Incomplete Grades

A student who is unable to complete final assignments in light of serious, documented medical or extenuating circumstances (e.g. incapacitating illness, injury, accident, or death of an immediate family member) may ask the instructor for an Incomplete grade through an academic petition.  Incomplete grades are normally granted when a student is currently earning a passing grade and has completed the majority of the work at the time of the Incomplete request, and the withdrawal deadline has passed.  Spring semester requests should be submitted by the end of Reading Day, Fall and Summer requests should be submitted by Monday of the last week of classes.  An Incomplete may not be requested after final grades are due, unless there are verifiable extenuating circumstances.

To start the Incomplete request process, the student must submit an academic petition.  A separate petition is required for each request.  The student may be required to submit documentation at the instructor’s request to the Academic Success Center (for undergraduates) or the Graduate School (for graduate students).  The office will confirm receipt of the supporting documentation with the students’ instructors.  Only in exceptional circumstances will the University grant an Incomplete not initiated by the student.  Instructors may wish to consult with the respective assistant dean of their college in instances of student incapacity.

The assignment of an Incomplete is solely at the discretion of the instructor, who determines that the student has met eligibility requirements as outlined by the policy and who will indicate the terms for course completion in the academic petition.  Those terms include a list of all outstanding assignments, a deadline date (if different from the standard one-month submission due date for Incomplete grades), and relevant logistical information (communication preferences and instructions for the submission of make-up work).

All Incomplete work must be submitted to the instructor by the 20th of the month following the last normal examination date of the semester in which the grade is incurred or the grade of I converts to an F. For fall semester incomplete grades, this is January 20th; for spring, June 20th; and for summer, September 20th. If the precipitating circumstances behind the initial Incomplete request continue, an extension may be granted with supporting documentation to the appropriate assistant dean.  Instructors should follow the University’s grade change procedures when changing an Incomplete grade.