Awarding Incomplete Grades
Blinn College Administrative Regulations Manual
Subject: Awarding Incomplete Grades
Effective Date: June 24, 2021
Board Policy Reference: EGA
Purpose
The Blinn College District recognizes that student success is the primary goal of its educational programs. Therefore, to facilitate student success, under certain circumstances, the College District allows instructors to give a student additional time beyond the class term to complete coursework for a final grade.
An Incomplete Grade (I) is a temporary grade given, at the instructor’s discretion, to a student that is unable to complete coursework because of a serious illness or other justified emergency beyond the student’s control. In order to request and be granted an incomplete, the following conditions must be present:
- The serious illness or other justified emergency beyond the student’s control prevents the student from completing a portion of the course work;
- A Course Completion Contract must be signed by the student, instructor, and dean, or dean’s designee, within one week after the day grades are due. That Contract will include a list of coursework to be completed by the student and a date by which the work must be submitted to the instructor;
- The instructor and student must agree on the terms of a Course Completion Contract before a temporary grade of (I) Incomplete grade can be assigned;
- A date designated for the completion of a Course Completion Contract must be mutually agreed upon by the instructor and student but prior to 90 days after the beginning of the next fall or spring semester whichever comes first;
- To request an incomplete grade (I), the student must have completed at least 75% of the total weighted grade for the course or have attended at least 75% of the contact hours for the semester.
Additional Information
- Once the work listed in the Course Completion Contract is submitted and the appropriate grade for the class is determined, the faculty member will submit a grade change form, changing the (I) to a letter grade, or numerical in the case of dual credit students. The faculty will initiate the change of grade by completing a Grade Change Form;
- Only under exceptional, documented circumstances (e.g., unexpected, prolonged illness, or unanticipated complications from an accident) might an instructor decide to award a reasonable and definitive extension of a signed Course Completion Contract or appropriate grade for the course.
- The coursework listed under a Course Completion Contract must be completed under the direction of the instructor of record. If the instructor of record is unavailable to complete the grade change or to act upon the terms of a Course Completion Contract, the academic dean or designee will make appropriate alternative arrangements to ensure complete resolution of a pending (I) grade.
- If the requirements of a course completion contract are not completed on time, the grade (I) will be converted to an (F) by the Blinn College Registrar. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that a Course Completion Contract is fulfilled on time.
- Reenrollment in a course in which the student has a pending (I) is not an option for completing the course or to remove the (I) from the student’s record.
- Exceptions to the terms of a Course Completion Contract (e.g., extend completion timeline) must be approved by the division dean or designee and either the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs or Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, Technical Education and Community Programs.