Incomplete Courses

Incomplete Courses

In rare cases, students may request a grade of Incomplete (I) if they are unable to complete all the required assignments and/or exams in a course. A grade of Incomplete serves as a course extension which allows the student to complete any outstanding work by a given deadline. Incomplete grades may only be granted to students who have completed the majority of required coursework, have an overall passing grade in the course, and were unable to complete the course due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control.

Approval and Contract

Requests for Incomplete grades must be submitted in writing to the instructor. If the instructor approves the request, a contract will be created with the terms of the course extension. The exact terms, including the deadline, will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the instructor. The maximum length of time that may be granted for a course extension is one year. General education courses taken through Portage Learning may only be extended one additional week.

Incomplete grades are at the discretion of each instructor. They are under no obligation to assign a grade of Incomplete for a course. All Incomplete grades must be reviewed and approved by the director of academic affairs or a senior-level academic administrator.

Implications for Transcript and CGPA

If approved, the Incomplete grade will appear on the student’s transcript, but it will not impact the student’s CGPA. Once the outstanding coursework is completed, the grade of Incomplete will be replaced by the final course grade. If the student does not abide by the terms of the contract, or complete the coursework by the given deadline, the Incomplete grade will automatically be replaced with an F. An Incomplete grade must be converted to a regular grade (A-F). It cannot be converted to a W.

Potential Consequences

Prerequisite courses are not considered complete if a student has a grade of Incomplete. Students are not permitted to take courses requiring prerequisites if they have not earned a passing grade in all prerequisite courses. Students are also not permitted to graduate with an Incomplete on their transcript. All incomplete courses must be resolved before a student’s graduation can be certified.

Incomplete grades do not impact a student’s CGPA, but they may impact a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress and/or financial aid eligibility. Please contact the financial aid department to discuss the potential consequences of an Incomplete course.