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Grade Point Average

Introduction

The Grade Point Average (GPA) is a numerical index that summarises academic performance, and ranges from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 7 (scale of 0 to 7).

Program GPA

The Program GPA is the average of the grades obtained in all courses in the program, weighted by the unit value of each course. Students enrolled in more than one program will have a separate GPA for each, calculated using the final grades of the courses associated with each program. Only courses studied at the University of Adelaide are included in the GPA with the exception of language courses undertaken at Flinders University between 2002 and 2005.

No GPA is calculated for the following programs: Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Bachelor of Oral Health. In these programs, academic assessment for all core courses is done on a non-graded basis. In addition, no GPA is calculated for students enrolled in research or non award programs.

The Program GPA will appear on Official Academic Transcripts for students who commenced their programs from 2002 onwards.

Other uses of GPA

The GPA may be used to rank students seeking admission to another program by academic merit, or for awarding scholarships, prizes or other merit awards, such as the University Medal.

The GPA is also used to monitor students’ academic progress, in accordance with the University’s Unsatisfactory Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy (or UAP Policy - see http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/1803/). Students whose Term GPA for any Semester is 2.8 or less will become subject to the requirements of the UAP Policy.

How to calculate your GPA

1. Your GPA is calculated by assigning the following point values to your final grade for each course:

No. of Points

Final Grade

7

High Distinction (HD); First Class Honours (1)

6

Distinction (D); Second Class Honours A (2A)

5

Credit (C); Second Class Honours B (2B)

4

Pass (NGP); Non Graded Pass (NGP); Unclassified Pass; Satisfactory (S); Third Class Honours (3)

3

Conceded Pass (CP – grade deleted after 2010)

1.5

Fail (F); Unsatisfactory; Incomplete Fail (IF – grade deleted after 2008)

0

Withdraw Fail (WF); Fail No Submission (FNS); Not Awarded

Not included

Withdraw Not Fail (WNF); Continuing (CN); Result Pending (RP)

2. Next, the number of units assigned to each grade is multiplied by the number of grade points to give the total number of course grade points for each course, in each program. For example, for a student enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program (BARTS) and the Bachelor of Commerce program BCOM):

Program

Course No.

Units

Grade

Grade Points

Units x Grade Points

BARTS

1

3

D

6

18

BARTS

2

6

C

5

30

BARTS

3

3

HD

7

21

BARTS

4

3

P

4

12

BARTS

5

3

F

1.5

4.5

BCOM

1

3

C

5

15

BCOM

2

3

WF

0

0

BCOM

3

3

WNF

-

-

3. Finally, the total number of course grade points is divided by the total number of unit values of the courses for each program. Based on the above example:

Bachelor of Arts

Program GPA

18 + 30 + 21 + 12 + 4.5
3 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 3

85.5
18

= 4.75

 

Bachelor of Commerce

Program GPA

15 + 0
3 + 3

15
6

= 2.50

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