Assigning Incomplete Grades
Authority and Eligibility
Instructors must submit final grades for every student in the course by the Registrar’s grading deadline. If a student requests an Incomplete grade, the instructor has sole discretion to issue an Incomplete or not. Academic Advisors and College Deans have no authority over grading.
Academic Senate Regulation 500.B states that an instructor may file an I (Incomplete) only if the student has completed the majority of the coursework at a passing level and only for documented reasons beyond the student’s control (illness, housing insecurity, and family emergency, for example). An instructor may not grant a request for an Incomplete except as described above.
Do not assign an Incomplete grade unless the student specifically asks and meets the conditions for an Incomplete.
Documentation
It is appropriate to ask students for documentation to verify the situation. Examples for a health reason could be a visit summary from hospitalization or a letter from their health provider verifying an illness. Students may redact sensitive health information, and instructors may not contact health providers for additional information. Examples for a family emergency could be an obituary or death notice, or travel documents showing they returned home for an emergency. Other examples of documentation could be an eviction notice or court documents.
The Request to Receive Grade “Incomplete” form (PDF) is not required by campus to be used (note: some departments, particularly Physics, does require this to be completed for internal processes). This form can be used as a tool to guide conversations between the student and professor to ensure a solid plan is in place.
Grade Lapse / Deadlines
The deadline for a student to request an Incomplete is the first working day after the final examination week.
Students have until the last day of finals of the next regular quarter to complete the work - but instructors are allowed to set an earlier deadline.
The grade will automatically change to an F grade at the end of Week 10 of the following quarter, but students do have until the end of Finals week. Exact dates are posted on the Registrar’s Enrollment and Registration Calendar.
Example:
A Spring Incomplete grade must be requested by Monday after Finals week.
The professor may set a date in mid-summer to finish the work. If not, the student has until the end of the following regular quarter (Fall) to finish the Incomplete work.
The I grade (if not already changed by the instructor through eGrades) will lapse to an F on Friday of Week 10 of Fall.
The student can finish the work through Saturday of Fall Finals Week (and the instructor will still be able to submit a grade change through eGrades)
If you Forgot to Assign an Incomplete Grade
If an instructor submits the final grades for a course before the student requests an Incomplete, or if the instructor forgets to enter the Incomplete grade, the final grade cannot simply be changed to an Incomplete in eGrades.
In these cases, the student will need to submit a petition for a retroactive grade change through the Academic Senate Educational Policy Committee process, in order for the final grade to be changed to “I”. Consult your department advising/student affairs staff for more information.