Grade Point Average

Grade point average (GPA) is a standard measure of academic achievement of courses a student has completed. GPA may be computed for a student over any number of semesters or any subset of courses, such as those in a major.

Grade point averages take into account three things: grades in each course, the number of credits in each course, and the total number of graded credit hours. To compute GPA, grades are converted to grade points and then multiplied by the number of credit hours in a course. This allows courses carrying more credit to impact GPA more heavily than courses carrying little credit. For example, an “A” in a four credit course has more of an impact on GPA than an “A” in a one credit course. The product of grade point multiplied by course credit creates a value referred to as a quality point. GPA is the sum of quality points divided by the sum of credit hours that have been graded:

The University GPA is computed only on courses taken in residence at Greenville. For courses that are repeated, only the highest grade received affects GPA. Repeated courses are those with the same course code and name. Two different courses could fulfill the general education requirement (e.g. PSYC 101 and PSYC 220), but only the same course retaken will be marked and calculated as a repeated course. If a course is repeated outside of Greenville University and transferred back, only the grade taken at GU (even if it is lower) will affect GPA. GPA is not influenced by grades in audited or pass/fail courses, those courses currently incomplete, or courses from which students have withdrawn.