Deb somers is quite correct about the handling of incompletes once a
faculty member gives one.  What she doesn't address (and neither does
Ryan robbins for that matter) is how the decision to grant incompletes
is made.
 
As my institutions NCAA faculty athletic representative, I have a duty
(as well as a personal conviction) that our competitors are STUDENT
athletes, and academics always come first.  I'm not certain that our
institutions philosophy about student athletes is relevant to this
list, and such a post is not germane to this topic.  Now let me just
briefly note that we compete in 8 sports at the NCAA division 2 level.
 
As a faculty type, I HATE to give incompletes; to ANYBODY
My institution's catalog has some verbiage about them.
My college (engineering and applied science) frowns on them
My department (computer Science) frowns on them
To give an incomplete, I am required to have the signature of both
my chair and dean agreeing to my giving the incomplete (they always
want reasons)
as such, i include the following in handouts to every class:
 
        Incompletes will be given only in the case of serious emergencies or
        other documentable extenuating circumstances clearly beyond the
        student's control.  Incompletes will NOT repeat NOT be given to
        students who abandon the class, students not satisfied with their
        grade, students who are too busy too complete the work on time (this
        includes employed students who have job assignment changes), and
        students who miss the final exam.
 
At the school my daughter attends (why do i have THEIR catalog, but
not my catalog at home???)
        The grade of I indicates that some part of the work in a
        course has, FOR GOOD REASON, (emphasis mine) not been done
        while the rest has been completed satisfactorily.  ... the
        instructor may require the student to submit a justifiable
        request and an acceptable plan for completing the work.
 
my judgement (of course i don't have all the facts, and knowledge of
the rest of the facts might change my opinion) is that our institution
would not have given incompletes under the circumstances described
below.
 
charlie shub   University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
[log in to unmask]  -or-  cdash@colospgs (BITNET)
(719) 593 3492               (fax) 593-3369
 
===================  context =========
> > <[log in to unmask]> says:
> > >If my info is correct this is the case.  Holzinger took Incompletes on
> > >all of his classes and is returning this summer to finish up his degree.
 
Ryan Robbins:
> > Shame on his professors! Other students wouldn't be able to get incompletes
> > because they simply wanted to leave school before the semester was over.
> > To me, an athlete who is given incompletes because he wants to turn pro
> > is receiving special treatment (although not by NCAA rules because the
> > athlete's eligibility has run out). Athletes who want to turn pro and
> > leave their school before the end of the semester should be required to
> > either withdraw from their courses or be flunked.
>   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
debbie Somers:
> Gadzooks, why not just string them up by their thumbs in the public
> square? :-)
>
> Seriously, though ... the main difference with incompletes vs
> other course terminations is that incompletes carry with them a timeframe
> for completion (i.e., by the end of the next semester).  If the
> coursework isn't completed within that timeframe, the "I" becomes an
> "F."  Withdrawals after a specified point in the semester show up on
> transcripts as "W" and remain on the transcript.  "F's" are also
> permanent.  These options are available to any student, not just a
> student-athlete, and seem to take into account the fact that things
> happen that may cause a student to be unable to finish a semester the
> usual way.  If the student then complies with the "incomplete" scenario,
> he or she has their grade and the institution has another degreed alum.
> No harm, no foul.
>
> (I should have prefaced the above by saying that I have no idea how the
> rest of the collegiate world treats incompletes, withdrawals, etc.)
> Sorry 'bout that.
>
> Debbie