Graduate students who push their classwork to the back of their minds until nearly the end of the term may need to break that habit.

The University Graduate Council approved a revision to the DF-Deferred policy stating that graduate students may only be permitted the chance for two six-month extensions at the end of a course's term, instead of the possible two-year extension that currently exists.

The revision is working its way through the Academic Governance system and is not yet a policy.

"Everyone hopes this will help graduate students complete their programs faster," said Brad Love, president of MSU's Council of Graduate Students, or COGS. "It presents a closer deadline and encourages the faculty to watch over them."

The proposal was on the agenda at last month's Executive Committee of Academic Council meeting and Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting. Next week it goes to Academic Council, said Karen Klomparens, dean of the Graduate School, in an e-mail.

According to the Office of the Registrar, 90 percent of graduate students who receive incomplete grades due to outstanding circumstances successfully complete the courses after an extension.

For deferred grades, which are more common, the overall completion rate is 73 percent.

"An 'I' grade is given for a more rigorous set of circumstances … compared to a deferred grade, which is given for less rigorous circumstances," university registrar Dugald McMillan said.

While "I" grades can be given to both undergraduate and graduate students, deferred grades are strictly for graduate students. Last fall, the university granted 432 deferred grades, McMillan said.

If approved, the new policy could limit the number of deferred grades handed out, speeding up degree completion for students. It also would call for more frequent attention by the faculty to determine if there is a legitimate need to extend deferrals.

"Most of the feedback from grad students was that (decreasing) the number of times you need the extension is probably a good thing," said John Hettinger, a computer science and engineering graduate student in COGS.

"But going from two years down to one year might not be so good in terms of flexibility," he said. "However, I did vote for the change because of the basic 95-5 rule. You can't pass something based on the 5 percent of people it affects.

"The exceptions and special cases should be dealt with separately."

Some students who are in graduate school for less than two years say they don't think the policy change would matter.

"I'm pretty much indifferent," theater graduate student Daniel Roth said. "But I think this would be more effective for someone going for their Ph.D."

If the proposal ends up passing, deadlines will seem that much more important at the beginning of a term, Hettinger said.

"I knew some graduate students who would put their work on the back burner and have to scramble late in the term," he said. "That certainly wouldn't be the case for anyone if this goes through."