Incomplete Grades

Students should be aware that receiving Incompletes can be problematic for a variety of reasons. In general, it is a far better idea to plan ahead, use advising and academic support resources, and take other steps to ensure finishing on time. Incompletes should be requested sparingly if at all.

• Incompletes affect the number of credits earned in the short term, and can have an impact on financial aid, athletic eligibility or visa status for international students.
• Students who receive an Incomplete are rendered ineligible for the Dean's List and possibly Phi Beta Kappa, even if their academic qualifications would have otherwise been sufficient.
• Students with multiple Incompletes may be placed on Academic Probation or even on a Mandatory Leave of Absence. This leave of absence prevents students from enrolling the semester after the Incompletes are earned. Students may not return until all of the incomplete coursework has been finished and those courses’ grades reported. This frequently entails at least one semester off from school.
• Students often find that incomplete coursework from previous terms is very difficult to finish when they also have a new schedule of courses in which they are enrolled.

The decision as to whether to grant an Incomplete or not is solely that of the faculty teaching the course.

If the work for a course is incomplete as a result of the student's unexplained failure to hand in assigned work or to take the final examination at the regularly scheduled time, the instructor will issue a grade of F for the course.

Instructors deciding to grant an extension to students who have not completed a course at the end of the term may grant either a short Incomplete (I) or a long Incomplete (II). The short Incomplete must be made up within the first four weeks of the next regular term in which the student is enrolled (summer sessions excluded). The long Incomplete must be made up by the end of the next regular term in which the student is enrolled (summer sessions excluded). In either case, if the Incomplete is not made up by the deadline, it will become an F.

The Incomplete is made up only when the official grade is received by the College Office. After a grade is converted to an F, the instructor may choose to change it up to two full terms from the time that the Incomplete changed to an F. The instructor who gives an evaluation, exam or course grade has sole authority for changing such evaluation, exam or course grade provided the instructor remains on the faculty (or the emeritus faculty) of the University of Pennsylvania.

In cases in which faculty appointments have terminated, or faculty have resigned or are deceased, sole authority for changing an evaluation rests with the undergraduate chair of the relevant department.