"I Don't Want to Seem Like a Burden to Them": Exploring the Emotions Behind Students Asking for Extensions and Excused Absences

Students can experience intense emotions when approaching a professor about an extension on an assignment or an excused absence. Among the available research on student excuse-making, little is available on the feelings that students have leading up to and after approaching professors. This study seeks to fill that gap through a qualitative analysis of 25 interviews. Initial findings show that students tend to get emotions of nervousness and anxiety leading up to asking for an extension. The findings also indicate students feel emotions such as disappointment and regret for wanting to ask and not asking.