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Grades and Grading Issues
GPA | Grading Scales | Changing Grades | Repeating Courses
A grade represents the instructor's evaluation of the student's work in a course. Faculty regulations about credits and grading can be found on the Faculty Handbook Web site.
Grade Point Average
Grade Point Average (GPA) is a number that reflects the grades earned in all classes with a grade of: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+,C, C-, D+, D, D- or F. A student with a higher GPA has, on the whole, an academic record with higher grades than does a student with a lower GPA.
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Help in Calculating a GPA
The University Registrar has provided the following resources to help with GPA calculations:
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A grade point average can be calculated for a semester, for specific courses (e.g., all science courses) or for all work completed. At MU, the grades for credits earned at other institutions do show on your MU transcript, but they do not average into your official MU cumulative GPA.
The cumulative or overall GPA (or cum) is based on all University of Missouri courses completed with grades of A-F, as modified by the MU Course Repeat Policy.
GPA Uses
GPA is used for almost everything. A very high GPA might result in graduation with honors or awarding of scholarships. A very low GPA will be used to determine academic probation and eligibility to continue at MU.
Some departments and academic units regularly use GPA to determine who is and who isn't accepted into some degree programs. Graduate and professional schools and employers all use GPA in making decisions about applicants.
You should always know what your GPA is, what it needs to be for what you are trying to accomplish, and what you need to do to keep it at or raise it to a specified level. See your advisor for information and assistance.
How to Calculate a GPA
To calculate GPA you must first change the grade to a number, called quality points.
- 4 quality points are earned for every hour of "A" earned.
- 3 quality points are earned for every hour of "B".
- 3.3 quality points are earned for every hour of "B+" and so on
Grade point average is the sum of all quality points divided by the total number of hours.
For example, if you earned:
- 3 hours of "A" (quality points = 4 times 3 hours = 12)
- 3 hours of "B" (quality points = 3 times 3 hours = 9)
- 3 hours of "C" (quality points = 2 times 3 hours = 6)
- 5 hours of "C+" (quality points = 2.3 times 5 hours = 11.5)
You will have earned a term GPA of 2.75 (38.5 quality points divided by 14 hours).
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