Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) GPA Calculator

QAU grades on fixed mark ranges: each course carries 100 marks, and the mark you earn falls into a printed range that determines your letter grade and its single grade point. Grades run on a 0.00–4.00 scale, with A at 4.00 for 80 marks and above, and F for marks below 50 — the grade QAU's regulations describe simply as “Fail”. The full band-by-band mapping is shown in the Grade Scale Reference on this page.

Two features of QAU's scheme are worth knowing before you read that table:

• QAU uses nine grades — A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D and F. There is no C−, no D+ and no A+.
• The regulations attach a written expectation to each grade: A is Outstanding above 85% and Excellent between 80% and 85%; A- and B+ are Very Good; B and B- are Good; C+ and C are Satisfactory; D is Weak; F is Fail. That 85% split is a description only — both halves are still grade A at 4.00.

The mark itself is built from three components: continuous assessment (home assignments, term papers, quizzes, class presentations and lab work) at 20–25%, a mid-semester examination at 25–30%, and the terminal examination at 50%. For laboratory or extensive field-work courses the terminal examination still carries 50%, with the remaining 50% given to continuous evaluation. A fractional mark is rounded to the nearest whole number before the letter grade is assigned.

QAU reports a semester GPA and a cumulative GPA (CGPA), both credit-hour weighted averages of grade points. The semester GPA divides the sum of (credit hours of each course registered that semester × the grade point earned in it) by the credit hours registered that semester. The CGPA applies the same formula to every course registered up to the current semester, including courses taken in summer sessions.

• Letter grades are used only for individual courses, never for the semester GPA or the CGPA — those are reported as numbers.
• For determining a student's current status the CGPA is rounded to one decimal place. The final CGPA at the end of studies is computed from the actual grade points and credit hours of every course studied, then rounded to one decimal point.
• Courses exempted through transfer of credit are excluded: GPA and CGPA are computed on the basis of courses registered at QAU only.

QAU does not convert your CGPA into a percentage. Your transcript shows credits, letter grade, CGPA and an overall percentage — but that percentage is calculated independently, as a credit-weighted average of your actual percentage marks: the sum of (credit hours of each registered course × the % marks earned in that course), divided by the total credit hours of all registered courses. It is built from your marks, not from your grade points, so no multiplier and no conversion band applies.

QAU checks a student's CGPA at the end of every semester, and two thresholds decide what happens next:

• CGPA below 1.0 — the student is dropped from the university rolls. For first-semester students, the first-semester GPA is used for this purpose.
• CGPA of 1.0 or more but less than 2.0 — the student is placed on probation.

A student is allowed three chances to remain on probation during the entire BS programme. Failing to achieve the minimum required CGPA of 2.0 for the fourth time means the student ceases to be a student of the University — though they may then apply for a BA/B.Sc pass degree if eligible under the rules.

Two related limits apply. A student who has failed a compulsory course must repeat it whenever the department next offers it in a regular semester, and the whole BS programme must be completed within twelve regular semesters, or six years. Because standing is judged on the CGPA rounded to one decimal place, it is the rounded figure that is measured against these thresholds.

QAU awards the BS 4-year degree “after successful completion of all the academic requirements of the program”: four years divided into eight regular semesters, with a normal load of 15–18 credit hours per semester (a department may allow a minimum of 12, or a maximum of 21, with the Dean's approval and an undertaking from the student).

The CGPA standard running through the regulations is 2.0, which QAU calls the minimum required CGPA: a student below it is placed on probation, and a student who fails to reach it for the fourth time ceases to be a student of the University. The programme must be completed within twelve regular semesters or six years — a limit that includes any semesters a student has frozen.

QAU also publishes an exit route. After successfully completing a minimum of 62 credit hours of course work, a student may opt to seek a BSc/BA pass degree instead. A student who would otherwise cease to be a student on the basis of their CGPA can also take this option, provided they have passed 62 credit hours of course work with a CGPA of at least 1.0.

QAU recognises high academic performance in three ways, each with a printed threshold.

• Honor Board — an honor board is maintained beside each Dean's Office. Students earning a CGPA of 3.8 or better at the end of an academic year are displayed on it for one year, and a student's name stays on the honor list for as long as they maintain a CGPA of 3.8 or better.
• Certificate of Merit and Chancellor's Medal — issued by the Controller of Examinations to the student standing first in the subject on the overall result, provided that student has obtained 80% weighted percentage marks or more in the aggregate, has not failed in or repeated any course, and has completed the course work in the normal period of eight semesters. The recipient of the Certificate of Merit is also awarded the Chancellor's Medal.
• President's Gold Medal — awarded to the students standing first in the faculties of Social, Natural and Biological Sciences, who are issued Certificates of Merit as well.

Both medals are awarded on the basis of CGPA once those conditions are met. Where two or more students have the same CGPA, first position is decided on the weighted percentage.

A student admitted to QAU's BS programme may apply for transfer of credit and exemption of courses, and the GPA consequence is clear-cut: transferred courses do not enter your QAU GPA. The regulations state that GPA and CGPA are computed on the basis of the courses registered at QAU only, and that the transcript of a student granted exemptions shows grades and marks for those QAU-registered courses alone. The University issues a separate certificate listing the courses that were exempted.

The conditions for exemption are:

• A maximum of 51 credit hours of course work may be exempted.
• Exemption is given only for courses that are taught in the first two years at QAU.
• Only courses passed with at least a C grade, or a GPA of 2 out of 4, are considered.
• The course must have been passed at an HEC-recognised university or institution. For professional degrees such as Pharm.D, the relevant Council must also recognise it.
• A fee of Rs. 2,000 per course is charged at the time of transfer of credits.

The application goes to the Dean of the faculty through the Chairperson/Director of the department, is considered by the Departmental Assessment and Accreditation Committee (DAAC), and on the Dean's approval is forwarded to the Controller of Examinations.