How Air University assigns grades
Air University uses relative grading for undergraduate courses: rather than fixing a percentage range for each letter, the instructor plots a histogram of the whole class's marks and assigns letter grades by where each student falls relative to their peers. Because the boundaries shift with each class, there is no single university-wide marks-to-grade table for undergraduate programs. Graduate (MS/MPhil/MBA/PhD) courses instead use absolute grading against a fixed percentage scale.
Each letter grade carries the grade point shown in the Grade Scale Reference on this page. An F earns zero grade points and is awarded not only for failing marks but also for attendance below 75%, failure to sit the End-Semester Exam, or dropping a course after the fifth week.
Source: Ch.4 §12(a)-(b), p.3; Appendix B §1-2 and §4(a), pp.14-15 — verified Jul 2026
How Air University calculates SGPA and CGPA
A course's grade points equal the grade point of the letter earned multiplied by the course's credit hours. The Semester GPA (SGPA) is the total grade points earned in a semester divided by the total credit hours attempted that semester; the Cumulative GPA (CGPA) extends the same calculation across the whole degree.
When a course is repeated, every attempt stays on the transcript but only the highest grade counts toward the CGPA. Administrative marks — I (Incomplete), W (Withdrawn) and, for research students, S/U — are recorded separately and handled under their own rules rather than as ordinary graded results.
Source: Appendix B §5-6 and Table B-3, pp.16-17; Ch.4 §49, p.10; Appendix B §4(b)-(d), p.15 — verified Jul 2026
Academic standing, warnings and dismissal
At the end of every semester a student's CGPA sets their academic standing. For undergraduates the bands are: 2.00–2.50 Satisfactory, 1.80–1.99 Warning, 1.50–1.79 Serious Warning, and below 1.50 Dismissed and ineligible to rejoin.
- A student on Warning must lift their CGPA to at least 2.00 within the next two semesters.
- A third consecutive Warning or Serious Warning results in dismissal.
- Accumulating unresolved F grades in 16–20 credit hours triggers a Serious Warning; 21 credit hours or more means dismissal.
Graduate students are dismissed if their CGPA stays below 2.50 (MS/MPhil/MBA) or below 3.00 (PhD) for two consecutive semesters.
Source: Appendix C Table C1, p.18; Appendix D §1-4, pp.20-22 — verified Jul 2026
Minimum CGPA to graduate
An undergraduate is an Academically Deficient case whenever the CGPA falls below 2.00, so a CGPA of at least 2.00 is the effective floor for good standing and graduation. Any core course failed with an F must be repeated and passed before graduation; a failed elective may instead be replaced by an alternative elective with the Dean's approval. Students may also repeat any course graded below B− to improve their record, except where they are already on the dismissal list.
Source: Appendix D §1, p.20; Ch.4 §49, p.10 — verified Jul 2026
Honors standings
High-achieving undergraduates earn an honors academic standing based on CGPA: 3.75–4.00 is High Honors, 3.50–3.74 is Honors, 3.00–3.49 is Good and 2.50–2.99 is Fair. Graduate programs use a parallel scale, with an Honour standing awarded from a CGPA of 3.75 upward.
Source: Appendix C Tables C1-C3, pp.18-19 — verified Jul 2026
Frequently asked questions
What grading scheme does Air University (AU) use?
Where does this AU grade scale come from?
Does Air University use fixed percentage ranges for each grade?
Not for undergraduate courses. Air University grades undergraduates relatively — letter grades are set from the distribution of the whole class's marks, so the percentage needed for a given letter changes from class to class. Fixed percentage bands apply only to graduate courses (absolute grading) and to undergraduate classes with fewer than 15 students.
Source: Ch.4 §12(a)-(b), p.3; Appendix B §1-2, p.14 — verified Jul 2026
What is the minimum passing grade at Air University?
For undergraduates the lowest credit-earning grade is D (1.00); an F earns zero grade points and must be repeated. Graduate students have a higher floor — the C− and D grades do not apply to them, so C (2.00) is their lowest passing grade. See the Grade Scale Reference on this page for every letter and its grade point.
Source: Appendix B Table B-2 and §4(a), p.15 — verified Jul 2026
If I repeat a course, which grade counts?
Only the highest grade among all attempts counts toward your CGPA, though every attempt remains visible on the transcript. Note two limits: an early retake (for a graduating student or a prerequisite) cannot be awarded higher than B, and in the summer semester the highest grade awardable in any course is B+.
Source: Ch.4 §49 and §48, p.10; §50(a), p.11 — verified Jul 2026
Can short attendance affect my grade?
Yes. A student whose attendance in a course is below 75% is not allowed to sit that course's final exam and is awarded an F (or, if internal assessment is 50% or higher, an I that must be cleared by repeating the course).
Source: Appendix B §4(a)(i) and §4(b)(i), p.15 — verified Jul 2026
