If you receive an incomplete grade in a course, it is important to understand how that can affect your eligibility for financial aid.

An incomplete grade does not carry credit so it will not add to the credits earned toward a degree and will not have an impact on your grade point average until the time you complete the unfinished work and receive a final grade. However, incomplete grades can be used in certain circumstances to meet “pursuit of program”—the requirement that you get a grade in a certain percentage of your course load to remain in good academic standing.

Generally, passing or failing grades of A through F (and any grade that counts as an F) are acceptable for meeting the pursuit of program requirement as well as any grade that indicates that you: (1) attended the course for the entire term and (2) completed all necessary assignments.

An incomplete grade can also be used to satisfy the pursuit requirement providing that your college’s academic policy requires the incomplete grade to be changed to a standard passing or failing grade no later than the end of the following term. If your college policy permits an incomplete grade to remain on the academic transcript indefinitely, then incomplete grades cannot be used to meet the pursuit requirement.