Incomplete Work Definition in 2011/12 On-Line Catalog

“Incomplete Work” Definition in 2011/12 On-Line Catalog:

This is a temporary grade used only when a student is PASSING, but has not completed all required work because of extenuating circumstances. An “I” grade must be made up with the instructor who issued the grade by the end of the following semester, i.e., Fall “I” grade made up by the end of May; and Spring and Summer “I” made up by the end of December. Otherwise no credit will be allowed for the course and the “I” will revert to a “WP.” The “I” grade is not used if the student plans to retake the course at a later date. It is included in attempted credits, but not in the grade point index.

“I” Definition "Explored by AAC 10/11:

This is a temporary grade used only when a student is PASSING, but has not completed all required work because of extenuating circumstances. An "I" grade must be made up with the instructor who issued the grade by the end of the following semester, i.e., Fall "I" grade made up by the end of the May; and Spring and Summer "I" made up by the end of December. Otherwise no credit will be allowed for the course and the "I" will revert to a "WP". The "I" grade is not used if the student plans to retake the course at a later date. It is included in attempted credits, but not in the grade point index.

Proposed “I” Definition Revision:

This is a temporary grade used only when a student is PASSING, has attended or completed at least 75% of the courseand is unable to complete the course due to extenuating circumstances(i.e. illness, death, unforeseeable accident, unavoidable circumstance, etc.).

A Contract for Completion of Incomplete Coursework form must be completed by the instructor and student with the understanding all remaining work must be completed by the end of the following semester (exception: if “I” given in Spring, work must be completed by end of fall semester). Should the work not be completed by the established date in the contract, the "I" will revert to an “F”.

PERCENTAGE OF WEEKS TO QUALIFY FOR “I”:

15 Week session - complete at least 10 weeks and is passing course

8 Week session - complete at least 6 weeks and is passing course

6 Week session - complete at least 5 weeks and is passing course

5 Week session - complete at least 4 weeks and is passing course

Grading Delineations

S: Satisfactory U: Unsatisfactory This is used for noncredit courses except MATH 0500, 0600 and 0700 and field experience

I: Incomplete Work See definition at top of page

I/C: Incomplete Continuing This is allowed only for students in the math lab and other nontraditional, self-pacedcourses. It permits a student to continue in

a course while satisfactorily progressingtoward completion of course objectives.

W: Official Withdrawal This is used when a student officially withdraws from a course during weeks threethrough 10 or two-thirds the length of the course. It is included in attempted credits but not in the grade point index.

WP: Unofficial Withdrawal, Passing This is used when a student unofficially withdraws from a course at any point in thecourse and has a passing grade. It is included in attempted credits but not in the grade point index.

WF: Unofficial Withdrawal, FailingThis is used when a student unofficially withdraws from a course at any point in thecourse and has a failing grade. It is included in attempted credits but not in the grade point index.

NA: Unofficial Withdrawal, No Assessment This is used when a student unofficially withdraws from a course before the instructorhas made any academic assessment. It is included in attempted credits but not in the grade point index.

AU: Audit

“Incomplete Work” Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Subcommittee Task:

Review and modify the “I” grade definition
Create an “I” contract form for faculty and students

/ Present:
Dean Maureen McGarry Joel Friedman
Melissa Braun Linda Gatewood
Absent: Eylana Goffe – Input provided prior to meeting / Location: Knight Campus Rm 2328
Time Commenced: 1:30 p.m.
Time Adjourned: 3:08 p.m.
Rationale for Task:

Bring integrity to the assignment of an “I” grade as it is currently being inconsistently used by faculty

Will be achieved with the formulation of a process supporting correct use of the “I”

Facilitate increased student accountability and commitment to their academic performance

Will be achieved with the proposed change from the “I” automatically being converted to a WP when work is not completed to an “F” which would impact the GPA of the student /

Address the Financial Aid implications of the “I” grade

Will be addressed with a clearer working definition and consistent faculty use of the “I” grade informing FA the student has at least participated in 60% of the course required to receive financial aid

Address the large number of “I” grades given to students each semester which convert to a WP

Will be addressed by the thoughtful completion of the contract and need for Dept. Chair approval to help insure consistent use
Discussion:

Completed contract should be approved by the Dept. Chairperson

Approval will help insure the “I” grade is being used appropriately with supporting rationale from the instructor.

Completed contract should be housed with the Dept. Chairperson

The Dept. Chair will keep the contracts in the event a question arises at a later date should a student not fulfilling the terms of the contract wish to challenge the existence and terms of the contract
Contracts can be imaged for electronic storage.

The contract will need to be completed prior to entering final grades to insure the “I” grade is the correct grade.

A student must communicate with faculty about the extenuating circumstance preventing them from completing the course on time.
This conversation must occur in order to drive the completion and submission of the contract form.

The contract form could be made available to FACULTY on Blackboard.
Question arose re. how will the Dept. Chair know if a contract was completed by an instructor giving an “I” to a student

Possible solution to explore with IT is the generation of a report for Dept. Chairs indicating the number of “I” grades given, or perhaps a list of faculty within a dept. who gave an “I” for a final grade

Many schools require faculty to give a letter grade if the student has attended at least 10 weeks of a course. The grade of ‘‘I’’ is given only by mutual agreement between the faculty member and the student

Action Required:

Modifications to the contract will be completed and resubmitted to subcommittee members
Data for “I” grades will be obtained by Joel and distributed subcommittee members
Packet development of subcommittee proposal (including proposed “I” definition revision, contract form, “I” data and subcommittee notes)
Forward packet to Lela Morgan for review prior to Fall AAC meeting

Contract for Completion of “Incomplete” Coursework

This form must be completed prior to the onset of the following term. It must be signed by the instructor, student and the Department Chairperson. The student must complete all work identified in the contract by the end of the following term (exception: if “I” given in Spring, work must be completed by end of Fall term).Should the student fail to comply with the contract by the end of the following term or earlier date agreed upon by faculty and student, the “I” grade will automatically be converted to an F at the end of the following term. An official Grade Change must be submitted by the instructor to Enrollment Services upon satisfaction of the contract.

Student / Student ID / Campus
Semester / Flanagan Liston Knight
Newport Other ______
Fall Spring Summer
Instructor
______/______/______/______/______
CRN SUBJECT SECTION COURSE TITLE CREDITS
Year / 20______
Reason for “I” grade:
Work to be completed by student: (assignments, projects, testing, due dates, special instructions, etc.)
Completion Due Date: ______/______/______
Sign upon development of contract Not valid without all signatures
Instructor (Print) Instructor Signature Date
Student (Print ) Student Signature Date
Department Chairperson (Print) Signature of Department Chairperson Date

Revision 11/12/12

Data for “Incomplete Work” Grade Submissions

Spring 2011
College-wide Grade Distribution / Fall 2011
College-wide Grade Distribution / Spring 2012 / Spring 2011
“I” Conversion Grade Distribution / Fall 2011
“I” Conversion GradeDistribution / Spring 2012
College-wide Grade Distribution / “I” Conversion GradeDistribution
A / 8017 / A / 8642 / A/ A* / 7841/474 / A / 32 / A / 49 / A / 26
A- / 4300 / A- / 4904 / A-/A-* / 4420/349 / A- / 18 / A- / 40 / A- / 10
AU / 6 / AU / 15 / AU / 4 / B / 24 / A-* / 1 / A-* / 0
B / 4917 / B / 5042 / B/B* / 4288/439 / B- / 13 / B / 51 / B / 23
B- / 3244 / B- / 3608 / B-/B-* / 2928/340 / B* / 1 / B- / 29 / B- / 11
B+ / 3551 / B+ / 4074 / B+/B+* / 3452/276 / B-* / 2 / B* / 1 / B* / 1
C / 4193 / C / 4430 / C/C* / 3483/488 / B+ / 22 / B-* / 2 / B-* / 1
C+ / 2173 / C+ / 2375 / C+/C+* / 1952/198 / B+* / 2 / B+ / 29 / B+ / 12
D / 1629 / D / 1653 / D/D* / 1355/161 / C / 21 / B+* / 2 / B+* / 1
D+ / 812 / D+ / 792 / D+/D+* / 641/49 / C* / 5 / C / 36 / C / 25
F / 1710 / F / 2027 / F/F* / 1421/320 / C+ / 18 / C* / 2 / C* / 3
I / 689 / I / 855 / I / 609 / D / 12 / C+ / 20 / C+ / 10
IC / 488 / IC / 460 / IC / 486 / D* / 2 / C+* / 1 / C+* / 0
NA / 1300 / NA / 1347 / NA / 1254 / D+ / 5 / D / 11 / D/D* / 8/2
NC / 1 / NR / 740 / NR / 25 / F / 9 / D+ / 8 / D+ / 3
NR / 36 / P / 75 / P / 1 / F* / 1 / F / 8 / F / 1
P / 83 / P. / 5 / P. / 69 / P. / 9 / P. / 0 / P. / 11
W / 2604 / W / 2377 / W / 2415 / NA / 0 / NA / 1 / NA / 0
WF / 1468 / WF / 1776 / WF / 1578 / WF / 485 / WF / 547 / WF / 4
WP / 2734 / WP / 3042 / WP / 2630 / WP / 8 / WP / 17 / WP / 1
(blank) / 45 / (blank) / 27 / (blank) / 314
Total / 44000 / Total / 48266 / Total / 44260 / Total / 689 / Total / 855 / Total / 629
11% of all grades are I, WP, or WF / 12% of all grades are I, WP, or WF / 11%of all grades are I, WP, or WF / 71% of “I” were converted to WP/WF / 66% of “I” were converted to WP/WF / Stats as of 11/08/12 -
Full “I” conversion will occur at end of Fall 2012
“Incomplete Work” Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 8, 2012
Subcommittee Task:

Review and modify the “I” grade definition to address new concerns
Modify “I” contract form

/ Present:
Dean Maureen McGarry
Joel Friedman
Linda Gatewood / Absent:
Melissa Braun
Eylana Goffe / Location: Knight Campus Rm 0062
Time Commenced: 11:30 p.m.
Time Adjourned: 12:45 p.m.
Review of Rationale for Task:

Bring integrity to the assignment of an “I” grade due to current inconsistent use by faculty

Based on committee discussions throughout the college over the past year, it is evident the current use of the “I” grade is inconsistent and interpreted by faculty in a variety of ways. The goal of formulating a structured definition and well-defined process of the grade will help bring college-wide integrity to the “I” grade.

Facilitate increased student accountability and commitment to their academic performance

Will be achieved with the proposed change from the “I” automatically being converted to a WP should work not be completed to an “F” which would impact the GPA of the student /

Address the Financial Aid implications of the “I” grade

Will be addressed with consistent faculty use of the “I” grade which will convey to FA the student has at least participated in 60% of the course required to receive financial aid

Address the large number of “I” grades given to students each semester which convert to a WP

Over 66% of “I” grades issued in the past year were converted to WP/WF under the current definition and culture of “I” grade use. This clearly indicates a need to identify structure to the use of the grade as well as a meaningful process to achieve this. The committee is aware it will require increased faculty and student accountability. Accurate grading should be a commitment and responsibility of all faculty.
Proposed “I” Definition Revision:
This is a temporary grade used only when a student is PASSING, has attended and/or completed at least 65% of the course,and is unable to complete the course due to extenuating circumstances(i.e. illness, death of immediate family member, unavoidable circumstance, etc.).
AContract for Completion of Incomplete Courseworkform must be completed by the instructor and student prior to start of next term (exception for Spring term – must be completed prior to start of Fall term); with the understanding all remaining work must be completed by the end of the following term (exception: if “I” given in Spring, work must be completed by end of fall term). Should the work not be completed by the established date in the contract, the "I" will revert to an “F”.
Dean McGarry presented feedback and concerns voiced at Dept. Chairpersons meeting regarding the proposed “I” grade definition and contract process:

Additional burden to Dept. Chairpersons
Complexity of “3 pronged completion phase” (Chair, faculty and student)
Potential lack of access to part-time, adjunct, retired faculty to complete process and eventual grade adjustment

Discussion of Points 1-3: In the event the faculty issuing the “I” grade should not be available (illness, death, retirement, alternate employment, etc.)to complete the task for any reason, it was felt someone needed to be aware of the existence of the contract in order to create a contingency plan should it be required. The Dept. Chair’s signature remains part of the process and on the contract form to address this.
The Dept. Chair (or perhaps, program director) could simply maintain a filecontaining a copies of contracts should there be a need to review one.It is felt the student’s commitment to the contract must be honored and protected at some level within the college. Keeping this access and accountability at a departmental level (or perhaps program level) seemed most manageable.
“Incomplete Work” Subcommittee Meeting Minutes (cont.) Thursday, November 8, 2012

Potential for late submissions of “I” Grade contract form

Discussion of Point 4: The contract will need to be completed prior to the start of the following term to allow the student time to complete the work within the established time frame. This will allow faculty ample time to complete the contract with the student between terms or when it is decided an “I” grade is an appropriate grade assignment.
Ex. Fall term “I” grade submission – Contract due by start of Spring term ; Spring term “I” grade submission – Contract due by start of Fall term; Summer term “I” grade submission – Contract due by start of Fall term

Need for tracking contract

Discussion of Point 5:The faculty member issuing the “I” grade is ultimately responsible for tracking the contract and making a grade adjustment should the student fulfill the contract. If the student does not complete the outlined work by the following term, the grade will automatically convert to an “F” in the system. “Tracking” the contract may be necessary should the faculty member issuing the “I” grade be unable to fulfill the responsibility (illness, death, retirement, alternate employment, etc.).
Additional Discussion:

In the 2011 year, 25% of all grades submitted were the equivalent of a failing grade.
Should the student be the party responsible for initiating the “I” grade process?
Should the definition include percentage of weeks required to attend to qualify for “I”?

15Week session- complete at least 10 weeks and is passing course
8 Week session – complete at least 6 weeks and is passing course
6 Week session – complete at least 5 weeks and is passing course
5 Week session – complete at least 4 weeksand is passing course

Should the language of the policy use “term” or “semester” when addressing the time period for completion?
The contract signature requirement could perhaps include an agreement made between 2 faculty (program director or other departmental faculty teaching the course the following term) and not necessarily require the signature of the Dept. Chair for the completion of the coursework.
Some feel the 65% attendance/completion requirement is too high. The rationale behind this is many programs do not offer courses each semester making it necessary for faculty to reproduce lab course content which require heavy hands-on work and small group activities, as well as group projects. Also, some programs require students be engaged in a specific number of course hours in order to obtain their certificate or degree. The ability of faculty to potentially re-teach 5-6 weeks of a course to a student is daunting and not realistic.

Action Required:

Modifications to the contract will be completed and resubmitted to subcommittee members for review prior to the 11/16/12 AAC meeting.Completed 11/12/12

Data for “I” grades conversion for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 will be obtained by Joel Friedman and provided to Linda Gatewood Completed 11/08/12
Packet development of “I” grade subcommittee proposal (including proposed “I” definition revision, contract form, “I” grade distribution and conversion data and subcommittee notes) for AAC meeting on 11/16/12

01/23/2014

“I” grade will be implemented for 15 week courses spring 2014

The contract will be online when the “I” grade is selected.

The student will receive an e-mail asking them to agree to the contract

The Dept. Chair will receive an e-mail

Notice to student:

I have read the“Contract of Completion for Incomplete Grade” and agree with the terms established with the course faculty.

I Agree / I Don’t Agree

Reason: ______

Notice to Department Chairperson:

A faculty member in your Dept. has completed a “Contract of Completion for Incomplete Grade”. I have reviewed the contract and approve it.

I Agree / I Don’t Agree

Reason: ______

Notice to Instructor when student accepts the “Contract of Completion for Incomplete Grade”

The student

Notice to Instructor when student accepts the “Contract of Completion for Incomplete Grade”