Instructors at Illinois State University who have students who receive an "incomplete" grade for a course will need to work with those students regarding how to fulfill their requirements in order to complete their coursework.

What is an incomplete grade?

An incomplete (I) will be assigned to a student who is doing passing work but finds it impossible, because of reasons beyond their control (such as illness), to complete the required work by the end of the term. The student must have attended class within three weeks of the close of the semester or within one week of the close of the summer session. Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the University Registrar. The student will not be allowed to graduate with an incomplete on their record. After three semesters, an incomplete is automatically changed to an F. A grade change is needed to update the grade after this point in time. (Policies and Procedures | Illinois State).

How to assign an incomplete grade

Before giving a student an incomplete grade for a course, the instructor must have spoken with the student and established:

1. What work needs to be completed for the grade to change.
2. A timeline for when this work will be completed.

 An incomplete grade only needs to be entered in Campus Solutions when you are submitting final grades. For most departments, no other approval or steps are necessary.

Supporting Students in Completing an Incomplete

After an incomplete has been assigned, there are a few options for how best to support that student as they work to complete the course. There is no set way for how incomplete work must be submitted.

Grades can be exported from Canvas by going to Grades > Export, where they can then be updated in an Excel spreadsheet as the student submits work.

Students who take an incomplete do not have to complete the exact same course work as those who finished the semester. Alternative assessments can be designed to address their unique circumstances and better support their learning.

Canvas 

If the student needs to complete work or access materials through Canvas, then a separate section can be made so only the student(s) needing to complete the coursework will have access. In order to get a section created, please email the Center for Integrated Professional Development at ProDev@ilstu.edu with the following information:

1. Course Name (Department, Number, Section, Semester)
2. Student name(s)
3. When the incomplete(s) will need to be completed by

After the section has been created, be sure you update any assignment, quiz, or other past-due items for the student to submit. You can do this by:

1. Edit Assignment.
2. Under “Assign” hit “+Add”

Note: Do not delete “Everyone” or edit the original due dates. This can remove the grades for the students who have already submitted this assignment.

1. Under Assign To enter in the name of the section for the Incomplete(s)
2. Enter in new due dates and availability dates.
3. Click Save.
4. Repeat for each assignment, quiz, or discussion for which the student(s) will need access.

Questions? Want to talk through options?

Contact the Center for Integrated Professional Development at ProDev@Ilstu.edu, or by phone at (309) 438-2542.