Incomplete Policy and Guidelines

Incomplete Policy

as revised and approved by Faculty Senate on March 1, 2016

An Incomplete Grade may be assigned by an instructor when exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent a student from finishing all work required in a class. The student must, apart from the work to be completed, be passing the class. The instructor must replace the “I” within the next session (fall or spring semester). If the instructor does not replace the “I” with a grade within the stated time, or the student chooses to graduate without completing the class, the “I” will be changed to “X.” Plan to resolve an Incomplete Grade within one semester must be filed and approved by the Associate Dean.

To award the grade of Incomplete, the following items should be addressed.

  • Incompletes should typically only be granted to students when the circumstances requiring the incomplete take place after the withdrawal deadline.
  • Report of Incomplete form should be completed and submitted by the instructor no later than two weeks following the final grade deadline. The report includes expectations and deadlines for completion of the class and requires signatures from the instructor, student, and associate dean of the instructor’s college.
  • Students who are awarded an incomplete grade in a class should not re-enroll the following semester, nor should they attend the class the following semester. The grade “incomplete” is only appropriate for students who can complete the class work on their own. It is inappropriate for students who must sit through the class again to complete it. In those cases, it may be appropriate to award a late withdrawal instead. Then the student would be free to re-enroll.
    • In special circumstances, the work required to complete the course may need to be done in a laboratory session. In such cases, the instructor, in consultation with their department chair, may advise the student to enroll in a section using a non-credit option, allowing the student a seat in the lab to complete any assignments required to remove his or her incomplete grade.
  • By no later than the deadline indicated in the report of incomplete form, the instructor will replace the “I” with a grade by completing the Change of Grade form. Incomplete Removal Forms designed by the colleges will no longer be used.
  • The current Change of Grade form states “Clerical error on the part of the instructor is the only reason for a grade change.” The instructor replacing an incomplete grade should state “Replacement of Incomplete Grade” in the Instructor’s statement. In the future, the Change of Grade form will be adjusted accordingly.
  • Transcripts are final once a degree is awarded. Incomplete Grades cannot be removed or replaced once a student graduates.