StraighterLine: do I have to complete everything to finish a course?

[jch]

Coming back around to answer my own question: yes, completing everything is likely required in order to finish a course on SL. The grading policies make it clear that courses will not be considered complete and eligible for transcription unless all required coursework is complete; incomplete assignments may result in an academic hold. They specifically state that all coursework must be attempted and submitted regardless of a student's overall grade in the course.  
Because of these policies, I proceeded with the intention of completing everything, with varying degrees of effort and quality. I focused my efforts on the easier work and the lab reports worth the most points, and rushed through the rest. However, on one of the bigger lab reports, I was shocked to receive a grade of zero after investing many days of hard work. Apparently, the grader didn't like one of my photos, despite it depicting a complete experimental setup, and completely rejected the assignment under SL's draconian policies. However, the SL student dashboard still showed the item as complete. Because I decided to appeal, I don't know what the outcome would have been if I tried to complete the course with that zero in place. A week after my complaint, SL reversed and issued me a grade of 100% on the assignment. It's crazy, inhumane, and capricious to give a student a grade of zero for a trivial complaint and then next week decide that the assignment actually deserves a 100. That was only one of many exasperating and frustrating moments I experienced in the course. I'm glad I finally finished it, and would strongly recommend staying away from SL and their physics lab. See more details in my forthcoming course review.