With the growing number of students at colleges and universities who are considered nontraditional, creating an equitable classroom characterized by Universal Design for Learning has become increasingly important in higher education. In this mixed-methods exploratory study, we assess the impact of implementing flexible deadline policies into our…

Undergraduates reported the impact of pedagogical practices on their perceived stress. Overall, clustered deadlines, unclear instructions, pop quizzes, high-stakes assignments, and cold calling created the most stress. Policies that allow grade recovery, clear instructions, feeling known by the professor, and flexible deadlines alleviated the most…