At the University of Sussex, the annual dissertation dash has become a grand tradition.

It is known as the "five o'clock run" and the "run of shame", as thousands of arts students have to hand in their coursework by 5pm on the same day. Those who have already done so watch with amusement as others make a mad rush for Mandela Hall to beat the deadline. As five o'clock draws closer, the cheers get louder. In fact, those who are too cool to run are booed for not providing enough entertainment.

This year, as in previous years, several students did mock runs.

These included the classic "student tripping up and dissertation going everywhere" spectacle, to the man dressed as a giant squirrel who was fed a pint before being allowed to continue on his furry way.

While they may not be as grand and as entertaining as at Sussex, as spring gives way to summer, thousands of university students across the country are making frantic efforts to submit coursework and dissertations before deadlines.

For those who are unable to make it on time, there is the agony of scouring for doctors' sick notes, filling out extenuating circumstances forms and waiting to see if their appeals will be granted.

There are old standbys - illness, complications in foreign travel arrangements, family crises - but also new ones. Hard drives and computer viruses, not dogs, eat homework these days.

One student at a London-based university told his lecturer he was stuck on the Swiss Alps on a skiing trip.

Some lecturers complain that late submissions, and the excuse-making that goes with them, are on the increase.

Many lump the trend in with alleged grade inflation, a growing sense of student entitlement and a mollycoddling campus culture, in which lecturers are expected to act more like friends and therapists than teachers.

"Some students nowadays treat their studies as some kind of service," said a senior lecturer who wished to remain anonymous.

"They think because they are paying tuition fees, lecturers have to be more understanding.

"There are also pressure from some university administrators who want lecturers to act as counsellors to students.

"It is not my problem if a student cannot pay his gas and electricity bills. He has to hand in his work on time. Students in the past were more serious than in these days of mass education and tuition fees."

Students say it is unfair to call them less committed than previous generations.

They suggest university should be more about showing you have the knowledge to further yourself academically than the ability to meet deadlines.

"I believe the commitment needed to embark on a project which will land you with tens of thousands of pounds of debt is greater than was necessary for people who knew the government would pay more towards the cost of their studies," said Nick Scott, a spokesman for University of Sussex Student Union.

"Some of the best academics are extremely poor time-keepers and are not good at meeting deadlines."

For tutors, extension requests pose real dilemmas. Nowadays, many students have families and jobs. Are they better served by a compassionate extension or a harsh lesson on deadlines? Is granting extensions fair to students who turn in work on time?

Ray Jobling, a senior tutor at St John's College, Cambridge, said: "These days computer problems in the final run-up to a submission do occur."

Where necessary, professional advice was available on whether allowances should be made, he added.

Dr Nick Selby, senior lecturer on American studies at Glasgow University, has a tough policy on extensions, demanding a lawyer's letter and medical certificates to corroborate students' stories.

"Students sometimes cite the lack of availability of books in the library, though I always see this as a poor excuse and evidence of bad planning, and poor research skills," he said.

"Of course, the books won't be there if they start the essay the night before it's due."

But Dr Selby sometimes makes exceptions. "One of the most compelling excuses I had was from a single-parent student whose teenage son was appearing in court as a defendant, having been beaten up."

As increasing numbers of students graduate with first- and upper second-class degrees, Dr Selby believes accusations of grade inflation and declining quality are untrue.

Students have become better time-managers, he says, and are probably more suited to the workplace, certainly not less so.

"At the moment, the evidence for such a 'trend' is merely anecdotal. I have seen no real evidence to support an idea of declining standards," he said.

"Yes, standards are changing - but that's entirely different from declining. Academics have always complained about the declining abilities of their students, and especially about how little they seem to have been taught at school."