Grading policy at KAU
King Abdulaziz University grades courses on a point scale under the Council of University Affairs' unified "Study and Examination Regulations for the University Level" and KAU's own Executive Rules, in force from the start of the 1444 AH academic year.
Beyond the letter grades that count toward the GPA, KAU's academic record also uses several special course-status symbols that carry no grade-point weight and do not affect the GPA: In-Progress (IP), Incomplete (IC), Withdrawn (W), Exemption (E), Continuous (CN), Transferred (TR), and the retaken-course markers (XF, XG).
Source: KAU Study & Examination Regulations, Ch.9 + Appendix 1 — verified Aug 2026
How the semester and cumulative GPA are calculated
The semester GPA is the total grade points earned divided by the total credit hours attempted in that semester (or academic level/year); grade points for a course are its credit hours multiplied by the point weight of the grade earned.
The cumulative GPA is the same calculation applied across every course taken since the student's admission to the university.
Source: KAU regulations, Chapter 1 definitions (المعدل الفصلي / المعدل التراكمي) — verified Aug 2026
Academic warning and dismissal
A student receives an academic warning when their cumulative GPA falls below the university's minimum required GPA for graduation.
A student is dismissed from KAU after three consecutive academic warnings for a low cumulative GPA, or for failing to complete graduation requirements within one and a half times the program's standard duration — subject to limited additional-chance provisions the college or a dedicated academic-status committee may grant.
Source: KAU regulations, Art. 22 + definitions (الإنذار الأكاديمي) — verified Aug 2026
Minimum GPA to graduate
The minimum cumulative GPA required to graduate from a KAU program is grade "Pass," i.e. 2.00 out of 5.00. Some colleges set a higher floor of 2.75 out of 5.00 for their majors, where approved by the University Council.
Source: KAU regulations, Art. 41 + KAU Executive Rules — verified Aug 2026
Graduation honors
First-class honors requires a cumulative GPA from 4.75 up to 5.00 out of 5.00 at graduation; second-class honors requires from 4.25 up to (but less than) 4.75 out of 5.00.
Both require the student to have never failed a course — at KAU or any other university, including as a visiting or transferred-in student — to have completed their program within no more than the average of the college's minimum and maximum allowed durations, and to have completed at least 60% of graduation requirements at KAU itself.
Source: KAU regulations, Art. 39 — verified Aug 2026
Transfer and course-equivalency credit
Courses transferred in from outside KAU are equated only where the student earned a grade of C or higher and the course is judged equivalent to a KAU course; these are recorded as "Transferred" (TR) and are excluded from the cumulative GPA.
By contrast, when a student moves between colleges, departments, or majors inside KAU, their previously earned course grades carry over as-is and remain included in the cumulative GPA.
Source: KAU regulations, Art. 24 (external transfer) & Art. 26 (internal transfer) — verified Aug 2026