Incomplete-Emergency (IE) Grade

Incomplete-Emergency (IE) Grade

Contact Information

Admissions, Registration, and Records
registrar@durhamtech.edu
919-536-7200, ext. 1800

Procedure

Durham Technical Community College (Durham Tech) employs a letter grading system to evaluate students’ performance in meeting stated instructional objectives. Due to COVID-19, the College has established a temporary grade of Incomplete-Emergency (IE). Students who are assigned the grade of IE during the Spring 2020 semester will have until the last day of the Fall 2020 semester to meet the requirements for Spring 2020 courses. The College may extend the completion deadline should conditions related to COVID-19 persist for an extended period. Should the College continue to operate under conditions related to COVID-19 in subsequent terms, students who are assigned the grade of IE will have until the last day of two terms following the term during which the IE grade was assigned. For example, IE grades assigned for the Summer 2020 would require completion by the end of the Spring 2021 term.

Students may be assigned the IE grade if they have completed at least sixty (60) percent of the coursework and have a grade of C or better at the time of their request. The IE grade is assigned only when extenuating circumstances related to COVID-19 exist or arise. Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Student illness;
• Illness of someone the student provides care for;
• Financial hardship; and
• Lack of appropriate technology.

The program dean will use their discretion to determine if the IE grade may be assigned for students who have completed less than sixty (60) percent of the coursework but have maintained an average grade of C or better as of the time of the request.

Please Note: Students’ financial aid eligibility may be impacted by IE grades. Students should consult with a Financial Aid advisor to discuss any potential impact.

IE Grade Requests and Assignments

The process for IE grade requests and assignments is as follows:

1. A student who wishes to request the IE grade should contact their instructor on or before the last class day of the semester.
    
2. If the instructor supports the request, the instructor will complete the request and include written instructions specifying the work to be completed and the completion deadline. The instructor will submit the request to the appropriate program chair/director. If the instructor does not support the request, the student may request a review by the program director and/or dean, with notification to the Chief Academic Officer.
    
3. The program chair/director will submit the request to the appropriate dean. Only the dean or their designee can approve or deny an IE grade request.
    
4. The dean or their designee will notify the chair/director, instructor, and student of their decision.
    
5. If the dean or their designee approves the IE grade request, they will notify Admissions, Registration, and Records of the approved request. Only Admissions, Registration, and Records can officially record an IE grade.
    
6. Once the student completes the work according to the instructor’s requirements, the instructor will assign a grade for the work, and the grade will be computed into the student’s final course grade. The instructor will then submit a Change of Grade form to the dean via the chair/director. If the course work is not completed by the required date, the IE grade will be changed to the grade previously calculated based on completed work and will be computed into the student’s cumulative grade point average.

If the incomplete course is an essential prerequisite for a subsequent course, the student may be required to remove the IE grade within a significantly shorter period of time. Otherwise, the student must drop the subsequent course.

An IE grade received during the semester before the semester of graduation must be removed by the midterm of the semester in which the student intends to graduate. For example, a student with a May 2021 graduation date must remove IE grades assigned during the Fall 2020 semester by the midterm of Spring 2021.