University of Regina English professor Marcel DeCoste is worried about a new system for evaluating high school students in Saskatoon. (CBC)

A University of Regina professor says he's concerned about a new Saskatoon public school division approach to student evaluation — one where students don't necessarily receive academic penalties for late reports or plagiarism.

What's going on in Saskatoon public high schools is different from schools in Regina and other centres, where students are docked marks for late reports and plagiarism can result in a mark of zero.

Instead, late assignments and plagiarism are considered bad behaviors — reported in student evaluations, but not reflected in academic assessments.

However, U of R English professor Marcel DeCoste says such an approach does not prepare students for the real world of university.

He says he has noticed a trend over the past few years — fewer and fewer students seem to be entering university with the skills they need to survive.

Saskatoon's decision to not penalize bad behaviour with academic penalties will tend to make matters worse, he said.

"These behaviours are the things that are going to get you into trouble," DeCoste said. "If you're not showing up to class, if you're not handing in your stuff on time, if you get caught plagiarizing, that's going to lead to very disastrous consequences in the university setting."

If the Saskatoon approach catches on, it'll be bad news for universities and the students themselves, he said.

However, Saskatoon school officials are defending the change in approach, saying the new grading policy will not lower academic standards.

John Dewar, a superintendent with the division, says research shows punishing students doesn't work.

"'Are they going to be more inclined with more penalties to hand things in?' I think, is part of the philosophical debate here," Dewar said. "Or is it ... if they're encouraged and see the value in and relevancy of the learning and they're clear on why they're doing it ... there's a real greater likelihood that there should be fewer late assignments."

Even with the new system, there will be consequences for late work, Dewar said.

Such behaviour will be noted on the student's report card, but not on the academic assessment. Students will eventually have to buckle down and get the work done or they won't get the marks, he added.