There are several studies showing that hard deadlines usually result in better performance and higher completion rates, so you're not alone[1]. It also has the advantage of creating a community on the same page as you are.
So there's no clear-cut answer. Making hard deadlines optional could very well cause more damage and less completion even if it's better for a few individuals. I hope that Coursera is collecting analytics on how people perform with different types of deadlines, so that they can come up with the best overall solution.
So there's no clear-cut answer. Making hard deadlines optional could very well cause more damage and less completion even if it's better for a few individuals. I hope that Coursera is collecting analytics on how people perform with different types of deadlines, so that they can come up with the best overall solution.
[1]: http://pss.sagepub.com/content/13/3/219.short