Incomplete Grades

Incomplete Policy for Undergraduates

An incomplete may be given to a student who has carried a subject successfully until near the end of the semester but, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond that student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work.  An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above. 

A course marked incomplete must be completed during the next succeeding semester, excluding summer sessions and UWinterim. If the student does not remove the incomplete during this period, the report of “I” will lapse to “F”. With approval of the instructor, additional time may be granted through a request to the instructor for an Extended Incomplete (“EI”), including cases where the “I” lapsed to “F”. The determination to assign an “EI” grade is at the sole discretion of the instructor or, if an instructor cannot be contacted, the department chair.  The “EI” grade will lapse to “F” after one calendar year unless a final grade is awarded or another extension is requested by the instructor or department. 

Incomplete (“I”) or Extended Incomplete (“EI”) courses may not be used to satisfy degree requirements. Incomplete (“I”) or Extended Incomplete (“EI”) courses will be converted to Permanent Incomplete (“PI”) prior to degree posting if not required for graduation. 

The PI does not change the impact of the ‘F’ grade on the student’s record. It is equivalent to earning the lapsed F(@F) grade in terms of how it affects the student’s GPA and GPA credits. 

Incomplete Policy for Graduate Students

An “I” (Incomplete) may be assigned by the instructor if a student is unable to finish all the course requirements during the original semester of enrollment. An Incomplete course status designation is appropriate only when the following conditions are present:  

1. The student has done satisfactory work in a substantial fraction of the course requirements prior to grading time and provides the instructor with evidence of potential success in the remaining work.  
2. Extraordinary circumstances, not related to performance in the class, such as illness or a family emergency, have prevented the student from finishing the course requirements on time.  

An Incomplete will not be given to enable a student to do additional work to improve a grade.  

The instructor may deny a request for an Incomplete and assign a grade based on the work completed at that point. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate a request for an Incomplete. Reasons for requesting the Incomplete must be acceptable to the instructor. If approved, the instructor will indicate the conditions for the removal of the Incomplete, including the date for submitting all remaining work.  

The student also is responsible for seeing that the Incomplete is removed by the deadline and that the instructor has reported the grade to the Graduate School.  

The instructor may change the “I” to a grade (including an “F”) or to a “PI” (Permanent Incomplete) if the remaining work is not submitted by the deadline for completion.  

If the remaining work is not completed within one year of the end of the term of original registration for the course, the Incomplete will be administratively changed to a Permanent Incomplete (“PI”). (A “PI” is not computed into the grade point average.) Except in cases where the work was completed, but the instructor neglected or was unable to file a grade change in time, the “PI” will remain on the student’s record.  

If the instructor and the Graduate Program Representative support it, the Graduate School will automatically approve a petition for a PI grade change within one year of the assigning of the PI. No extensive justification is required within this time period. If the instructor is no longer available, the Chair of the department for that course must approve the change, along with the Graduate Program Representative.  

A student who wishes to receive credit for a course in which a “PI” has been recorded, where one year has passed since the assigning of the PI, or where the instructor or graduate program does not support a request for a PI grade change, must register again for the course and satisfy the requirements for the course as set forth under the second registration. A student may not register for a course in which an “I” remains on record.  

A student may graduate with a course outcome status of “PI”, provided that all degree requirements have been met. All Incompletes must be changed to grades or Permanent Incompletes before a student may graduate.  

March 18, 1976

Original

May 12, 1987

Revised

April 21, 1998

Revised

November 21, 2002

Revised

June 1, 2015

Reviewed

June 4, 2019

Revised

September 1, 2021

Revised

May 25, 2022

Revised