The short answer
At RMIT University, 10% of the total mark deducted per day, zero after seven days. Extensions are normally available if you apply before the deadline with grounds the university recognises. A capped pass is almost always better than a non-submission, because it still earns the credit. Policies are revised, so confirm the current version in your handbook.
The rule at RMIT
10% of the total mark deducted per day, zero after seven days. Submissions go through Canvas, and the cutoff is enforced by the system rather than by a person, so a submission at one minute past is late in exactly the same way as one a day past.
RMIT publishes its own Harvard variant through the library, and its 10% per day penalty runs to seven days after which the submission scores zero regardless of quality.
What capping actually means
Capping means the mark is reduced to the bare pass regardless of quality. A capped First and a capped Third are worth the same. This is why a late submission that would have scored well is the most expensive kind of late, and why an extension applied for in advance is worth far more than extra time taken without one.
Applying for an extension
- Apply before the deadline. Almost every institution treats a late application very differently from an early one.
- Grounds that usually qualify: illness, bereavement, caring responsibilities, significant personal circumstances.
- Grounds that usually do not: workload, poor planning, multiple deadlines in one week, technology failures you could have avoided.
- Evidence is normally required. A medical note, a letter, something dated.
- Ask your module leader or student support if you are unsure. Asking costs nothing.
If the deadline is tonight
Submit something. A partial submission that is marked is worth more than a perfect one that never arrives, and it protects you from a non-submission zero. Then apply for the extension anyway if you have grounds.
Where we come in
If the deadline is the problem rather than the writing, send us the brief. We will tell you honestly whether it is achievable at RMIT before you commit, and nothing is charged until the work is delivered.