Assigning an Incomplete Grade in Professional Development Courses

A situation has recently come to our attention. Many of our course instructors are assigning “Incomplete” grades to people who have no intention of finishing the course. Some of these are due to illness or personal situations requiring them to miss part of the class. If this happens, please have the individual contact Professional Development to withdraw from the course or transfer to another course. By our guidelines, we cannot have an “Incomplete” grade listed on the books for longer than one semester after the completion of the course. Say for example, John takes a course this spring, but doesn’t get his assignment in by the due date because of some personal situations. The instructor agrees to give John an “Incomplete.” The course work MUST be completed by the end of the summer semester; otherwise, our policy states the grade will convert to an “F.” 

Once we convert the grades to an “F,” bookkeeping is affected (especially if it is for Drake credit) and sometimes, this comes as a shock to the participants. We understand that sometimes an “Incomplete” is in order, but make sure there is a realistic expectation that the course will be finished. Otherwise, the participant should be given an “F” or transferred to another course. 

Also note that if you put comments in the comment section of the grading page, please do not assume that Professional Development will see this comment. These comments are for your purposes as an instructor; they are not part of the official course information. 

If you have any questions about this policy or procedure, please contact Sue Schirmer, License Renewal Coordinator, at sschirmer@aea11.k12.ia.us or ext. 14379.