6.20.2. Incomplete Policy

The grade of “I” (Incomplete) may be assigned at the end of a semester when conditions beyond the control of the student preclude completing course work on time. In such cases the student must have demonstrated passing efforts on completed course work and must be able to complete the unfinished work without further class attendance.

The grade of “I” can only be assigned if the instructor of record and/or the student agree that the “I” grade is appropriate, and a proper incomplete application is submitted. In general, incompletes are appropriate when the student has completed enough work to successfully pass the class and needs additional time to finish final outstanding assignments. Students generally initiate the process by submitting the online form requesting the incomplete, which has to be started before the grading deadline for the course in question. The form is then routed to the instructor of record to review. If the faculty member approves that an “I” is appropriate, the faculty member will be required to specify the expected remaining work that must be completed and indicate what grade the student has earned in the class if no further work is ever submitted. Finally, the instructor will indicate a due date for all remaining missing work; that date cannot exceed the midpoint of the next regular (meaning fall or spring, but not summer) semester. If no date is specified in the contract, the due date for all missing work will automatically be the midpoint of the next regular semester. The registrar’s office will notify the student when the instructor has agreed to the “I” grade and will send the student all the details outlined above that were provided by the instructor.

Students must complete all required work by the due date; otherwise, the current grade indicated on the contract will be recorded. The grade “I” has no effect on the GPA, and no credit is awarded. Degrees cannot be conferred if there are outstanding Incomplete grades on a student’s record.

The grade “I” may not be assigned in any course for a student who is currently on academic probation (see Sec. 6.22.2.2.). The registrar should not accept Incomplete contracts for students currently on academic probation. Instead, the instructor should be advised to simply assign whatever grade is appropriate in light of the missing course work. If a student on academic probation is inadvertently assigned the grade of “I,” the registrar will automatically convert that grade to an “F” for purposes of being able to evaluate the academic standing of the student.