• Group by whatever makes sense for your material: by week, by topic unit, by module
• Separate and group assignments, assessments, activities, etc. into small chunks
• Shorter chunks work better than longer chunks (breaking longer assignments into shorter chucks helps students with time-management)
• Account for the difficulty of the material and length of assignments
• Some prefer giving the same type of assignments each week (Db, paper, test), while others like greater variation in types of assignments each week

• Create a calendar with dates for each chuck and due dates for all assignments
• Don't forget to account for holidays and Spring break
• Progression 1:
  • some prefer that all content in the entire course be available at the start so students can plan ahead
  • some prefer making only current material available to make the workload seem less overwhelming
• Progression 2:
  • some prefer a system where assignments within each chunk can be completed in any order
  • some prefer "adaptive release" where certain assignments must be completed before the next
• Progression 3:
  • few have tried a "non-building" approach where any work in the course can be completed in any order (but this would depend on the course content and purpose - and see difficulties below)
• All assignments and due dates should be finalized and posted in your course on the first day of class (any late changes should have an accompanying announcement)

Deadlines

• Specify exact due dates/deadlines
• Make assignments unavailable after the deadline (unless you allow for late work)
• Include multiple midweek/mid-module deadlines (or reminders) to help with students' time-management
• Make deadlines on weekdays rather than weekends (there is less traffic and less Bb/SafeAssign slowdown) and during the daytime (when the Help Desk is available)
• Remind students to work regularly in your announcements - not only about weekly assignment deadlines, but also non-assignment tasks like reading, working on longer projects, studying for exams, etc.
• Some have included no deadlines and have allowed students to work through the entire course without any date constraints (except for the end of the course) - this is a self-paced approach (but here the class is out-of-synch with each other, especially in Dbs, and this makes it difficult for the instructor to track and grade students)
• Establish clear policies and penalties for late work (see Assessment area)