Understanding University Grades (Page 3 of 3) in pdf

Credits vs. Quality Points

Another important difference between your high school transcript and your college transcript is the way

in which credits are emphasized. At the university, different classes may be worth a different number of

credit hours. For example, Chemistry 101, which requires a lab, is worth four credit hours on your

college transcript, while a college tennis course will only be worth one credit. These same courses,

however, will simply count as two separate credits on your high school transcript.

The reason for this apparent discrepancy is simple: high school and college schedules are designed

differently, with different requirements and outcomes in mind. In high school, classes meet daily, for

the same amount of time; at the university, a one credit class may only meet once a week and a class

like CHM 101 will likely meet three times weekly, with one lab. To graduate from high school, students

must have a minimum of 28 credits—one class equals one credit. At the university, students must have

a minimum of 124 credits—BUT, in addition to this, they must also meet their major requirements. To

declare a major, students must have a minimum of 24 credits; however, certain majors go so far as to

require specific courses to be among those first 24, and they may even go so far to require a minimum

GPA to determine eligibility.

In either setting, your GPA is determined by the number of quality points you earn for a completed

class. However, in high school, these quality points are emphasized more than credit hours, because,

again, high school classes only equal one credit. Additional quality points in high school honors- and AP-

level classes are what enable students to exceed the standard 4.0 GPA. With this in mind, it’s important

to remember that your university courses will earn you the same number of quality points as an honors-

level high school course, on your high school transcript. It’s also good to know that any 300-level course

or higher at the university will earn you one additional quality point, just like an AP course (e.g. a UNCW

A in ENG 395 will be worth 6.0 QPs on your high school transcript).

At the university, there are no quality point variations. An A is worth four QPs, even if it’s an upper-level

course, like ENG 395. The highest GPA anyone can attain is a 4.0. So, while you may only earn one high

school credit the four-credit CHM 101 you took at UNCW, that A you earned will only be worth 4.0 QPs

at the university, but it will be worth 5.0 on your high school transcript.

UNCW

IBEC Grade

IBEC

IBEC Credits

Class

Grade

Quality

Credits

Equivalent

Quality

Examples

Points

Points**

CHM 101

4.00

5.00

(Lecture

& Lab)

ENG 101

A-

3.67

5.00

Tennis

B+

3.33

4.00

MAT 161

3.00

4.00

PLS 395

B-

2.67

6.00

Morgan/IBEC Students/Advising

Understanding University Grades Page 3

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