Academics

OSU Policy

A student may request an incomplete grade for a course that has not been completed if:

• Reasons for the incomplete are acceptable to the instructor; and
• Student is passing the course at the time of the request.

Refer to the OSU Incomplete Grades Policy for more details about incomplete/alternate grades, extension of time to remove incomplete grades, and incomplete grades and degree conferral.

CPHHS Practices

Students are encouraged to communicate as soon as possible with the instructor if circumstances present themselves that might warrant an incomplete grade.

Reason for awarding an incomplete grade

Reason for awarding an incomplete grade must be acceptable to the instructor.

Instructors may consider the following scenarios as acceptable reasons:

• Death of an immediate family member
• A serious physical or mental situation for the student or an immediate family member
• A serious situation or life event
• A pending academic misconduct case

Poor academic performance

An incomplete grade is not to be used for poor academic performance such as a student doing worse in the class than expected or finding the workload for the course is more demanding than expected.

Determine if a student is passing the course

To determine if a student is passing the course at the time of the request, calculate the score earned based on the work that was due at the time of the request (irrespective of any extensions granted).

For example, if 10 pieces of work (assignments, exams, etc.) were due at the time of the request and only 7 have been submitted, convert the score achieved on the 7 submissions to a percentage out of the possible score on the 10 submissions based on assignment weightings (such as 70% if a perfect score was achieved on all submitted assignments and each assignment was worth ten percent).

The percentage achieved for the course at the time of the request would need to be more than the percentage considered a failing (F) grade for the course.

Instructor availability

Instructors who know they will not be available to grade the outstanding coursework when it is due, will consult with the head (or designee) of the school responsible for delivering the course prior to issuing an incomplete grade.

This step raises awareness of the need for a contingency plan to ensure:

• Access to personnel with the appropriate expertise to grade the outstanding work
• The student understands where or to whom they should submit their work.

Contract for Completion of I Grade

When an agreement is made to issue an incomplete grade, the instructor and student will complete a Contract for Completion of I Grade (pdf) to define the terms under which the outstanding coursework will be completed. A copy of the contract will be retained by the instructor who will send a copy to the student and cphhs.scheduler@oregonstate.edu.

Sample logistical considerations in awarding an incomplete grade

1. Is it realistic to expect that the student will be able to complete the remaining work independently?
2. Will the integrity of the learning experience be maintained given the methods that will need to be employed to finish the incomplete work?
3. Is the amount of incomplete work to be finished manageable?
4. Has workload capacity been addressed in assigning an instructor to assess the outstanding coursework?
5. What is the optimal timeframe to finish the incomplete work for all parties involved (knowing OSU allows up to one year to resolve an incomplete grade from the time the grade is recorded)?

Points of note

An incomplete grade should not be used to redo work that has already been submitted by the student for the class.

If needed, the instructor may request access to Canvas by sending an email to canvas.support@oregonstate.edu along with the student’s ID number and course CRN.

An alternative solution to an incomplete grade might be to:

• drop the class
• withdraw from the class or term
• change to a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading basis
• petition for a late change of registration

Students should consult with their academic advisor if any of these options are being considered, and will require advisor approval in some cases. These options need to be considered in relation to the deadlines, as well as the possible academic and financial implications.