Some students are used to flexible due dates and making excuses to gain extra time to complete assignments. At the beginning of the semester, outline the policy for late work and stick to it strictly. Part of the goal of college is to teach students professional work habits to prepare them for the job market. Late work rarely is accepted on the job, so it should not be accepted in college either. In addition, students should provide documentation to provide evidence that their absences were necessary, because they will be expected to document absences in the workplace.
College students should be prepared to work independently. Because they spend much less time in class in college than in high school, they will have to complete their work on their own time. Provide a detailed schedule that outlines when the students should be working on specific projects or assignments. Remind them about the due dates in class and provide guidance for completing the assignments. After that, the students must be responsible for their own work.
Outline the expectations for the students' work. Explain the standards for quality, such as the page count, formatting guidelines, showing their work, controlling errors and other standards. Then, hold them to these standards. Reward work that meets the guidelines with good grades and take points away from work that fails to meet the guidelines. The students usually will work to improve their assignments and rise to meet your expectations, which teaches them professional work habits.
Understanding academic honesty standards and adhering to them is a large part of the responsibilities of a college student. Many students who plagiarize work do so because they haven't taken responsibility for completing their work on time, or because they haven't taken responsibility for learning how to complete the assignment. Check for plagiarism on your own, or by using plagiarism software. Follow the policies outlined by your university for reporting violations of the policy of academic honesty.