SESSION 4

COB 100 Student Orientation and

Academic Success
What will you learn in this session
Basics of Performance Evaluation
GPA Calculations
Difference between GPA and CGPA
Require Minimum GPA and probation

Next Session
Automated GPA Calculator/Simulator

By Dr Hayat Khan
Vic Dean Undergraduate
Programs and Internship
GPA System
GPA as a measure of performance
Alfaisal University uses GPA Scales as a performance
measure

Question: What does GPA stand for?

ANSWER: GPA stands for Grade Point Average

 How is it calculated?
It involves the following steps

Step-1: Your overall performance in a course is graded out of 100

The is the sum total of your score in attendance and participation,

midterm exams, final exams, quizzes/assignment/projects etc
 How is it calculated?
Step-2: Your score in step 1 is converted into a letter grade using the following matrix

Step 3: Each letter grade is assigned Grade points per credit as below

Letter Grades Conversion:

Letter Grades Grade Points Percentage Descriptor
A 4.0 95 – 100 Excellent
A- 3.67 90 – 94 Excellent
B+ 3.33 86 – 89 Very Good
B 3.00 83 – 85 Very good
B- 2.67 80 – 82 High Good
C+ 2.33 76 – 79 Good
C 2.0 73 – 75 Good
C- 1.67 70 – 72 Good
D+ 1.33 66 – 69 Fair
D 1.0 60 – 65 Fair
F 0.0 < 59 Fail
DN 0 ANY Attendance below 85/75%
How is it calculated?
Step-4: Your GPA in calculated as the
weighted average of your grade points
n

 gp  cri i
GPA  i
n

 cr
i
i

where gpi  grade points in course i

cri = the credit hour of course i
Example:
Suppose you registered in four courses this semester and scored 96,
86, 92 and 78 marks.

Courses Credit Marks Letter Grade

Hours scored Grade Points
(cr) (gp) gpxcr
Course 1 ISL 101 2 96 A 4.0 2x4 =8.00
Course 2 ARB 101 2 86 B+ 3.33 2x3.33 =6.66
Course 3 ENG 101 3 92 A- 3.67 3.3.67 =11.01
Course 4 MAT 3 78 C+ 2.33 3x2.33 =6.99
100
Total 10 32.66

Semester GPA = Total points/total credit

=32.66/10
= 3.266
=3.27
 Semester GPA vs CGPA
• Semester GPA measures your GPA in courses you took in
one semester
• Cumulative GPA measures your GPA as you progress
from one semester to another taking into account all
courses you took.

There are two • Method 1: Using the formula on slide

ways you could 11
calculate your • Method 2: Taking weighted average of
the semesters GPA
semester GPA
 Semester GPA vs CGPA
• Cumulative GPA as a weighted sum of your semester GPA
Example 1:
Suppose you took 10 credit hours in semester 1 and scored a GPA of
3.266. In semester 2, you took 15 credit hours and scored a GPA of 3.00.
What will be your cumulative GPA?
CGPA = (Cumulative points)/(cumulative cr)

Cumulative points= Total points in semester 1 + total points in semester 2

77.66 = 10x3.266 + 15x3.00
Cumulative cr= Total Cr in semester 1 + total Cr in semester 2
25 = 10 + 15

CGPA = (Cumulative points)/(cumulative cr)

=77.66/25
=3.1064
=3.11 (rounded to two-digits after the decimal)
 Semester GPA vs CGPA
Example 2:
Example 2: Suppose you took 25 credit hours in the first two semesters and had a CGPA of
3.1064 (3.11 when rounded)
In semester 3, you took 18 credit hours and secured a GPA of 3.00. What will be your
cumulative GPA?

CGPA = (Cumulative points)/(cumulative cr) With rounding error

=(25x3.1064 + 18x3.00)/(25+18) CGPA = (Cumulative points)/(cumulative cr)
=125.66/43 =(25x3.11 + 18x3.00)/(25+18)
=3.0649 =125.75/43
=3.06 Reported =3.0671
=3.07 (Reported)
 Semester GPA vs CGPA
CGPA in a table
GPA Credit Total Points per Cumulative Cumulative
Hours semester points (cp) credit (cc) Cumulative GPA
(cr) GPAxCr =cp/cc

Semester 1 3.266 10 32.66 32.66 10 32.66/10=3.27

Semester 2 3.00 15 45 32.66+45 10+15 77.66/25=3.11

=77.66 =25
Semester 3 3.00 18 54 77.66+54 25+18 131.66/43=3..06
=131.66 =43
Example of a transcript
 Some important points
• A DN grade has the same impact on GPA as a Fail Grade
• The following grades do not affect GPA
• W (Withdrawal)
• CR (credit transferred)
• P (Pass)/NP) (Not pass) but you will have to repeat the course.
 Some important points
• Repeating courses and its impact on GPA
• Students are allowed to repeat a maximum of four courses
(failed or to improve a grade below B). The previous grade is
replaced with an R (repeated) and removed from GPA
calculations.
How does it affect GPA?
Next class
 Required minimum performance
• You need a minimum CGPA of 2.0 to graduate.
• You will not receive your degree if your CGPA was less
than 2.0 even if you completed all courses.
• Students whose CGPA is less than 2.0 are placed on probation
and given a chance to improve their performance and push
their GPA to a minimum of 2.0.
• Students who are unable to improve performance are
dismissed.
• We will discuss the probation policy and how to avoid a
probation in details in one of the upcoming sessions.
 Test Your Knowledge
• Suppose a student took two courses and scored 49 in one
and 84 in the second course. Answer the following?
• What are the letter grades of the students in each course?
• What is the grade point for each grade?
• Suppose both courses are 3 credit hours. What is the GPA of the
student?
• Does the student performance meet the minimum requirement?
• Suppose the student took one 2-credit hours and one 3-credit
hours courses in semester 2 and scored all As.
• What will be the second semesters GPA of the student?
• What will be cumulative GPA of the student?
• What will be each semester and Cumulative GPA if the 3 credit hours was a
repeat of the semester 1 failed course ?
Questions?