All questions regarding grades and grade changes should be directed to the course instructor. Consult the course syllabus or the Faculty/Staff Search for contact information for your instructor, or look up the course in LEO Online for an e-mail link to the instructor.
A grade of "I" indicates assigned work yet to be completed in a given course, or absence from the final examination, and is assigned only upon instructor approval of a student request.
The "I" grade may be awarded only in exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control, such as illness, and only after 80% of the time allocated for the course has elapsed and substantial progress has been made toward completion of course requirements with the exception of courses that do not fit within the traditional semester calendar.
In cases of exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control, it is the responsibility of the student to approach the instructor to request an "I" grade and to provide documentation, including a written statement of when the work will be completed, to support the request. The authority to award an "I" grade rests with the instructor, whose decision is final.
Students receiving an incomplete grade should not register for the class in the next term. Faculty that need to give the student access to course materials in Canvas in a later offering of the class can do so by emailing a request to ITShelp@odu.edu. The email should include the student's UIN, the CRN of the class they need access to, and indicate that the reason is for the student to finish an incomplete. Once the student has completed their work, the 'I' grade in the original class should be changed to the final letter grade.
The "I" grade becomes an "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for following term as follows:
- "I" grades from the Fall semester become "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for the Spring semester.
- "I" grades from the Spring semester and Summer session become "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for the Fall semester.
- An "I" grade may be changed to a "W" (official withdrawal) only in very unusual circumstances and when the student's situation has changed since the "I" grade was awarded. In these cases, the request for a change to a "W" must be made in writing, documented, and approved by the instructor, department chair, and dean. Students will not be allowed to graduate until all grades of "I" have been resolved.
- Grade changes from "I" (or "I" rolled to "F") to another grade must be made in writing. See Grade Reporting for more information on grade changes.
Extension of the I time limitation normally will not be approved except for reasons beyond the student's control and only if the supervising faculty member is available and willing to supervise the work beyond the normal time limit. Students should submit the request to the instructor, who should submit approval on an Academic Record Change Form ("grade change form"), via the chair, to the University Registrar, in order to retain the I. The approval from the instructor should designate the expiration date of the extension. The Academic Record Change Form should be available from the department office.
Questions about "I" grades should be addressed to the course instructor. Grade changes submitted by faculty are processed as soon as they are received in the Office of the University Registrar.
A grade of "II" indicates incomplete work not subject to the time limits described above for "I" grades. The "II" grade can be used only in those courses directly related to the research for and preparation of the graduate thesis/dissertation.
Students who drop classes by the drop deadline incur no financial obligation or grade for those classes. After the drop deadline, students may withdraw from classes and a financial obligation is incurred. Note: Students are NOT dropped from classes for nonpayment of tuition or non-attendance.
Withdrawal from classes occurs after the deadline to drop classes. Drop and withdraw dates for each term are available at the web sites of the Office of Finance and the Office of the Registrar (published on the Academic Calendars). Complete information on withdrawing from classes is available in the University Catalog. Before withdrawing from any classes, students are encouraged to contact their instructor, advisor, and financial aid counselor to discuss the implications of withdrawing.
The grades of "W" and "WF" on a student's academic transcript indicate withdrawal from a course as follows:
Effective Fall 2023: After the add/drop deadline, a student may withdraw from any course with a grade of "W" assigned (the "W" grade is not computed in a student's GPA). Withdrawals must be completed in accordance with the deadlines below:
- for full-semester classes, the deadline to withdraw without instructor permission is the end of the twelfth (12th) week of classes. (This is a change from previous semesters.)
- for non-semester classes -- Maymester, Winter Term, or 8-week sessions -- the withdraw deadline is the day before the last day of classes
- All requests to withdraw must be received by the published deadlines.
- Withdraw deadlines for all sessions are published in the academic calendar for each term.
During the published withdraw period (through the end of the 12th week), no instructor signature is required and the withdrawal may usually be accomplished via LEO Online.
Students with financial or other registration holds will not be able to withdraw online and must submit the Drop/Add/Withdraw Form or email register@odu.edu with their name and University ID Number (UIN) and information (SUBU/CRSE# and 5-digit CRN) about the class(es) they wish to withdraw from. All requests must be received by the published withdraw deadlines. An email confirmation will be sent to the ODU email address when the request to withdraw has been processed.
Withdrawal from a course after the 12th week of a regular session is usually not permitted. However in the event of an illness or other severe hardship beyond the student's control, the student should submit, no later than the last day of classes, a written petition for permission to withdraw, to the instructor.
- If permission is granted, a grade of W will be recorded.
- If permission is not granted, the student will not be allowed to withdraw from the course.
- An appeal of decisions should be brought to the chair of the department offering the course.
- The completed Request for Exception-Permission to Withdraw After Deadline form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by the last day of classes.
Students who withdraw from classes by any method should verify the withdrawal in LEO Online (by viewing the Registration History).
A student who stops attending classes without officially withdrawing will receive a grade of "WF" except if the student's performance has been an "F", in which case a grade of "F" will be assigned.
The grade of "WF" represents an unofficial withdrawal and carries no quality points, and will be computed in the student's grade point average in the same manner as an F. The grade of "WF" should only be assigned to a student if they stopped attending prior to the last day of classes and did not officially withdraw from the class. The student's last date of attendance must be reported when submitting a "WF" grade. Reporting an accurate last date of attendance is important, as it can affect whether a student has to pay back Financial Aid. Please note that once reported, the last date of attendance cannot be changed later. For questions regarding the impact on Financial Aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.
Non-attendance does not relieve students of the financial responsibility for tuition charges after they are registered for a class.
Withdrawal from a course after the last day of classes of a regular semester (or after the day prior to the last day of classes for non-semester courses) is not permitted. Students who miss the deadlines to withdraw and need to withdraw from all their classes due to extenuating circumstances should contact Student Outreach and Support (SOS).
A grade of "Z" indicates that no grade has been submitted by the instructor for the student. All questions regarding unreported grades should be directed to the course instructor.
"Z" grades can be updated by faculty in LEO Online -->Faculty & Advisor Menu-->Report a Change of Grade. If the Change option is not available there, the instructor should submit a written Grade Change Form (available from the department), approved by the Chairperson, to the Registrar's Office to record the student's actual grade.
"Z" grades will be converted to a grade of "F" if not removed by the last day of classes of the following term (excluding the exam period), according to the following schedule:
- Z grades from the Fall semester become F's if not removed by the last day of classes of the Spring semester.
- Z grades from the Spring semester and Summer session become F's if not removed by the last day of classes of the Fall semester.
Students will not be allowed to graduate until all grades of "Z" have been resolved.
A grade of "I" indicates assigned work yet to be completed in a given course, or absence from the final examination, and is assigned only upon instructor approval of a student request.
The "I" grade may be awarded only in exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control, such as illness, and only after 80% of the time allocated for the course has elapsed and substantial progress has been made toward completion of course requirements with the exception of courses that do not fit within the traditional semester calendar.
In cases of exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control, it is the responsibility of the student to approach the instructor to request an "I" grade and to provide documentation, including a written statement of when the work will be completed, to support the request. The authority to award an "I" grade rests with the instructor, whose decision is final.
Students receiving an incomplete grade should not register for the class in the next term. Faculty that need to give the student access to course materials in Canvas in a later offering of the class can do so by emailing a request to ITShelp@odu.edu. The email should include the student's UIN, the CRN of the class they need access to, and indicate that the reason is for the student to finish an incomplete. Once the student has completed their work, the 'I' grade in the original class should be changed to the final letter grade.
The "I" grade becomes an "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for following term as follows:
- "I" grades from the Fall semester become "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for the Spring semester.
- "I" grades from the Spring semester and Summer session become "F" if not removed by the day grades are due for the Fall semester.
- An "I" grade may be changed to a "W" (official withdrawal) only in very unusual circumstances and when the student's situation has changed since the "I" grade was awarded. In these cases, the request for a change to a "W" must be made in writing, documented, and approved by the instructor, department chair, and dean. Students will not be allowed to graduate until all grades of "I" have been resolved.
- Grade changes from "I" (or "I" rolled to "F") to another grade must be made in writing. See Grade Reporting for more information on grade changes.
Extension of the I time limitation normally will not be approved except for reasons beyond the student's control and only if the supervising faculty member is available and willing to supervise the work beyond the normal time limit. Students should submit the request to the instructor, who should submit approval on an Academic Record Change Form ("grade change form"), via the chair, to the University Registrar, in order to retain the I. The approval from the instructor should designate the expiration date of the extension. The Academic Record Change Form should be available from the department office.
Questions about "I" grades should be addressed to the course instructor. Grade changes submitted by faculty are processed as soon as they are received in the Office of the University Registrar.
A grade of "II" indicates incomplete work not subject to the time limits described above for "I" grades. The "II" grade can be used only in those courses directly related to the research for and preparation of the graduate thesis/dissertation.
Students who drop classes by the drop deadline incur no financial obligation or grade for those classes. After the drop deadline, students may withdraw from classes and a financial obligation is incurred. Note: Students are NOT dropped from classes for nonpayment of tuition or non-attendance.
Withdrawal from classes occurs after the deadline to drop classes. Drop and withdraw dates for each term are available at the web sites of the Office of Finance and the Office of the Registrar (published on the Academic Calendars). Complete information on withdrawing from classes is available in the University Catalog. Before withdrawing from any classes, students are encouraged to contact their instructor, advisor, and financial aid counselor to discuss the implications of withdrawing.
The grades of "W" and "WF" on a student's academic transcript indicate withdrawal from a course as follows:
Effective Fall 2023: After the add/drop deadline, a student may withdraw from any course with a grade of "W" assigned (the "W" grade is not computed in a student's GPA). Withdrawals must be completed in accordance with the deadlines below:
- for full-semester classes, the deadline to withdraw without instructor permission is the end of the twelfth (12th) week of classes. (This is a change from previous semesters.)
- for non-semester classes -- Maymester, Winter Term, or 8-week sessions -- the withdraw deadline is the day before the last day of classes
- All requests to withdraw must be received by the published deadlines.
- Withdraw deadlines for all sessions are published in the academic calendar for each term.
During the published withdraw period (through the end of the 12th week), no instructor signature is required and the withdrawal may usually be accomplished via LEO Online.
Students with financial or other registration holds will not be able to withdraw online and must submit the Drop/Add/Withdraw Form or email register@odu.edu with their name and University ID Number (UIN) and information (SUBU/CRSE# and 5-digit CRN) about the class(es) they wish to withdraw from. All requests must be received by the published withdraw deadlines. An email confirmation will be sent to the ODU email address when the request to withdraw has been processed.
Withdrawal from a course after the 12th week of a regular session is usually not permitted. However in the event of an illness or other severe hardship beyond the student's control, the student should submit, no later than the last day of classes, a written petition for permission to withdraw, to the instructor.
- If permission is granted, a grade of W will be recorded.
- If permission is not granted, the student will not be allowed to withdraw from the course.
- An appeal of decisions should be brought to the chair of the department offering the course.
- The completed Request for Exception-Permission to Withdraw After Deadline form must be submitted to the Registrar's Office by the last day of classes.
Students who withdraw from classes by any method should verify the withdrawal in LEO Online (by viewing the Registration History).
A student who stops attending classes without officially withdrawing will receive a grade of "WF" except if the student's performance has been an "F", in which case a grade of "F" will be assigned.
The grade of "WF" represents an unofficial withdrawal and carries no quality points, and will be computed in the student's grade point average in the same manner as an F. The grade of "WF" should only be assigned to a student if they stopped attending prior to the last day of classes and did not officially withdraw from the class. The student's last date of attendance must be reported when submitting a "WF" grade. Reporting an accurate last date of attendance is important, as it can affect whether a student has to pay back Financial Aid. Please note that once reported, the last date of attendance cannot be changed later. For questions regarding the impact on Financial Aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid.
Non-attendance does not relieve students of the financial responsibility for tuition charges after they are registered for a class.
Withdrawal from a course after the last day of classes of a regular semester (or after the day prior to the last day of classes for non-semester courses) is not permitted. Students who miss the deadlines to withdraw and need to withdraw from all their classes due to extenuating circumstances should contact Student Outreach and Support (SOS).
A grade of "Z" indicates that no grade has been submitted by the instructor for the student. All questions regarding unreported grades should be directed to the course instructor.
"Z" grades can be updated by faculty in LEO Online -->Faculty & Advisor Menu-->Report a Change of Grade. If the Change option is not available there, the instructor should submit a written Grade Change Form (available from the department), approved by the Chairperson, to the Registrar's Office to record the student's actual grade.
"Z" grades will be converted to a grade of "F" if not removed by the last day of classes of the following term (excluding the exam period), according to the following schedule:
- Z grades from the Fall semester become F's if not removed by the last day of classes of the Spring semester.
- Z grades from the Spring semester and Summer session become F's if not removed by the last day of classes of the Fall semester.
Students will not be allowed to graduate until all grades of "Z" have been resolved.