Office of the Provost
Info For:
Academic Policies

Incomplete Grades (Undergraduate Students)

POLICY NUMBER: PO-50
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2020
REVISION DATE: N/A
SUPERSEDES: N/A
RESPONSIBLE EXECUTIVE: Provost

PURPOSE AND APPLICATION

This policy provides the process and guidelines for assigning an incomplete (INC) grade in a course for undergraduate students.

SPONSORING UNIT

Office of the Provost

STATEMENT OF POLICY

Drexel University students are expected to complete a course during the academic term in which the course was taken. However, a student, for reasons beyond their control may be unable to complete the coursework and as such, may have the opportunity to obtain an INC grade for the course under specific conditions and guidelines.

CONDITIONS

The assignment of the grade of Incomplete (INC) is a limited privilege. The decision to honor a student request for an Incomplete grade is at the discretion of the course instructor at the time the INC is requested.

The student and the instructor must enter into an Incomplete Contract and mutually agree upon the plan of work to be completed, and the date by which this plan of work will be completed. An instructor’s decision to offer the INC grade may appropriately consider the proposed student’s experience, academic performance in the course and demonstrated commitment to the subject matter. Students are required to make up the outstanding course material as negotiated per the incomplete contract, but generally not to exceed two quarters or one semester; extensions may be granted by the instructor with approval from the Office of the Provost.

If a final grade is not submitted by the date established with the course instructor in the Incomplete Grade Contract, the INC grade will become a failing grade (I/F) on the student's academic record; this grade will be reflected in the student’s GPA and will be considered as the final grade.

GUIDELINES

A Grade of Incomplete (INC) is a discretionary decision. Guidelines to enable successful course completion are recommended. These guidelines are:

  • The student has successfully completed most of the required course work (which should be between 70-80% of the course, depending on the level and content of the course) and in the estimation of the instructor, has a reasonable likelihood of completing the course material,
  • The student has maintained a passing grade of C or better for the completed material,
  • The instructor determines the student to have a legitimate reason to request an Incomplete grade

MISSING THE FINAL EXAM

If a student misses the final exam, instructors should not assign an incomplete grade but rather:

a) give the student the grade that was earned up until that point in time,

OR

b) work with the student, to make up the final exam by the end of the first week of the subsequent term. Once the final exam is completed, the instructor should submit a grade change online via DrexelOne.

COMPLETING AN INCOMPLETE CONTRACT:

Contract Requirements

  1. All Incomplete contracts [PDF] should be completed between week 7 of the term and the last day of classes. Contracts should not be negotiated during final exam week or during the final grade submission process.
  2. The conditions and terms for the completion of the course are at the discretion of the instructor and are to be mutually agreed upon by the instructor and the student in written form by the signed contract form or via email communication. The student will develop a work plan to complete the outstanding coursework using an Incomplete Contract.
  3. The contract includes a deadline for completion that is within the two quarter/one semester deadline.
  4. The student should not attend classes in future terms or re-enroll into the course for which the incomplete grade is sought, as requirements to complete the outstanding work in the original course.
  5. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain communication with the professor regarding progress on assignments until the INC is completed.
  6. The student, instructor and the academic unit must retain a mutually signed copy of the Incomplete Grade Contract, with the original contract being sent to the Office of the University Registrar via email, cc’ing the Advisor Visit Tracking (AVT) system:
    1. academic-records@drexel.edu
    2. AVT System: avt_update@drexel.edu 
      1. Note: the student’s University ID must be the first 8 characters of the subject line.
  7. Upon completion of the contract, and once the contract is received by the Office of the University Registrar, a grade of "INC" should be entered by the instructor during grade submission. No grades of INC should be entered without an INC contract previously being submitted.
  8. The INC contract will be stored in the University’s document management system and maintained under the University’s document retention protocols.

SCOPE

Incomplete Grades - Undergraduate Students 

RELATED INFORMATION

Course Enrollment Course Repeat
Course Withdrawal
Incomplete Grades (Graduate Students)
Leave of Absence
Military Services
Withdrawal from the University

KEYWORDS AND DEFINITIONS

INCOMPLETE GRADE

APPENDIX: RELATED DOCUMENTS, FORMS AND RESOURCES

Incomplete Contract:

POLICY HISTORY