Deferred grades may be granted in special cases when a student is unable to complete the
course requirements because of an unexpected or unforeseen event that happens at the end of the semester. In other
words, the reason must be beyond the student's control. Lack of adequate preparation for a final exam or for a
final project is not a justification for a deferred grade. Requests for deferred grades must be made to the
instructor before the final exam is scheduled for the course or the last day of classes, which ever comes last.
It is the student's responsibility to discuss the need for a deferred grade with the instructor of
each course before the deadline. If a student is unable to contact his or her instructors because of illness or
injury, he or she should seek help from an adviser at a commonwealth college, the undergraduate coordinator if in
a major, or the Engineering Advising Center if an ENGR student at University Park.
When a request for a deferred grade is supported by the instructor, the instructor indicates this
approval by recording the deferred grade symbol (DF) for the student. The expiration date for the deferred grade
is automatically recorded as the end of the sixth week of the next semester. Spring semester approvals expire
during the fall semester unless the student enrolls during summer session. Therefore, course requirements must
be completed and a grade must be submitted by the end of six weeks into the student's next semester for which
he or she is registered. Any deferred grade that is not replaced by the deadline will automatically become "F".
To be considered for a deferred grade in Distance Education/World Campus courses, students
are expected to have submitted a minimum of 75% of their lessons. Requests must be received by Distance
Education/World Campus at least two weeks before the end of the course. The course instructor will notify
Distance Education/World Campus of the decision regarding the deferred grade request.