going to be marked some time later.

7. The Late flag This may appear in the mark column once the sheet has been processed by the computer. It means the student did not complete on time; and either did not ask for the extension, or did not complete by the extended deadline (without an excuse), or did have an excuse for not completing by the extended deadline but that excuse has expired. (In the latter case, the Late flag may not appear immediately as sheets are only reprinted if the data on them is changed.)

   If a student comes to you and argues that his or her work should not be flagged late, and you agree, there is no point simply crossing out the Late flag: you must fix the cause of it.