Grade Points and Grade Point Average

Frequently Asked Questions:

My GPA last quarter was below a 1.5, what is going to happen?

Freshmen: Students whose GPA falls below a 1.5 during the Fall or the Winter of the first year will need to sign an Exit Contract from The School of Engineering.

Continuing Students: Students whose GPA falls below a 1.5 are subject to disqualification. Students who are subject to disqualification will be required to sign an academic contract to either remain in The School of Engineering or to find a new major outside of Engineering. Failure to meet all the terms of the continuing contract will result in the need to exit engineering and failure to meet the terms of an exit contract will result in the need to exit UCI or disqualification.

Grade points are assigned on a four point basis: A, 4 points per unit; B, 3 points per unit; C, 2 points per unit; D, 1 point per unit; F and I, zero points. Plus or minus suffixes modify the above by plus or minus 0.3 grade point per unit, with the exception of the A+ grade which is assigned 4 points per unit.

Requirements for a bachelor's degree, with the exception of certain programs in Engineering, include the accumulation of baccalaureate credit for a minimum of 180 quarter units with an average of at least C (grade point average of at least 2.0). A course at UCI normally offers four quarter units of credit, and, in the following text, the term "course" may be understood to carry four units. The grade point average is the sum of all accumulated grade points (grade points earned in a course taken for a letter grade times the unit value of the course) divided by the sum of all units attempted. P, NP, S, U, NR, IP, and I grades, as well as workload credit, are excluded in computing grade point average.

Baccalaureate credit counts toward degree requirements and is used to compute the grade point average. Workload credit is used to determine full-time status for financial aid, housing, student loans, and other purposes. For most courses at UCI, baccalaureate credit and workload credit are identical. Courses differing in this credit or "workload credit only" courses are identified in the course description.

It should be noted that final grades as reported by professors are normally permanent and final. A professor may not change a final grade except to correct a clerical or procedural error. Clerical or procedural errors should be corrected within one regular academic quarter after the grade is assigned. No grade may be revised by reexamination or, with the exception of I and IP grades, by completing additional work. If a student is dissatisfied with a grade, the student should review their work with the instructor and receive an explanation of the grade assigned. A grade may be appealed on any reasonable grounds to the instructor, the chair of the department, and the dean of the school. If the matter is not resolved, the student may go for counsel to the Office of the University Ombudsman. Under circumstances explained in the Academic Grievance Procedures (Manual of the Irvine Division of the Academic Senate, Appendix II), a grade may be changed if the Academic Grievance Panel has determined that the grade was assigned on the basis of