Two students and a professor are discussing extending assignment deadlines during sports tournaments. Lucy (Student) As someone who competes in tournaments regularly, I can say it's incredibly tough to balance training, travel, and coursework. I think athletes deserve a bit of flexibility maybe deadline extensions when there's a clash with major events. It's not about special treatment, just levelling the playing field. Adam (Student) I hear what you're saying, Lucy, but I worry that extensions could give some students an unfair advantage. If athletes get more time while others are stuck to the original deadline, that might skew grades. Peer workload impact needs to be considered too group assignments especially get complicated. Prof. Morgan (Professor) You both raise valid points. Our goal should be to support student-athletes while maintaining fairness. I've looked at previous extension data, and while not rampant, the current ad hoc approach creates confusion. We need a policy that's clear, equitable, and sensitive to both sides. Lucy (Student) Exactly, and the tournament schedules are usually published well in advance. Professors could plan accordingly or at least allow students to request an extension early. We're not asking for open ended deadlines, just a reasonable adjustment aligned with official commitments. Adam (Student) That makes it a bit better, I suppose. If there's a structured process based on tournament schedules and it's monitored like limiting the number of extensions per term then maybe it won't spiral. It still needs to be transparent, so other students aren't left guessing who gets what. Prof Morgan (Professor) What if we introduce fairness guidelines extensions granted only when tournaments clash directly with due dates, and only if students notify ahead of time? We could even include a clause to ensure group work remains unaffected, perhaps by assigning alternate individual tasks. Lucy (Student) That sounds reasonable. Maybe we could also review athlete performance after receiving extensions to ensure the policy isn't misused. If the grades stay consistent and there's no drop in overall submission quality' that's evidence it's working as intended. Adam (Student) And I'd suggest keeping a record of who uses the policy and how often. Peer perception matters. If we see too many students relying on it, then it's probably time to reassess. Otherwise, a one semester trial seems fair enough to test it out. Prof. Morgan (Professor) Agreed. I'll draft a provisional policy outlining limited, pre-approved extensions for athletes during tournament periods, with fairness checks and performance tracking. We'll review its impact at the end of the semester and decide whether to revise, expand, or withdraw it. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion.