Understanding your academic performance is crucial for every student. At the University of Ghana (UG), this is measured using a Grade Point Average (GPA) system. This article will guide you through the UG grading system and how to calculate your GPA.
UG Grading System
The grading system at UG assigns letter grades and numerical weightings corresponding to these grades. The numerical weightings reflect the quality of performance, and the total numerical weightings determine the student’s GPA.
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Understanding Terminologies
These terms, while initially seeming complex, are crucial in comprehending your academic progress and performance.
- CCT- Cumulative Credits Taken
- CCP- Cumulative Credits Passed
- GPA- Grade Point Average
- FGPA- Final Grade Point Average
- GPT- Grade Point
Calculating your CCT
This refers to the total of all credit hours from courses that have been taken. Typically, it’s determined based on course codes rather than course titles. This calculation is performed only once.
Let’s consider an example to understand the calculation of Cumulative Credit Total (CCT).
Suppose a student has taken the following courses in a semester:
| Course Code | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| MATH101 | 3 |
| ENG102 | 4 |
| HIST103 | 3 |
| CS104 | 4 |
| BIO105 | 3 |
The CCT is calculated by adding up all the credit hours from the courses that have been taken. So, in this case:
CCT = MATH101 + ENG102 + HIST103 + CS104 + BIO105 = 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 17
So, the CCT for this semester would be 17 credit hours. This calculation is typically performed at the end of each semester to update the student’s academic record.
Calculating your CCP
This represents the total credit hours accumulated from courses that have been successfully completed. Successful completion does not encompass courses with grades E and F. Only courses with grades ranging from A to D are included in this calculation.
Let’s consider an example to understand the calculation of Cumulative Credit Passed (CCP).
Suppose a student has taken the following courses in a semester:
| Course Code | Credit Hours | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| MATH101 | 3 | B |
| ENG102 | 4 | A |
| HIST103 | 3 | E |
| CS104 | 4 | C |
| BIO105 | 3 | F |
The CCP is calculated by adding up all the credit hours from the courses that have been passed. In this case, courses with grades E and F are not considered as passed. So, we only consider courses with grades A to D.
CCP = MATH101 + ENG102 + CS104 = 3 + 4 + 4 = 11
So, the CCP for this semester would be 11 credit hours. This calculation is typically performed at the end of each semester to update the student’s academic record.
Calculating your GPA
Grade Point Averages (GPAs) are calculated for each individual semester. The GPA is determined by dividing the total Grade Points Total (GPT) by the total number of credits.
Let’s consider an example to understand the calculation of Grade Point Average (GPA).
Suppose a student has taken the following courses in a semester:
| Course Code | Credit Hours | Grade | Grade Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MATH101 | 3 | B | 3.0 |
| ENG102 | 4 | A | 4.0 |
| HIST103 | 3 | E | 1.0 |
| CS104 | 4 | C | 2.0 |
| BIO105 | 3 | F | 0.0 |
First, we calculate the Grade Points Total (GPT) which is the product of the credit hours and the grade points for each course. Then, we sum these up for all the courses.
GPT = MATH101 + ENG102 + HIST103 + CS104 + BIO105 = (3 * 3.0) + (4 * 4.0) + (3 * 1.0) + (4 * 2.0) + (3 * 0.0) = 9 + 16 + 3 + 8 + 0 = 36
Next, we calculate the total credit hours which is the sum of the credit hours for all the courses.
Total Credit = 3 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 3 = 17
Finally, we calculate the GPA which is the ratio of the GPT to the total credit hours.
GPA = GPT / Total Credit = 36 / 17 ≈ 2.12
So, the GPA for this semester would be approximately 2.12. This calculation is typically performed at the end of each semester to update the student’s academic record.
Calculating your FGPA
GPAs are recalculated for each level. All courses are evaluated at their respective levels. Each time a course is retaken, it is included in the calculation.
A weightage of 1:1:2:2 is applied across all levels, implying that L100 and L200 have a weightage of 1 each, while L300 and L400 have a weightage of 2 each.
Let’s consider an example to understand the calculation of Final Grade Point Average (FGPA).
| Level | GPA | Weight | Weighted GPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 3.65 | 1/6 | 0.61 |
| 200 | 3.55 | 1/6 | 0.59 |
| 300 | 3.52 | 2/6 | 1.17 |
| 400 | 3.64 | 2/6 | 1.21 |
| Total | 3.58 |
In this example, the GPAs at the end of each year are multiplied by their respective weights. The weighted GPAs are then summed up to get the Final GPA (FGPA). In this case, the FGPA is 3.58, which typically translates into a second-class upper division.
Degree Classification
First Class – 3.60 – 4.00
- Second Class (Upper Division) – 3.00 – 3.59
- Second Class (Lower Division) – 2.00 – 2.99
- Third Class – 1.50 – 1.99
- Pass -1.00 – 1.49
- Fail (No award) – 0.00 – 0.99
