Academic grading systems in Australia include:
Tertiary institutions
Australian universities issue results for each subject, based on the following gradings:
% ACU, ACS, Adelaide, Bond, Canberra, CDU, CQU, CSU, UDivinity, Flinders, JCU, MQ, Newcastle, QUT, SCU, UNE, UNSW, USYD,"University of Sydney Academic Board Resolutions: Assessment and Examination of Coursework" Approved by the Academic Board 2000-12-13, link verified 5 July 2008 Torrens, UOW, USC, USQ (from semester 1, 2022), UTS, WSU, ACAP, AIM UniSA USQ (prior to semester 1, 2022)Griffith, UQ identify specific grades in some coursesANU, Curtin, Deakin, ECU, Monash, Murdoch, RMIT, UTAS, Swinburne, UWA, VU UNDAFedUni La Trobe Melbourne 100 High Distinction (HD) High Distinction (HD) High Distinction (HD) 7 High Distinction (HD) High Distinction (HD) A First Class Honours (H1) 95–99 90–94 85–89 80–84 Distinction (D) Distinction (D) A 6 75–79 Distinction (D) Distinction (D) BSecond Class Honours Div A (H2A) 70–74 Credit (C) Credit (C) B 5 Second Class Honours Div B (H2B) 65–69 Credit (C) Credit (C) C Third Class Honours (H3) 60–64 Pass (P) Pass 1 (P1) C 4 Pass (P) 55–59 Pass (P) Pass (P) D 50–54 Pass 2 (P2) 40–49 Fail (N) Fail 1 (F1) Fail (F, FNP, FNS, FNC or FLW) 1, 2, 3 Fail (N) Marginal Fail (MF) Fail (N) Fail (N) < 40 Fail 2 (F2) Fail (F)
Note that the numbers above do not correspond to a percentile, but are notionally a percentage of the maximum raw marks available. Various tertiary institutions in Australia have policies on the allocations for each grade and scaling may occur to meet these policies. These policies may vary also according to the degree year (higher percentages for later years), but generally, only 2–5% of students who pass (that is, who achieve raw marks of 50 or more) may be awarded a High Distinction grade, and 50% or more of passing students are awarded a basic Pass grade. Raw marks for students who fail are not scaled and do not increase the allocations of higher grades. Some universities also have a Pass Conceded (PC) grade for marks that fall in the range of 45–49 inclusive.
A few universities do not issue numeric grades out of 100 for individual subjects, instead relying on qualitative descriptors. Griffith University and The University of Queensland issue results of High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass, and Fail.The University of Queensland (2015). "". Accessed on 22 March 2016.
Grade point average Grade point averages are not generally used in Australia below a tertiary level. At universities, they are calculated according to a more complicated formula than in some other nations:
where grade points are as follows:
GradeUniSAWSUJCUQUT"QUT grading system" Retrieved 19 July 2010UQ"Explanation of grades" Retrieved 8 March 2012Griffith USQ FedUniCSU VUMacquarieAdelaideCQU FlindersNewcastleSCU"Coursework Awards – Grade Point Average" Link verified 5 November 2012 ANUCharles Darwin UTAS"Results" Retrieved 18 January 2015 UWA"" Link verified 18 July 2011
AIM ACUUTSMonashSUTBond MurdochRMIT UNDA High Distinction77777777444 Distinction66666666333 Credit55555555222 Pass4.5 (P1) / 4 (P2)4444444111 Conceded Pass / Near Pass / Fail Level 1/Marginal Fail3.5 (Supp.) / 3 (Conc.)3330n/an/a00.70.50 Fail1.5 (F1 / F) / 1 (F2)21.5001.5000.300 Withdrawn Fail/Late Withdrawal1.511.500000000
A conceded pass is a pass for a course that has been awarded only after supplementary assessment has been undertaken by the student.
Where a course result is a Non-Graded Pass, the result will only be included if the GPA is less than 4, and will be assigned the grade point of 4, otherwise NGP results will be disregarded. The term course unit values is used to distinguish between courses which have different weightings, for example between a full year course and a single semester course.
Some other universities, such as the University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, and University of WollongongUniversity of Wollongong (2008). 2008 Course Handbook: Assessment. Accessed on 24 December 2008. use a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) for the same purpose as a GPA. The WAM is based on the raw percentage grades, or marks, achieved by the student, rather than grade points such as High Distinction or Distinction.
References