{"id":543,"date":"2026-01-09T11:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/?post_type=library&p=543"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:25:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T18:25:20","slug":"incomplete-grades","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/incomplete-grades\/","title":{"rendered":"Incomplete Grades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n

Policy<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Incomplete Policy for Undergraduates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An incomplete may be given to a student who has carried a subject successfully until near the end of the semester but, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond that student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work.  An incomplete is not given unless the student proves to the instructor that s\/he was prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A course marked incomplete must be completed during the next succeeding semester, excluding summer sessions and UWinterim. If the student does not remove the incomplete during this period, the report of \u201cI\u201d will lapse to \u201cF\u201d. With approval of the instructor, additional time may be granted through a request to the instructor for an Extended Incomplete (\u201cEI\u201d), including cases where the \u201cI\u201d lapsed to \u201cF\u201d. The determination to assign an \u201cEI\u201d grade is at the sole discretion of the instructor or, if an instructor cannot be contacted, the department chair.  The \u201cEI\u201d grade will lapse to \u201cF\u201d after one calendar year unless a final grade is awarded or another extension is requested by the instructor or department. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incomplete (\u201cI\u201d) or Extended Incomplete (\u201cEI\u201d) courses may not be used to satisfy degree requirements. Incomplete (\u201cI\u201d) or Extended Incomplete (\u201cEI\u201d) courses will be converted to Permanent Incomplete (\u201cPI\u201d) prior to degree posting if not required for graduation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PI does not change the impact of the \u2018F\u2019 grade on the student\u2019s record. It is equivalent to earning the lapsed F(@F) grade in terms of how it affects the student\u2019s GPA and GPA credits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incomplete Policy for Graduate Students<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An \u201cI\u201d (Incomplete) may be assigned by the instructor if a student is unable to finish all the course requirements during the original semester of enrollment. An Incomplete course status designation is appropriate only when the following conditions are present:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The student has done satisfactory work in a substantial fraction of the course requirements prior to grading time and provides the instructor with evidence of potential success in the remaining work.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Extraordinary circumstances, not related to performance in the class, such as illness or a family emergency, have prevented the student from finishing the course requirements on time.  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    An Incomplete will not be given to enable a student to do additional work to improve a grade.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The instructor may deny a request for an Incomplete and assign a grade based on the work completed at that point. It is the student\u2019s responsibility to initiate a request for an Incomplete. Reasons for requesting the Incomplete must be acceptable to the instructor. If approved, the instructor will indicate the conditions for the removal of the Incomplete, including the date for submitting all remaining work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The student also is responsible for seeing that the Incomplete is removed by the deadline and that the instructor has reported the grade to the Graduate School.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The instructor may change the \u201cI\u201d to a grade (including an \u201cF\u201d) or to a \u201cPI\u201d (Permanent Incomplete) if the remaining work is not submitted by the deadline for completion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If the remaining work is not completed within one year of the end of the term of original registration for the course, the Incomplete will be administratively changed to a Permanent Incomplete (\u201cPI\u201d). (A \u201cPI\u201d is not computed into the grade point average.) Except in cases where the work was completed, but the instructor neglected or was unable to file a grade change in time, the \u201cPI\u201d will remain on the student\u2019s record.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If the instructor and the Graduate Program Representative support it, the Graduate School will automatically approve a petition for a PI <\/strong>grade change within one year of the assigning of the PI<\/strong>. No extensive justification is required within this time period. If the instructor is no longer available, the Chair of the department for that course must approve the change, along with the Graduate Program Representative.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A student who wishes to receive credit for a course in which a \u201cPI\u201d has been recorded, where one year has passed since the assigning of the PI, or where the instructor or graduate program does not support a request for a PI grade change, must register again for the course and satisfy the requirements for the course as set forth under the second registration. A student may not register for a course in which an \u201cI\u201d remains on record.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A student may graduate with a course outcome status of \u201cPI\u201d, provided that all degree requirements have been met. All Incompletes must be changed to grades or Permanent Incompletes before a student may graduate.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1287,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[37,49],"topic":[22,31],"class_list":["post-543","library","type-library","status-publish","hentry","category-administrative-policies-procedures","category-selected-academic-and-administrative-policies","topic-academics","topic-students"],"yoast_head":"\nIncomplete Grades - Policy Library<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/incomplete-grades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Incomplete Grades\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/policy\/library\/incomplete-grades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Policy Library\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-25T18:25:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/policy\\\/library\\\/incomplete-grades\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/policy\\\/library\\\/incomplete-grades\\\/\",\"name\":\"Incomplete Grades - 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