For various reasons, students may find themselves unable to complete their coursework by the end of the quarter and may need to make formal arrangements with the instructor to take a grade of "I", Incomplete, in that class. Instructors are not required to grant a grade of "I" and will adhere to program specific policies about granting a grade of “I”. Students should use the Incomplete Request Form found on the divisional website to communicate with their faculty. If the instructor agrees to grant a grade of "I" to reflect that the course work is incomplete, the instructor will indicate in writing (via the Incomplete Request Form) what work remains to be completed, the deadline to complete the outstanding work, and what the grade will be if the student fails to complete that work by the deadline. A grade of "I" cannot be carried from one academic year into the next academic year. If no specific deadline for the course work to be completed is set by the course instructor, the default deadline for completion of the work is the start of the autumn quarter of the next academic year. The course instructor is expected to evaluate the completed work as quickly as feasible upon receipt. After the work has been completed, and when a quality grade is submitted with the Office of the Registrar before the start of the autumn quarter of the next academic year, no intervening “I” will be recorded.

Please note that if no formal arrangements are made to receive an I grade, a faculty member may leave the grade blank or assign a NGR (no grade reported). The below encompasses any I, NGR, or blank grades.

If the work is not completed by the deadline set by the instructor or by the start of the autumn quarter of the next academic year, a grade of “UW” will be recorded. A “UW” indicates an “Unofficial Withdrawal” and bears no point value and does not confer credit. Beginning in AU26, students who receive a UW grade for missing coursework from the previous year will be placed on academic probation by the Dean of Students office in the 2nd week of Autumn Quarter and provided a deadline for the end of Autumn Quarter to submit the work necessary to receive a quality grade. Departments will be notified and included on all communications. If the work is not submitted by the end of Autumn Quarter, the student will be administratively withdrawn.

If there are concerns from a student that a faculty member is not grading their submitted coursework, they should contact the Dean of Students Office at ahd-dos@uchicago.edu to review. The Dean of Students Office will work with the faculty to ensure grading occurs before the end of Autumn Quarter. If coursework is provided after a UW is given, faculty have a limited time in which they may change the UW to a quality grade.

Additionally, a student may choose not to complete the coursework for a given class for a variety of reasons. In this instance, a student may formally request from the instructor prior to the end of the quarter, a grade of “R,” which means “Registered” or “Audit.” This status has no point value and does not confer credit. Grades of “R” are either assigned by the instructor or arranged in advance by the student via the registration process. Instructors are not required to grant a grade of "R” if requested outside of the registration process. Students may be required to take a new course to fulfill the given program requirement.

This policy conforms to other divisional and university requirements.

Academic departments may have additional and stricter requirements as it pertains to this policy that students must adhere to during their program.