Time of Submission: An Indicator of Procrastination and a Correlate of Performance on Undergraduate Marketing Assignments

Research that relates academic procrastination to student performance relies on self-completed questionnaires. This study seeks to identify an immediate, non-intrusive indicator (based on actual behavior) of procrastination. The three hypotheses exploring time of submission versus marks awarded are supported, thus demonstrating a significant relationship between time of submission and academic performance. The study further contributes by demonstrating that delayed but still pre-deadline submission due to procrastination has serious and detrimental effects on performance. Our conclusions suggest that if this poor study habit can be eradicated in the students’ first year, it may aid their degree classifications and employability.