Incomplete Grades

The following information about “I” grades is provided to guide the decision making process on assessing the appropriateness of assigning an “I” grade at a student’s request.

An incomplete grade may be assigned at the discretion of the instructor as an interim grade for a course in which the student has...

• completed a major portion of the course with a passing grade
• been unable to complete course requirements before the end of the term (e.g. before the final exam is taken) because of extenuating circumstances
• obtained agreement from the instructor and arranged for resolution of the incomplete grade.

“I” grades are not to be used when the student is doing less than satisfactory work in a class and the instructor “wants to provide them another chance to do better.” Instructors are not required to assign incomplete grades.

The “I” grade arrangement should...

• stipulate all conditions for completing the course and earning a letter grade
• include a specific expiration date for the arrangement
• designate a grade to be assigned for incomplete work
• be recorded on a standard contract form (Appendix C: Incomplete Grade Contract)
• be kept in a file in the department’s main office
• be monitored to ensure appropriate grade changes are made by the end of the following semester

If make-up work requires classroom or laboratory attendance in a subsequent term, the student should not register for the course again. Instead, the student must audit the course and pay course fees. Students who need to audit a course should be referred to the Registrar’s office to complete the audit registration process.

If make-up work does NOT require classroom or laboratory attendance, the instructor and student should decide on an appropriate plan and deadline for completing the course. When the course is completed or the arrangement has expired, the instructor will submit a change of grade to the Office of the University Registrar. An “I” grade should not be assigned to a student who never attended class; instead, instructors may assign a failing grade or no grade at all, which will result in assignment of N*.

The only time a letter grade should be changed to an “I” is when the instructor made an error in the grade. For example, he or she has an “I” grade arrangement on file for the student, but forgot and recorded an “E” instead. The College will approve such grade changes only when a clear instructor error has occurred and when the grade is submitted with a copy of the “I” grade arrangement, which must be dated prior to the final exam period for the course.

These procedures cannot be used to repeat a course for a different grade.