What To Do If You Miss a Course

Monique Staats Updated by Monique Staats

If you see that your course is marked Incomplete, please return to your course and double-check your grade book.

This article will help you find your grade book to verify that you have completed all requirements.

This article contains more information about how to read your grade book.

In order to receive a grade of Complete for the course, all of the course requirements need to be completed. For most courses, you must receive a total of 100% on your Grades page of the course, which results in a status of Complete (the equivalent of "Pass"). If the course requirements were not met and the course is incomplete, please contact Student Support; our team will be happy to assist you. Please note that retaking a course may incur a fee, see this article for more information.

To contact the Student Support team:         

  • Email: ec_helpdesk@cornell.edu
  • Toll Free: US: 1-800-801-0287
  • International: +1 (607) 330-3200

Why do I need to retake a course, can't you just accept my late work?
Courses are scheduled for a two-week window. Once the course closes, the facilitator is no longer active. Therefore, any work submitted after the course closes will not be reviewed/graded, unless you have received an extension.
If I retake a course, do I have to start all over?
If you retake a course and have work from your first attempt, you do not have to redo all the work. To “retake” the course, you must re-upload or copy/paste your previous work to the new course and complete any of the incomplete portions from the first time attempt. Canvas will not transfer your work over for you, so you must resubmit your work manually.

Since facilitators are not active in closed courses, this is the most efficient way to have your work graded.
How can I request an extension to finish my course?
For information on how to request an extension, see this article.
How do I know what the required passing grade is for my course?
Most courses require a grade of 100% in order to receive a Complete. However, the best place to check is your course syllabus, which you can locate by following the steps in this article.
Can you remove the Incomplete course from my transcript?
In an effort to maintain accuracy and the integrity of university records, Incomplete courses cannot be removed from any student record.

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Extension Policy

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