Home · Methodology
Methodology — every rule, its document, its date
GradePa exists because grade guides contradict each other. The defence against becoming the next wrong guide is on this page: every rule the calculators apply, the university publication it was read in, the section it sits in, and the date it was verified. Where a figure could not be settled from a university's own publication, it is listed under "not applied" — visible, not silently built in.
How figures are verified
- Rules are taken from the universities' own publications — regulations and official grading pages — never averaged between blogs and never borrowed from another university's table.
- Every calculator is tested against worked examples computed by hand from the published rules before it ships, including the worked example printed inside KNUST's own Regulations.
- Arithmetic is carried unrounded; the displayed average is rounded half-up to 2 decimal places and the class band is read from that figure — the way all three universities publish their averages. A result within a hair of a boundary is flagged as provisional.
- The three rule sets are re-read every September, before the academic year opens, and whenever a university announces a grading reform. The verified dates below move when that happens — they are meant to age visibly.
KNUST — Cumulative Weighted Average
Source: KNUST, Regulations for the Conduct of Certificate/Diploma/Undergraduate Degree Programmes (Recorder No. 267), hosted at reg.knust.edu.gh — class bands §12, standing §10, CWA calculation appendix. Verified: 12 November 2026.
CWA = total weighted marks ÷ total credits, where a course's weighted marks = percentage mark × credit hours, accumulated over all semesters. The first semester alone is the WA (Weighted Average). There are no grade points in the KNUST system: the average runs on raw percentage marks.
| Class band (§12(ii)) | CWA |
|---|---|
| First Class | 70.00 or above |
| Second Class (Upper Division) | 60.00–69.99 |
| Second Class (Lower Division) | 50.00–59.99 |
| Pass | 45.00–49.99 |
| Below the graduation minimum | Below 45.00 |
- Graduation minimum (§12(i)(b)): a CWA of 45.00.
- Probation (§10): a CWA of 40.00–44.99 at the end of the second semester; below 40.00, repetition/withdrawal paths apply.
- Course pass mark: 40% (a course below it is trailed; its mark still counts in the average).
- Course letter bands (orientation only — they never enter the arithmetic): A 70–100 · B 60–69 · C 50–59 · D 40–49 · F 0–39.
- Deferred (Df) and incomplete courses are excluded entirely — no mark, no credits. The Regulations' note states deferred credits 'are not loaded against the student'.
- Diploma/certificate programmes classify differently (§12(iii): Distinction at 70% or above, Pass 45–69.99%). These calculators cover the undergraduate degree rules.
University of Ghana — FGPA
Source: University of Ghana, Regulations for Junior Members (Vol. 1) — grading §9.20, grade definitions §9.21, classification §9.31. Confirmed line-by-line against the Handbook for Junior Members (Regulations, 2017 edition) PDF hosted on ug.edu.gh. Verified: 12 November 2026. The grade table, the 1:1:2:2 weighting, the repeat-course rule and the class bands were confirmed line-by-line against the Handbook Regulations 2017 PDF on the University's own website during this verification.
Course grade points = grade point × credits. Level GPA = total grade points ÷ total credits within the level. FGPA = (1×Level 100 GPA + 1×Level 200 GPA + 2×Level 300 GPA + 2×Level 400 GPA) ÷ 6 — 'The GPAs from Levels 100 to 400 shall be weighted as follows: 1:1:2:2' (§9.31(b)). A repeated course enters once, at the weighted average of all its attempts (§9.31(c)).
| Grade (§9.20) | Marks | Grade point | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 80–100 | 4.0 | Outstanding |
| B+ | 75–79 | 3.5 | Very Good |
| B | 70–74 | 3.0 | Good |
| C+ | 65–69 | 2.5 | Fairly Good |
| C | 60–64 | 2.0 | Average |
| D+ | 55–59 | 1.5 | Below Average |
| D | 50–54 | 1.0 | Marginal Pass |
| E | 45–49 | 0.5 | Unsatisfactory |
| F | 0–44 | 0.0 | Fail |
| Class of degree (§9.31(d)) | FGPA |
|---|---|
| First Class | 3.60–4.00 |
| Second Class (Upper Division) | 3.00–3.59 |
| Second Class (Lower Division) | 2.00–2.99 |
| Third Class | 1.50–1.99 |
| Pass | 1.00–1.49 |
| Fail — no degree awarded | 0.00–0.99 |
- A to D are pass grades; E, F, X and Z are failure grades (§9.21). An E may still satisfy a prerequisite for another course.
- X (fail) and Z (disqualification) carry 0 points and count in the averages. I (incomplete) and Y (continuing) are not final grades. AUDI (audit) is not taken into account in the FGPA at all (§9.21(d)).
- The minimum FGPA for a degree is 1.00.
University of Cape Coast — CGPA
Source: University of Cape Coast, 'Grading System' — the university's own published page (ucc.edu.gh, Applicants & Students), reproducing the students' handbook scheme. Verified: 12 November 2026.
Semester GPA = total (credits × grade points) ÷ total credits for the semester. CGPA pools every course as if they were all taken in one semester — UCC's own page states: 'Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is not the same as the average of GPAs for the various semesters.'
| Grade | Marks | Grade point | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 80–100 | 4.0 | Excellent |
| B+ | 75–79 | 3.5 | Very Good |
| B | 70–74 | 3.0 | Good |
| C+ | 65–69 | 2.5 | Average |
| C | 60–64 | 2.0 | Fair |
| D+ | 55–59 | 1.5 | Barely satisfactory |
| D | 50–54 | 1.0 | Weak Pass |
| E | Below 50 | 0.0 | Fail |
| Class of degree | CGPA |
|---|---|
| 1st Class | 3.6–4.0 |
| 2nd Class (Upper Division) | 3.0–3.5 |
| 2nd Class (Lower Division) | 2.5–2.9 |
| 3rd Class | 2.0–2.4 |
| Pass | 1.0–1.9 |
| No class listed | Below 1.0 |
- UCC publishes its class bands to one decimal place (1st 3.6–4.0 · Upper 3.0–3.5 · Lower 2.5–2.9 · Third 2.0–2.4 · Pass 1.0–1.9). The calculators read each band from its published lower edge, so 3.00–3.59 reads as Upper Division. Below 1.0 the official table lists no class — the calculators show 'no class listed' (the table's floor implies no award; that reading is labelled as implied wherever it appears).
- An audited course carries grade point 0 and is flagged. An IC (incomplete) course is left out until it is rectified; an unrectified IC converts to the corresponding grade, so enter the outcome once you have it.
- Continuous Assessment 40% / End-of-Semester Examination 60% (content note from the same page).
Not applied — figures we could not settle
- KNUST health programmes: Some guides mention a 50% minimum CWA for health programmes (such as Medicine and Pharmacy). That figure does not appear in the Regulations text — check your faculty's own requirements. It appears on the KNUST pages as a caution line only.
- No conversion between systems: no university here publishes a CWA-to-GPA or FGPA conversion, so GradePa offers none. A page that invents one is making the number up; the terminology guide explains the gap instead of filling it.
- Other universities: UEW, UDS, the technical universities and KNUST's affiliated institutions each run their own schemes. They are not calculated here, because their regulations have not been read and settled to this page's standard — an average computed from blog summaries would be exactly the failure this site exists to correct.
Corrections
If a figure here disagrees with your university's current publication, the publication wins. Report it with the document and section, and the rule, its verified date, and every page that prints it are corrected together.