The main purpose of getting into university is to get a degree. The level/class of such a degree is determined by something called a CGPA. The term “CGPA” (more popularly called G.P by OAU students) is heard everywhere. A solid CGPA is highly coveted and is the reason behind the hours of study, the skipped sleep, the overnights and the
sacrificed fun. As a new student, you might be wondering how to calculate your CGPA and how your results influence it. When calculating your CGPA, there are a few terms you need to understand first:

1. Student Workload: This is also known as a course unit. Each unit represents an hour of
lecture/tutorial and 2-4 hours of practicals per week throughout the semester. For instance, a course of 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial per week will be a 3-unit course. This is very important when calculating your CGPA The number of units also determines the influence it will have on a CGPA. The higher the unit, the more it adds to(or subtracts from) your CGPA.

NB: Special Electives do not add to your CGPA irrespective of the number of units it carries.

2. Total Load Unit (TLU): This is the total number of course units a student is taking in a semester. For example, a student who is offering 5 courses of 3 units each will have a TLU of 15 in a semester.

3. Level of Performance Rating: This is the rating of grades. They are also called points. This is gotten according to your score. For example, if you get an A(70-100) in SSC101, it will give you a point of 5 which will be used when calculating your CGPA. The rating is used as followed:

Grade Rating

A (70- 100%) = 5 points

B (60-69%) = 4 “ “

C (50-59%) = 3 “ “

D (45-49%) = 2 “ “

E (40-44%) = 1 “ “

F (0-39%) = 0 “ “

4. Total Credit Points (TCP): This is the number of course units multiplied by the point of a course. This is why the number of course units is very influential. For instance: If you get a B in a 3-unit course, the CP will be your course unit x point (3 x 4) = 12.

However, if it is a 2-unit course, it will be 2x4=8. This will be done for each course and then added together to get the TCP. For example:

A student gets A, B, A, C and D in his courses (all 5 units). The TCP will be 5x5(25) + 5x4(20) + 5x5(25) +
5x3(15) + 5x2(10) = 95.

5. Grade Point Average (GPA): This is the Total Credit Point divided by the Total Load Unit (TLU).
Using the example stated above, the student who got a TCP of 95 will simply divide it with the TLU (5+5+5+5+5= 25). Therefore, his GPA is TCP/TLU = 95/25 = 3.8 GPA.

The highest GPA attainable in a semester is 5.0. This is only possible by obtaining an A in every course during the semester. The lowest attainable is 0.0 which can be gotten by getting an F in every course (This can lead to withdrawal from the university)

6. Cumulative Grade Point Average: This is not the sum of the GPA for all semesters as the name may imply. It is the summation of TCPs for all semesters divided by the TLUs of all the semesters. Your performance semester by semester determines whether your CGPA will rise or fall. This is your “overall GPA” which shows your entire performance so far. It is also the final CGPA that will determine the kind of degree you will get.

An elaborate Illustration is given below :

The final CGPA for the entire session is 4.1.

To get that CGPA, we added our TCP of the 1 st & second semesters (123) and divided it by the sum of the
TLUs (30). Your current CGPA determines the class of degree you are on. The classes include:

First Class 4.50-5.0

Second Class Upper 3.50- 4.49

Second Class Lower 2.50-3.49

Third Class 1.50- 2.49

Pass 1.00- 1.49

To get a good CGPA and a great degree, you must keep pushing harder to maintain a good result semester by semester, session by session until you finally graduate with the class of your dreams.