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Grade Point Average explained

What is a GPA (Grade Point Average)?

Answer ID 348 | Last updated on 23/01/2024 01.04 PM

At UWA your Grade Point Average (GPA) is a simple numerical index that summarises academic performance in a course.

Your GPA is reported on your Statement of Academic Record (academic transcript) and can be found on your studentConnect by clicking 'Course & Unit' and then 'Progress Status'. The GPA will only appear on your Statement of Academic Record if you commenced your course from 2005 onwards.

It includes all your unit attempts within a course, and each course you have undertaken will have a different GPA.

Note on admissions: Students applying for admission to the Juris Doctor, Doctor of Medicine, or Doctor of Dental Medicine, or who have an Assured Pathway to the Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Master of Pharmacy, or Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, are subject to different calculations of their GPA for the purposes of admission or progression to postgraduate study. The GPA used for admission will be different to the one recorded on your transcript. Please review the admission requirement on the Future Students website for further information or contact the Admissions office.

Note on transferring between courses: Students who transfer between new courses will have their advanced standing awarded as ‘duplicate credit’, and the mark(s) will be counted towards a GPA. Students transferring credit from old courses or being awarded advanced standing based on previous studies from another institution (or are in a postgraduate course) will only see the reflected credit points achieved on your record; the marks will not be carried over and are not used to calculate your GPA.

Note on withdrawing from units: If you withdraw from a unit before the academic penalty date, these units will not count towards your GPA. Withdrawing after the academic penalty date will count towards your GPA as a fail grade.

Note on awards with distinction: The GPA displayed in the student management system (Callista), in studentConnect and reported in associated documents such as official academic transcripts, is derived from units completed under that course. This may be different to how a GPA is calculated to determine eligibility for other matters, such as scholarships, fee places, award of degrees with distinction etc. If in doubt, check the course/admission/scholarship rules for details of the relevant calculation methods used.

Please use the UWA Calculator to find your GPA.

Formula used to calculate your GPA:

Every unit you do has an assigned credit value; most have 6 credits points. Each grade you receive for a unit also has a value (please see the table below); for example, a High Distinction has a value of 7.

Your GPA is calculated using these values with the formula as follows:

(a) The GPA calculation includes all attempts at units that are awarded a numeric grade.

(b) Unfinalised results are not included in the calculation.

Code Description Result GPA Value
HD High Distinction Pass 7
D Distinction Pass 6
CR Credit Pass Pass 5
P Pass Pass 4
PS Passed Supplementary Exam Pass 4
N+ Fail Fail 0
N Fail Fail 0
FN Fail due to non-completion Fail 0
FC Fail component Fail 0
FS Fail Supplementary Exam Fail 0
UF Ungraded Fail Fail 0
WE Not permitted to sit exam Fail 0
 

Example: Johnny Smith

A first year student, Johnny Smith, has completed his first year in the Bachelor of Commerce. His GPA would be as follows:

Unit Credit Value Mark Grade GPA Value
ECON1101
6
 85 HD
7
ECON1102
6
 66 CR
5
ACCT1101
6
 72 D
6
MGMT1135
6
 48 N
0
MKTG1203
6
 55 P
4
STAT1520
6
 83 HD
7
ANHB1101
6
 - WP
NA
VISA1051
6
 - FN
0
 

Sum (unit credits x GPA grade value)
= ( 6 x 7) + ( 6 x 5) + ( 6 x 6) + ( 6 x 0) + ( 6 x 4) + ( 6 x 7) + ( 6 x NA) + ( 6 x 0)
= 174

Sum credit points
= ( 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6)
= 42

174 divided by 42
= 4.14

Johnny enrolled into a broadening unit, ANHB1101. After the first week he realised he didn't want to study that unit and quickly withdrew from it, which you can see from the WP. He then enrolled into VISA1051.

You'll notice the calculation for ANHB1101 is struck out; this is because Johnny withdrew before the Academic Withdrawal Date. However, Johnny also withdrew from VISA1051, but he did this after the Academic Withdrawal Date, so while there is no final mark for the unit, he did receive a ‘0’ for his GPA value.

So, Johnny's first year GPA is 4.14

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