As the McAnulty College and Graduate School allows departments some latitude in tailoring the Incomplete Grades Policy to meet graduate program requirements, the History Department has done so.

POLICIES:

When only one I-grade is being contemplated, the History Department usually follows College guidelines on Incompletes in terms of time for completion and allowing students to register for more courses. That means that if a graduate student cannot finish all requirements in a course by the end of the semester, s/he may ask the instructor for an Incomplete. College guidelines state that this may be requested and granted if 80 percent of the course work has been completed. The Department has generally been more flexible about permitting Incompletes if 70 percent has been completed (or more in the case of the HIST 691 Research Seminar final paper). The College states that the I-grade must be removed within one year, dating from the end of the semester in which the grade was reported, and the department abides by that when only one course is involved unless there is an approved instructor/student exception (see below).

Caveat 1: If the I-grade is not removed by the deadline, or an extension granted by the instructor, chair, and dean, the I-grade will become an "F" and the course must be repeated. Tuition remission may not be applied to courses that are repeated. An "F" will result in a graduate student being put on probation and may mean a diminishment of or even the total loss of any scholarship aid.

Caveat 2: If the Incomplete is for the Research Seminar, HIST 691, and the student wants to pursue the thesis option, the work for that course must be completed before signing up for thesis credits. Please see the information on the thesis process in the handbook and as outlined in the calendar section of the departmental website.

There are more restrictions in terms of time and registration should a graduate student have two or more I-grades on record. The reason for those restrictions is that the department knows, through past and painful experience, that students find it extremely difficult to complete the work for previous courses, and do it well, when also taking new courses.

Should a graduate student end the school year in May with two or more Incompletes on record, that student must finish the one or two courses necessary to ensure that s/he has no more than one incomplete class to deal with in the new school year. The student's registration for summer or fall courses will be blocked or disallowed until that required work is completed.

The History Department also supports the right and ability of individual instructors to impose shorter time limits, though no shorter than three months, for the completion of work in their courses. In such a case the instructor must provide the chair with a reason as to why a shorter limit is necessary and then establish and the student sign acceptance of a schedule by which the work will be completed.

DEADLINES:

For deadlines, see the Calendar of Important Dates page.