Let students know if, and under what circumstances, you will accept late work. Will you allow a late submission for fewer points? Just as it does for us, sometimes other responsibilities compete with school responsibilities, consider allowing students to turn in an assignment late once. This is sometimes called an “oops token.” Rather than completely missing out on an assignment, this allows students the chance to demonstrate their learning and recognizes their lives outside of the classroom. An alternate that is commonly used is to allow a student to drop the lowest of a group of assignments (e.g., drop the lowest of ten problem sets).
Do you allow makeup work? If so, be sure to let the students know what steps they need to follow, like advance notice, or an alternate assignment to replace the grade. While many faculty request evidence of an excused absence for make-up work, consider if in the first instance (or in which situations) that requirement might be waived. For example, an instructor I know does not ask for evidence of class absences, but students who miss must submit an alternate assignment for the attendance points—basically, it’s more work to miss than come!