Calculating GPA
Grade Point Average
The quality of a students academic work is measured by the Grade Point Average (GPA). GPA may be a semester GPA, it may be a cumulative institutional GPA (that takes into account all courses, except those taken for Credit/ no Credit), or it may be an overall cumulative GPA, that averages courses taken from all colleges attended. GPA is calculated by dividing the number of units a student attempts into the total grade points for all grades earned.
CR/NCR grade option is a good way to protect your GPA from being lowered when you are taking courses that may be harder for you. If you would have earned an "A", "B", or "C" in a course, and you have filled out a CR/NCR form in Admissions, then you will receive a "CR" as a grade, and receive units earned for the course. If, however, you would have earned a "D" or "F" you get an "NCR" grade and do not earn units for the class. Most transfer schools have limitations on the number of units that may be taken for CR/NCR.
The formula for GPA is:
GPA = (Grade Points) / (Units Attempted)
Grade Pointsare calculated by multiplying the number of units earned in a class by the numeric equivalent of the letter grade.
Units attempted are the number of units associated with each course for which you got a letter grade. Thus, units attempted include courses where an "F" grade was earned, but do not include "W" (withdrawal), or "CR" (credit), or "NCR" (no credit).
The following table indicates the grade point values assigned for each grade or mark and whether the units attempted are counted in figuring the grade point average.
| Grade Point | Attempt | |
A | Excellent | 4 | Yes |
B | Above Average | 3 | Yes |
C | Average | 2 | Yes |
D | Barely Passing | 1 | Yes |
F | Failure | 0 | Yes |
CR | Credit | 0 | No |
NC | No Credit | 0 | No |
W | Withdrawal | 0 | No |
I | Incomplete | 0 | No |
Computing the GPA- the Steps
- Multiply the grade points by the number of semester units per course. (For example: For a 3 unit class, an A grade earns 4 grade points per unit: 4 grade points x 3 semester units = 12 grade points).
- Add to find the total number of units attempted for the semester.
- Add to find the total number of grade points earned.
- Use the following formula to determine your GPA: GPA = (Total Earned Grade Points) + (Total Units Attempted)
An Example:
If a student receives an "A" in English , a "C" in Biology , a "CR" in Math , and an "F" in Astronomy , then the GPA for the semester is calculated as follows (note, for Math the student gets 0 units attempted, but does get four units earned for this class):
Course | Grade | Grade Points Per Unit | Units Attempted | Grade Points |
English | A | 4 | 3 | 12 |
Biology | C | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Math | CR | - | - | - |
Astronomy | F | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Totals |
|
| 10 | 20 |
| ||||
Semester units vs. quarter units
ARC, CRC, SCC and FLC are on the semester system, that is, we have a Fall semester which starts in August, a Spring semester, beginning in January, and a summer session starting in May. Some transfer schools, including all the UC's are on a quarter schedule and have Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer sessions. The tool below allows you to convert between semester and quarter units. Remember when converting you are not losing or gaining any units, you are simply changing them from one format to another.
Unit Converter Tool
Enter a number of units in either box, then click outside the box.