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Incomplete Grades Policy

The Graduate School (TGS) defines an incomplete grade as follows: “A grade of Y is given when a student does not submit all assigned work in a course; a grade of X is given when a student fails to take the final examination. All X or Y grades are incompletes and must be made up within one calendar year of the date the grade is incurred, ...; after one calendar year, the X or Y becomes a permanent grade on the record.” TGS places students with more than three incomplete grades on academic probation.

Consequently, faculty are expected to limit field course assignments to those that can be completed during the quarter. There are only two exceptions. First, the History requirement (Economics 420) can assign an incomplete grade for 12 months to permit completion of a paper. Second, econometrics courses can assign an incomplete only until the end of the break following the quarter the class is in.

Otherwise, incomplete grades require the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies. Students should notify the Director of Graduate Studies immediately of any violation of this policy.

Sometimes, students may see a “NR” on their transcript. This means the instructor did not file a grade by the deadline of the Monday after exam week. Students seeing an NR should immediately contract the instructor to rectify the situation. “NR” grades cause complications when the prospectus is filed and when the student graduates, and it is best to rectify the situation before memories fade.