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Determining Your Grade Point Average (GPA)

Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is exactly what it implies, the average of all the grade points earned. Beyond any other means, this is the factor that indicates your overall academic performance. When people ask you how you are doing with your studies, the most accurate measure of where you stand is your GPA. Clearly, the higher the GPA, the better. If your GPA is lower than you would like it to be, the fastest, most effective way to raise your GPA is to retake classes where the grade was lower than a C. Although the previous grade is not removed from your transcript, UVI will always use the higher of the grades for each course to calculate your GPA. GPA’s are certainly important, but they may not always testify to real learning. Whether or not you are learning successfully is more complex an issue than what is reflected in your GPA; although your GPA does provide the most notable standard to answer the question. While the University does automatically compute your GPA for you, every student should understand the formula and get in the habit of calculating it in order to verify its accuracy from your own standpoint. To determine your GPA, you divide the total number of grade points earned by the number of credits ATTEMPTED. The reason why it is important to emphasize that the credits are attempted rather than earned is due to the fact that failing grades do not represent earning a credit even though the attempted credit does enter into the calculation of the grade points. The calculation is rather simple to perform. Simply add up all the grade points earned and divide that total by the total numbers of your attempted credits. To determine the amount of grade points that you earn for a grade in a course, multiply the grade points associated with the grade by the number of credits attempted for a class. For example, if you get a B in a four credit class you would multiply 3.00 grade points for the B by 4. That would give you 12.00 grade points earned for a B in a four credit class. Grade points are earned for every grade of A through D for classes that are 100 level and above. Classes that are below 100 level, such as MAT 023 or RCA 021 do not receive letter grades of A through F. These courses are not evaluated at college level, so they do not have an effect on your GPA, although they do have an effect on your academic progress. The grade of A is the highest grade on the scale and awards the highest number of grade points, 4.00. UVI does not use a grade of A+ on the grade scale. The grade of D is the lowest passing grade and awards the lowest number of grade points, 1.00. UVI does not use a grade of D-. The UVI grading scale (which incorporates both pluses and minuses) appears below and can also be found in your UVI Catalog.

UVI GRADES WITH CORRESPONDING STANDARD AND GRADE POINTS
A   Superior   4.00
A-   Excellent   3.67
B+   Very High   3.33
B   High   3.00
B-   Good   2.67
C+   Above Average   2.33
C   Average  2.00
C-   Below Average   1.67
D+   Passing   1.33
D   Low Passing   1.00
F   Failure   0.00

The following grades can also be used and can appear on your transcript, although they are not used in calculating your GPA.

W   Withdrawn   0.00
WP   Withdrawn passing   0.00
WF   Withdrawn failing   0.00
AW   Administrative Withdrawal   0.00
WH   Administrative Withdrawal for Hurricane/Disasters   0.00
I   Incomplete*   0.00
AUD  Audit, class not taken for credit   0.00
P   Promoted from Skills (classes under 100 level)   0.00
NP   Not Promoted, Must Repeat Skills (classes under 100 level)   0.00

• Note: A grade of Incomplete that is not made up by mid-term of the following semester is automatically changed to an F.

Below is an example of how to determine your GPA for a semester. Remember that we are only concerned with grades for classes that are 100 level or above. Grades for MAT 023, 024, Wac 011, RCA 021 are not included in the calculation; although, they do appear on your transcript and do affect your academic progress.

Course      Grade   Atmp Crdt   Ernd Crdt  Grd Pnt

MAT 023    P          4nd               4nd            N/A
ENG100     B           1                    1                 3.00
ENG 101     C+         1                    1                 2.33
SCI 100       B          3                    3                9.00
FDS 100     B-        1                     1                 2.67

Totals                      6                    6              17.00   Now divide 17.00 (total grade points earned) by 6 (total credits attempted) to get your semester GPA of 2.83 for the semester.

Cumulative GPA

Once you have more than one semester of work, you can begin calculating your cumulative GPA. The formula is the same as computing your semester GPA. Simply add all of the total grade points earned for so far and divide by the total number of credits attempted in all of your semesters. Your cumulative GPA will actually be the most influential indicator of your level of success. Focusing on your performance in only one semester will be less a determining factor of your academic standing than the culmination of all of your work in college.

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