If faculty members are not prepared to give a final grade for a course at the end of the term due to some justifiable delay in students’ completion of specific coursework, faculty members may give students a temporary grade of incomplete. In order to be eligible for an incomplete in a given course, a student must have completed a majority of the coursework, with generally no more than one (or possibly two) outstanding assignments. Outstanding assignments must be submitted by the due date assigned by the faculty member, and grades must be submitted by Relay faculty no later than the institutional incomplete resolution due date for the given term (see table below for incomplete resolution due dates by term). This ensures students are able to make any necessary registration changes prior to the subsequent term’s census date. If a student fails to complete the coursework associated with their incomplete by the faculty-assigned due date (and therefore on a timeline that enables the faculty member to grade and resolve the incomplete prior to the institutional deadline), the standing course grade on Canvas will replace the incomplete. 

Resolving an incomplete may lead to a change in academic standing, including dismissal. This information will be communicated to students via email upon their grades being updated after the incomplete resolution. 

Eligible students who end the term with an incomplete will be able to request federal financial aid for the subsequent enrolled term. Student Financial Services will closely monitor students’ records when they have incomplete coursework and have full discretion of not releasing/approving federal financial aid funds if students’ progress falls below good academic standing. 

Faculty members are responsible for:

• Notifying students in writing that they are receiving an incomplete and the date by which the incomplete coursework is due so that it can be graded and resolved by the institutional resolution date. 

• Notifying the relevant department chair or dean that they are granting an incomplete.

• Working with students to set an assignment due date that ensures enough time to resolve outstanding grades by the institutional incomplete resolution due date.

• Submitting grades no later than the incomplete resolution due date listed in the table below. 

Students are responsible for:

• Reaching out to their advisors for additional resources and support in resolving outstanding incomplete coursework; and 

• Completing and submitting coursework no later than the due date set by faculty members.

If students withdraw or are administratively withdrawn and have an incomplete from a prior term, their standing grade in that course will override the incomplete once the withdrawal is processed by the Registrar’s Office. If a student is eligible to immediately reenroll after an administrative withdrawal prior to the census date of the following term (e.g., they resolve a bursar hold/academic graduation hold or certification hold and apply to reenroll), their incomplete will be reinstated and the original due date will stand. Otherwise, if a student does not immediately reenroll for the following term, the standing grade in Canvas will override the incomplete. If a student returns for a future term, incompletes cannot be reinstated and the student will need to retake the course. 

Please note, an incomplete will turn to the standing grade in the course if the student does not reenroll prior to the student’s leave of absence expiring. For these reasons, students and faculty members are encouraged to work together on submission timelines that will allow for a timely resolution of any outstanding incompletes. 

Table 24: Incomplete Resolution Due Dates