Student performance or status is recorded by the grades and marks described below. A student’s grade point average is calculated on the basis of credits earned at Iowa State with the grades and quality points shown below. Credits earned with P, S, or T are not used in calculating the grade point average but may be applied toward meeting degree requirements. A cumulative grade point average of 2.00 is required for a bachelor’s degree.

The student and instructor must complete and sign an incomplete contract (Incomplete Mark Report form) that states the reason for the I, the requirements for resolving it, and the date by which it must be resolved, not to exceed one calendar year. The instructor then enters an I on the final grade report, attaches the form to the report, and submits both to the registrar.

If the student is not available at the end of the term to sign the Incomplete Mark Report form because of ill health or other reasons, the instructor may assign an incomplete mark and submit the form without the student’s signature. The Office of the Registrar will record the incomplete mark and mail a copy of the form to the student. If the student chooses not to accept the incomplete, the student has until midterm of the following semester to contact his or her instructor and request a grade be submitted to the registrar. If the student has not contacted the instructor by midterm, the student must resolve the incomplete according to the conditions set forth in the Incomplete Mark Report form.

When a student completes the requirements specified on the Incomplete Mark Report form, the instructor submits the appropriate grade, which becomes part of the student’s cumulative, but not term, grade-point average. The grade does not replace the I on the record. The I remains on the record for the applicable term.

A final course grade, once submitted to the registrar, may not be changed to an Incomplete except to correct an error at the request of the instructor and with the approval of the instructor’s department head and the dean of the instructor’s college. The instructor should send a card (Grade Report to the Registrar) reporting the change, and an Incomplete Mark Report form to the appropriate dean who will forward them to the registrar if the change is approved.

Incompletes in all courses must be resolved by the middle of the student’s term of graduation. Repeating a course will not resolve an I mark. A mark of I will automatically change to a grade of F after one calendar year (whether or not the student was enrolled during the period).

• The most recent grade for a course a student repeats will be used in computing the student’s cumulative grade point average rather than the previous grade(s), up to a limit of 15 credits. (This could result in a lowered grade point average if the second grade is lower than the first, or even loss of credit if the grade is lowered to an F.) All grades will remain on the student’s record.
  
  
• Students may repeat any course for which an F grade or any passing grade except P or S was received, but they may not elect to repeat the course under the Pass-Not Pass system.
  
  
• Beyond 15 credits of repeats, both grades will be included in computing the cumulative grade point average.
  
  
• Courses should be repeated as soon as possible, preferably within three semesters in residence, because of changes that occur with course updating, change in course number, or revision in number of credits. Approval to repeat a course after more than three semesters have elapsed must be noted on a Designation of Repeated Course form, which can be obtained from departmental offices. This form must be signed by the head of the department offering the course and by the student’s adviser, and then taken to the Office of the Registrar. This form must also be used in cases in which the course number or number of credits has changed. Deadlines for filing repeated course forms for full-semester and half-semester courses are published in the University Calendar.
  
  
• Transfer students may repeat courses at Iowa State University for which a D or F was received at another institution. They must process a designated repeat form indicating they are repeating the course to reduce a transfer deficiency. Such repeated credits will count toward the 15-credit request limit and will affect only their transfer deficiency.
  
  
• A student who has earned an F at Iowa State University may repeat the course at another institution and the credits earned may be applied toward graduation at Iowa State, but the grade earned will not be used in computing a cumulative grade point average.