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200,000+ extensions handled
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17,000+ admin hours avoided
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Improved assignment submission rate
Swinburne Online faced significant challenges managing extension requests from over 10,000 part-time students and hundreds of teachers. The process was unstructured and unsecured, with thousands of emails being sent by students to their teachers. These emails often lacked critical information, were time-consuming to read, and led to inconsistencies in how extension requests were handled. Swinburne Online aimed to ensure fair treatment for all students and dramatically reduce the administrative burden on teachers, allowing them to focus on high-value teaching activities.
Swinburne Online implemented EzExtend in 2021 across its student body with zero disruption. The rollout was communicated via a simple LMS announcement and the student newsletter, requiring no additional training for students.
Configuration options included:
- Automated approval for short-term requests (48-hour extensions)
- A long-term extension window of up to 28 day
- A request window from 14 days before to 2 days after the due date
- Supporting evidence document uploads
- Daily summary emails instead of notifications for each request
The implementation of EzExtend led to immediate benefits for Swinburne Online including:
- Reduced Email Volume: Teachers experienced a significant reduction in emails from students, lowering their mental load and workload.
- Time Savings: On average, teachers saved 10 to 13 minutes per request. With over 100,000 requests processed so far, this equates to more than 17,000 hours of saved administrative time.
- Improved Submission Rates: There were measurable improvements in student submission rates, supported by positive feedback regarding the ease and transparency of the extension process.
EzExtend was an instant boost to productivity, and a reduction in workload for our busy teaching team. I can’t imagine going back to manually handling extensions. The experience is better for everyone, and the data it produces has helped inform many actionable insights. – Dr. Samar Zutshi, Academic Director, Swinburne Online
