Incompletes

Graduate Division Policy

The following policy regarding incompletes is set by the Grad Division of the School of Arts and Sciences.

“A student who fails to complete a course will receive, at the instructor’s discretion, either a grade of I (incomplete) or F (failure). It is expected that a student will complete the work of a course during the term in which that course is taken. The Graduate Division of Arts & Sciences permits an extension of up to one year for the completion of the course. Faculty are expected to grade completed work for a student receiving an incomplete in a timely manner. If the course remains incomplete after one calendar year from its end date, it will not be credited toward a degree.

Please note: This is different for students who have not finished their required coursework to begin dissertation registration. A one semester grace period is allowed for completion of incomplete courses needed to register for the first term of dissertation registration. This is less than the usual one-year extension.Students will be placed on administrative leave if incomplete courses are not completed within one calendar year.” 

English Graduate Program Policy

In addition to the Grad Division's policy, the English Graduate Program sets the following rules and requirements for taking incompletes.

All students are permitted to take one long incomplete per academic year. More than one short incomplete may be requested in a single year, provided that the incomplete is resolved in a timely manner. Exceptions may be granted in unusual circumstances, with approval from the student’s academic advisor and the Grad Chair.

For the purposes of our graduate seminars, short incompletes are defined as an extension of deadlines for assignments or other work that falls within the semester’s grading period (ex. an additional week on a final essay). In the case of short incompletes, the instructor expects to submit a letter grade for the student’s performance by the time that grades are due (early January for fall, mid-May for spring). Therefore, the extended deadline should allow the instructor time to review and grade the late assignment.

Long incompletes are defined as an extension of deadlines for assignments or other work that does not fall within the semester’s grading period. In this case, the instructor expects to submit an “I” as the student’s grade, which will remain on the student’s transcript until the incomplete is satisfied (or becomes a permanent incomplete, if not satisfied within a year).

Students planning to take an incomplete, short or long, are required to fill out a departmental Incomplete Form, signed by the student, the instructor, and the Grad Chair. The form should be turned in to the Graduate Chair and/or Associate Director of Graduate Studies. This form will not be kept in the student’s academic file, but is simply a way to ensure that lines of communication remain open in cases of incompletes and that all parties (student, instructor, and Grad Office) are clear on expectations and timelines. The Incomplete Form is available on the Canvas GradHub site.

Ph.D. students must clear all incompletes from their records before taking the 50-Book Exam and Field Exam.Students with incompletes on their records will not be allowed to enroll in the Dissertation Proposal Workshop, or submit a dissertation proposal to the GEC for approval. In unusual circumstances, exceptions may be granted with the approval of the student’s advisor and of the Grad Chair.

In cases where incomplete requests pose a threat to a student meeting benchmarks and remaining in good standing, the Grad Chair may request a meeting with the student and/or may request a written plan for satisfying the incomplete(s).