Graduate students may have two additional quarters to complete
their unfinished coursework come next academic year.
The Graduate Division presented a proposal to extend the period
for graduate students to clear academic incompletes and remove the
corresponding Fs from their transcripts to the Graduate Council
Committee on Degree Programs on Wednesday.
Existing policy requires a student to clear an incomplete within
one quarter or receive an F for the course. After this grace
period, the F will remain on the student’s transcript and
alongside a new grade even if the coursework is completed at a
later time.
While the current policy may be appropriate for undergraduate
students, it is much less practical for graduate students, said
Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, dean of the Graduate Division and vice
chancellor of graduate studies.
“The short period of time is very often insufficient for
graduate students to work at the standard and level they aspire
to,” she added.
The process of approving the policy seemed to be more
complicated than originally thought, said John Richardson,
associate dean of Graduate Division.
According to the University Committee on Rules and Jurisdiction,
the process of changing the policy for incompletes would also
require a simple majority vote from UCLA faculty members.
Because there are over 3,000 faculty members on campus,
representatives from each of the 13 divisions would most likely be
consulted for approval, Richardson said.
The change in policy for incompletes could have a positive
effect on student employment and fellowship opportunities.
The revised policy would clear up any confusion about the Fs
from potential employers and fellowship officials, said Dennis
Tyler, GSA vice president of academic affairs.
Tyler, who worked with the Graduate Division on the proposal,
said employers could misunderstand and react negatively to the Fs
that result from students clearing incompletes after the grace
period.
“It’s confusing because both the F and a new grade
will be entered for the same course on the transcript,” he
said.
Many graduate students said they would welcome an extension to
clear an incomplete.
Kate Falzareno, an English doctoral student, said extending the
period would be helpful for writing extensive research papers.
She said it is difficult to balance being both a teaching
assistant and a student. Last year, she had to take an incomplete
because she did not have enough time to complete all the papers for
her courses.
“I knew I wasn’t going to put out the best work
“¦ I didn’t want to do that or force my professor to
read it,” she added.
However, some students said they felt the proposal is
incorrectly addressing the issue of incompletes.
“The problem is not about getting a paper in, but rather
the quarter system itself,” said Benjamin Levine, a political
science doctoral student.
He said having students write full-fledged research papers
within 10 weeks is not feasible and that graduate courses should
instead be two quarters long. This way, students can have time to
perform in-depth research while remaining engaged in seminar
discussions, he said.
“The quarter system is relentless and doesn’t allow
you to work on your paper, especially if you’re a TA in an
upper-division course,” Levine added.
Mitchell-Kernan said the issue of a possible switch to a
semester system is difficult to solve because a 10-week quarter
system may be well suited for some parts of the campus.
Other graduate students said they would rather finish their
papers within the 10-week period.
“I’m the kind of person who would say, give me a
deadline and I’ll just get it done with,” said
Elizabeth Graham, an English doctoral student.
Overall, the Graduate Division wants to adopt policies most
suitable for graduate education at UCLA, Mitchell-Kernan said.
“Graduate students need to have more flexibility to
complete the work,” she said.