An "Incomplete" grade, marked as "I" on a student’s record, indicates that the student was doing satisfactory work in class but due to nonacademic reasons beyond the student’s control, the student was unable to complete the course by the end of the semester. Examples include, but are not limited to, sudden physical or mental illness or injury, family emergencies or death in the family, military deployment.

An incomplete grade is given only if:

• The student was doing satisfactory work in class.
• The remaining work can be clearly delineated.
• The request for an incomplete is made during the last 20% of the course.
• The student has a valid reason why they can't finish by the end of the semester (see above for examples).

Process for Assigning Incomplete Grades

• Faculty will need to enter an “I” grade in the Banner grading system and include the student’s last date of academic activity (LDAA).
• When assigning an incomplete grade, faculty must fill out an Incomplete Grade Form and submit it to the CLAS Dean’s Office. This form must be completed when the incomplete grade is assigned and should include:
  • Brief outline of the course work to be completed.
  • A plan and deadline for completing the missing work.
  • A default grade to be awarded if the work isn’t done by the posted deadline.
• Important: The completed form will be automatically sent to the instructor, the student, the department head, and the CLAS Dean’s Office. Make sure to enter the correct email addresses on the form.

If the faculty member who awards the incomplete won’t be at GVSU in the following semester, a designee must be identified to work with the student on completing the requirements and resolving the incomplete grade.  This designee should be provided with:

• The course syllabus.
• A list of work completed, and grades given.
• Descriptions of any remaining assignments.
• An outline of the grading scale for the course.

Timeline for Resolving Incomplete Grades

Per university policy, incomplete grades are to be resolved based on the following calendar:

• Fall semester incompletes by the end of the following winter semester.
• Winter and Spring/Summer incompletes by the end of the following fall semester.

The CLAS Dean’s Office will remind instructors about unresolved incompletes and give instructions for resolving or potentially extending the deadline.

• These reminders come just prior to the deadlines for resolving incomplete grades each semester.

Resolving Incomplete Grades or Requesting Extensions

• When the student completes the work, the instructor must file a Change of Grade form with the CLAS Dean’s Office. The electronic form is behind the faculty/staff login and may require multi-factor authentication to access.
• One extension can be given if there are special circumstances that prevented the student from completing the missing work, such as illness, family emergency or other situation outside of the student’s control.
• If an extension is needed, the instructor should inform the CLAS Dean’s Office and submit a new Incomplete Grade Form with the new deadline, a default grade, and an outline of the remaining work. The student will also get a copy of the new Incomplete form.
• The new deadline should be no longer than one additional semester.
• If the student doesn’t finish by the new deadline, the instructor must submit a Change of Grade form to award a final grade.
• Additional extensions are rare and only granted in very special situations and must be approved by the CLAS Deans Office. The instructor must provide a detailed reason for the extension, and the student must agree to meet the new deadline and finish the work.
• Question regarding extensions should be directed to AD Schaner.

Additional Information:

• Students with an incomplete should not register for the course in a future semester. If it’s in the student’s best interest to repeat the course to be successful, the student should drop the class from their schedule and retake it in a future semester.
• To graduate, students need to finish all their courses—no incompletes allowed.
• A grade of “W” (withdraw) cannot be used to resolve an incomplete. A request for a late withdrawal is a separate process that must be initiated by the student. These appeals are reviewed by the Academic Review Committee and not the CLAS Dean's Office. Contact the Student Academic Success Center for information on late withdrawals.
• Instructors will receive notification from the CLAS Dean’s Office when it is time to resolve incomplete grades based on the calendar listed above.
• Incomplete grades are not calculated in a student’s GPA but can impact progression into secondary admit programs.