I teach at a community college where we have an attrition rate of about 25%
(except in psychology where it about 13% - and we have the lowest across
discipline GPA!). The records office has been encouraging us not to give I
grades except under the strict guidelines given in our regulations. They
claim, and my own informal research confirms, that only about 10-15% of
students ever make up the incomplete. Part of the problems stems from the
fact that many of us -out of kindness, I suppose-give an Incomplete to a
"desapearicido" a disappeared student who doesn't take the final. My own
experiences from the semesters when I have been hardnosed and given mostly
"F"s instead of incompletes is that it motivates the few who have genuine
reasons for not taking the last exam and saves me and the records office
time for those who chose not to finish the semester. Of course, this doesn't
answer the question for those who ask for an incomplete. I would be inclined
to deny the request if the student asking is doing so in the usually vain
hope that next semester will be better. An easy way out, which actually
seems fair, is to abide by your college's guidelines strictly (except for a
cases of extraordinay circumstances.
>From: Michael Sylvester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: TIPS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: The I-C grade connection
>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 12:41:37 -0400 (EDT)
>
>
>It appears that some students may be opting to take an I in a course
>and/or some teachers may be giving some students Incompletes hoping
>that on the retake and make-up work the student will eventfully
>make a C in the course or a higher grade. One of my colleagues was
>called in by a Dean because he was not flunking some students:
>He felt that he was just going to give them additional work.
>Are there any statistics on the frequency of grades when an I has been
>removed?
>What is your take on Incompletes and their eventual conversion to letter
>grades?
>
>Michael Sylvester,PhD
>Daytona Beach,Florida
>
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