Understanding your Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is essential for monitoring your academic progress, setting clear target grades, and ensuring you stay on track for your target degree classification. At many tertiary institutions—including the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)—academic performance is evaluated using the 5.00 Grade Point Average (GPA) system.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how the 5.0 scale works, how to calculate your Quality Points, and how to compute both your semester GPA and overall CGPA accurately.
Understanding the NOUN 5.0 Grading System
Every course you take carries a specific number of Credit Units (CU), which reflect the course’s weight and workload (typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 units). At the end of the semester, your total percentage score in a course—combining your continuous assessment (TMAs) and final exam—is converted into a Grade Point (GP) based on the 5.0 scale:
| Score Range | Letter Grade | Grade Point (GP) | Classification |
| 70% – 100% | A | 5.0 | Excellent |
| 60% – 69% | B | 4.0 | Very Good |
| 50% – 59% | C | 3.0 | Good |
| 45% – 49% | D | 2.0 | Fair |
| 40% – 44% | E | 1.0 | Pass |
| 0% – 39% | F | 0.0 | Fail |
Key Formulas You Need to Know
To compute your academic standing, you need to understand three core terms:
- Credit Units (CU): The assigned value of a course.
- Total Credit Units (TCU): The sum of all credit units registered in a semester or across all semesters.
- Quality Points (QP): Calculated by multiplying the Credit Units of a course by the Grade Point earned in that course ($QP = CU \times GP$).
- Total Quality Points (TQP): The sum of all Quality Points earned across your courses.
Step-by-Step Calculation Guide
Step 1: Calculate Your Semester GPA
To find your Grade Point Average for a single semester, follow these steps:
- Multiply the credit units of each course by the grade point you achieved.
- Add all the individual Quality Points together to get your Total Quality Points (TQP).
- Add all the credit units together to get your Total Credit Units (TCU).
- Divide your TQP by your TCU using the formula:$$\text{GPA} = \frac{\text{Total Quality Points (TQP)}}{\text{Total Credit Units (TCU)}}$$
Practical Example:
Suppose you took 4 courses in a semester:
- BUS 101 (3 Units): Scored 72% (Grade A = 5.0 GP) $\rightarrow 3 \times 5.0 = 15.0\text{ QP}$
- CIT 102 (2 Units): Scored 64% (Grade B = 4.0 GP) $\rightarrow 2 \times 4.0 = 8.0\text{ QP}$
- GST 103 (2 Units): Scored 55% (Grade C = 3.0 GP) $\rightarrow 2 \times 3.0 = 6.0\text{ QP}$
- ECO 104 (3 Units): Scored 48% (Grade D = 2.0 GP) $\rightarrow 3 \times 2.0 = 6.0\text{ QP}$
- Total Credit Units (TCU): $3 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 10\text{ Units}$
- Total Quality Points (TQP): $15.0 + 8.0 + 6.0 + 6.0 = 35.0\text{ Points}$
- Semester GPA: $35.0 \div 10 = \mathbf{3.50\text{ GPA}}$ (Second Class Upper Range)
Step 2: Calculate Your Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
Your CGPA reflects your overall performance across all semesters combined. Do not simply average your individual semester GPAs together. Instead, sum all accumulated quality points and divide by all accumulated credit units across all semesters:
$$\text{CGPA} = \frac{\text{Cumulative Total Quality Points (All Semesters)}}{\text{Cumulative Total Credit Units (All Semesters)}}$$
Class of Degree Breakdown on the 5.0 Scale
At graduation, your final CGPA determines your class of degree:
- 4.50 – 5.00: First Class Honours
- 3.50 – 4.49: Second Class Honours (Upper Division)
- 2.40 – 3.49: Second Class Honours (Lower Division)
- 1.50 – 2.39: Third Class Honours
- 1.00 – 1.49: Pass
By keeping track of your scores using this calculation method, you can easily project what grades you need in upcoming semesters to reach your target CGPA.
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