Incomplete/delayed grade FAQ

This FAQ addresses commonly asked questions after arranging for a student continued access to your Canvas site for an incomplete or delayed grade after the semester, or custom enrollment period of a Self-paced Canvas course, has ended. Please follow these instructions to give a student with an incomplete access to your Canvas course.

How do I request a student gain access to Canvas to complete an Incomplete/Delayed Grade? 

Follow these instructions to give a student with an incomplete access to your Canvas course. It will take about three hours to create the new section from the time of the request.

How will I know that the student has access?

Once your CRS request has completed both you and the student will be added to an additional section in your Canvas course site. You will see that addition in your Canvas course roster. It will take up to three hours for your CRS request to be processed. 

To verify that this has occurred, select People from the Canvas Course Navigation menu. Find the student who you awarded the incomplete/delayed grade, and verify that they have an additional row in the Section area that ends in _INC (See Fig. 1)

Figure 1: Incomplete section

How long will the student have access for?

Length of access depends on the campus; faculty who have concerns or questions about Delayed Grades should contact their campus registrar.

• UMKC, S&T, and UMSL campuses will allow access for up to one calendar year past the end date of the original course to complete work.
• MU will allow one semester beyond the original course end date.

How does the student access the course?

The incomplete section is housed within the original course site; there is not a new course being created. Once you have requested the student be added to the incomplete section, the original course will be restored to their dashboard.

How do I edit the assignment due dates/availability dates for the student?

If you have used availability dates for your assignments, make sure to add an additional date range for the student with an incomplete. Navigate to the assignment and select Edit. Scroll down to the Assign To field and select + Add  (See Fig. 2). Enter the Student name, and the updated Due Date and Availability Dates.

Note: Make sure not to delete the existing Assign To group, as this will remove the grades from the gradebook.

Figure 2: Adding a new Assign To group

Is there anything to avoid doing?

• Do not change the course beginning and end dates from the settings of the course. This could result in the entire class regaining access to the course. If you would like to change the beginning/end dates for the incomplete student, please reach out to the Academic Technologies team.
• Do not change any existing rubrics, quiz questions, or assignment point values, as this could change the grades reflected for previous students. If an edit needs to be made to an existing assignment, create a new assignment and assign it only to the student with the incomplete.

How do I submit the final, corrected grade?

The final grade will be entered in your campus' student information system (MyZou, Pathway, MyView, or Joe'SS). For specific instructions on resolving an incomplete, please reach out to your campus Registrar's office.

What should I do if I would like my student to utilize my current semester course for their Incomplete? 

The best practice is to have your student complete the course utilizing the Canvas course and section that they were originally enrolled in. There are some situations which do warrant the student completing work in a current semester course. If you have an instance where this might be the case, reach out to your campus' Registrars Office via email to gain approval. Include the student name, course they will be enrolled in why they need access to the current semester course and the work they will be completing in the course.