diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/pocs/views.py b/lms/djangoapps/pocs/views.py
index 62711aeb79..5d4bd4fa32 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/pocs/views.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/pocs/views.py
@@ -231,6 +231,22 @@ def set_grading_policy(request, course):
     return redirect(url)
 
 
+def validate_date(year, month, day, hour, minute):
+    # avoid corrupting db if bad dates come in
+    valid = True
+    if year < 0:
+        valid = False
+    if month < 1 or month > 12:
+        valid = False
+    if day < 1 or day > 31:
+        valid = False
+    if hour < 0 or hour > 23:
+        valid = False
+    if minute < 0 or minute > 59:
+        valid = False
+    return valid
+
+
 def parse_date(datestring):
     """
     Generate a UTC datetime.datetime object from a string of the form
@@ -240,8 +256,9 @@ def parse_date(datestring):
         date, time = datestring.split(' ')
         year, month, day = map(int, date.split('-'))
         hour, minute = map(int, time.split(':'))
-        return datetime.datetime(
-            year, month, day, hour, minute, tzinfo=pytz.UTC)
+        if validate_date(year, month, day, hour, minute):
+            return datetime.datetime(
+                year, month, day, hour, minute, tzinfo=pytz.UTC)
 
     return None
 
diff --git a/lms/templates/pocs/coach_dashboard.html b/lms/templates/pocs/coach_dashboard.html
index 1fb6e8f6d8..7f19666e02 100644
--- a/lms/templates/pocs/coach_dashboard.html
+++ b/lms/templates/pocs/coach_dashboard.html
@@ -14,6 +14,16 @@
   <%static:css group='style-course'/>
 </%block>
 
+<%block name="jsextra">
+  <script src="${static.url('js/vendor/timepicker/jquery.timepicker.js')}"></script>
+  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="${static.url('js/vendor/timepicker/jquery.timepicker.css')}" />
+  <style>
+    .ui-timepicker-list { z-index: 100000; }
+    .ui-datepicker { z-index: 100000 !important; }
+    input.date, input.time { width: auto !important; display: inline !important; }
+  </style>
+</%block>
+
 <%include file="/courseware/course_navigation.html" args="active_page='poc_coach'" />
 
 <section class="container">
diff --git a/lms/templates/pocs/schedule.html b/lms/templates/pocs/schedule.html
index 94788a7c6d..4e443a5c8a 100644
--- a/lms/templates/pocs/schedule.html
+++ b/lms/templates/pocs/schedule.html
@@ -70,10 +70,10 @@
       <h2></h2>
     </header>
     <form role="form">
-      <div class="field">
+      <div class="field" id="datepair">
         <label></label>
-        <input type="date" name="date"/>
-        <input type="time" name="time"/>
+        <input placeholder="Date" class="date" type="text" name="date"/ size="11">
+        <input placeholder="Time" class="time" type="text" name="time"/ size="6">
       </div>
       <div class="field">
         <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">${_('Set date')}</button>
@@ -138,6 +138,15 @@
 </div>
 
 <script>
+$('#datepair .time').timepicker({
+    'showDuration': true,
+    'timeFormat': 'G:i'
+});
+$('#datepair .date').datepicker({
+    'dateFormat': 'yy-mm-dd',
+    'autoclose': true
+});
+
 var poc_schedule = (function () {
   var save_url = '${save_url}';
   var schedule = ${schedule};
@@ -350,6 +359,16 @@ var poc_schedule = (function () {
         event.preventDefault();
         var date = $(this).find('input[name=date]').val(),
             time = $(this).find('input[name=time]').val();
+        var valid_date = new Date(date);
+        if (isNaN(valid_date.valueOf())) {
+          alert('Please enter a valid date');
+          return;
+        }
+        var valid_time = /^\d{1,2}:\d{2}?$/;
+        if (!time.match(valid_time)) {
+          alert('Please enter a valid time');
+          return;
+        }
         unit[what] = date + ' ' + time;
         modal.find('.close-modal').click();
         self.dirty = true;