The Dialogue Question:
Should students who complete a course with an incomplete receive a lower grade than if they finished the course on time?

YES, in college, as in life, you must pay a penalty for missed deliverables.

If we relate this question to the actual corporate work environment, very seldom are projects put on hold or individuals granted extensions for personal reasons.

In corporate America, teams often pick up the slack for those that have had serious issues arise. Should we do this ‘teaming’ in academia? I believe so and encourage it in my classes. Is it our responsibility as teaching professionals to prepare our students for the nuances in the workplace? I think so. By holding people accountable in the majority of instances, they will be creative and find alternative solutions.

With this said, there are always exceptions to the rule. A sudden death or serious injury to a family member, or yourself, could qualify. In 17 years, this has happened only once and the extension was for one additional week, thus eliminating any perceived favoritism.

To get a feel of how students felt about this question, I polled 60 MBA students and 90 undergraduates from various disciplines and found an interesting division in their responses. Some 55 of the 60 MBAs felt that regardless of the situation, the person was responsible for all coursework during a semester. If anything was late or the student received an incomplete, then a penalty was applied. The primary reason was to prepare students for ‘real-life’ workplace situations. The undergraduate student responses were quite different. Only 38 of the 90 students agreed that regardless of the situation, students should not receive full credit.

My personal philosophy is one in which I usually penalize students for late work. However, with the right argument and persuasion, I cold be convinced otherwise on a case-by-case basis.

* Steven Seay is a professor of strategic management at Normandale College in Minnesota and a senior lecturer at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies and served in a variety of positions in the private sector.

James Ryan *

Most colleges and universities have procedures for separating sincere requests for extra days, weeks, or months in order to complete assignments from bogus excuses.

Although we may wonder at times whose grandmother was truly ill, more weighty questions are involved. Did the students who received incompletes learn the assigned materials? If so, we have done our jobs, and so have they.

Has our teaching—regardless of how long it took the student to absorb the lesson—prepared our charges to compete in the modern educated workforce? If so, their grade deserves no penalty, no asterisk, no modifier.

Many 21st century students are burdened by holding an outside job twelve or more hours per week, not typically the case in yesteryear. Some commute long distances because they can’t afford on-campus room and board charges. Many of our students—men and women—play varsity sports. Their athletic scholarships make it possible for them to matriculate, but their obligations as athletes take time away from their studies, and they can easily fall behind and need an extension to catch up. Faculty should display understanding, adapt to changing conditions, and give incompletes liberally.

Allowing additional time where needed is a long-established academic tradition. How many of us have ever requested an extension of a book or journal deadline? Most editors work with academic writers in a collegial and understanding fashion. With these considerations in mind, we likewise should avoid punishing students who have legitimately received and made up incompletes in the courses we teach.

* James Ryan survived many years as an adjunct in Philadelphia, and is now a tenured full professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He is a member of the National Writers Union and sat on the executive committee of the Texas Faculty Association from 1997 until 2003.