What does IPR mean on a grade report in Canada?

Question

I'm was doing some continuing education in a Canadian University this fall. I was looking at my list of final grades on their website (none of them seem to be in so far), but one of them is marked IPR.

I did a bit of Googling, and found that IPR stands for (supposedly, anyhow) Inward Processing Relief. Is this the case, and if so, what does it mean? Does it mean that they haven't finished processing the grades yet? If so, why do I only have it on one of my courses?

Screenshot for reference:

Answer 1

I am a former lecturer in Canada. As Nate has already answered, it (almost certainly) means In Progress.

I'll add (while this still falls under the "grades not yet available" scenario) that the student could see IPR for a course well after grades are normally available because they contested their grade and it's under review; some institutions may use a special notation for that (mine used GNA).

The professor may also have agreed to give the student an extension on some critical work to account for extenuating circumstances during the term, or delay the exam, while not forcing them to re-register in a following term.

My alma mater calls this IP, and it can be used for a myriad of other reasons:

IP In Progress – a notation (IP) assigned to a course by a faculty member when:

At the undergraduate level, an undergraduate thesis or course has not been completed by the end of the period of registration.

At the graduate level, a graduate thesis, research essay, independent research project or comprehensive examination has not been completed by the end of the period of registration. The IP notation may also be used at the graduate level when a research seminar has not been completed by the end of the period of registration provided the research seminar has been approved by Graduate Faculty Board as being eligible for the use of this notation.

In the case of re-registration in any of the above courses, the IP notation will remain; a final grade will normally be assigned in the final period of registration. Where there is no re-registration in any of the above courses, the IP notation must be replaced with an appropriate notation or grade within the prescribed time period, or be replaced by a notation of WDN.

Answer 2

More Google suggests that IPR actually means "In PRogress". This is commonly used as a temporary placeholder when grades are required to be submitted but the real grade is not yet available.

I'm not sure why it would show up for one course and not the others - it may have to do with how the paperwork was done by that individual professor - but I would suggest you ignore it for now. Most likely it will be replaced by the real grade around the same time that your other grades are posted. If it still appears on your record after a reasonable time, ask the professor and/or the department for an explanation.

Answer 3

I'm pretty sure this means "In Progress". However, grade scales at the college level tend to vary by the institution and are not constant within a country.

At my alma mater (CUNY College of Staten Island, United States), there are actually several different grades used for situations like this:

• INC, for Incomplete, meaning that the student was supposed to finish the course at the end of a previous semester but has not done so for some valid reason, and the instructor has allowed the student to continue working on the material until a future date.
• PEN, for Pending, used for administrative purposes when a grade cannot be assigned until further review, such as when dishonesty is suspected.
• Y, used when a student is partway through a course that spans multiple semesters.
• Z, used when the instructor has somehow failed to assign a grade at the end of the course.

Any of the above could be reasons for an IPR at your institution.