What Are Quality Points?
Quality points are the building blocks of a US-style GPA calculation. They combine the grade you earn in a course with the weight of the course, measured in credit hours. By adding up quality points and dividing by credit hours, a college produces a grade point average that treats larger courses as more important than smaller ones.
How to calculate
For each course:
Quality points = grade points × credit hours
On a standard 4.0 scale, an A is 4.0, a B is 3.0, a C is 2.0, a D is 1.0 and an F is 0. Plus and minus grades have intermediate values, such as 3.7 for an A- and 3.3 for a B+.
A worked example
| Course | Credits | Grade | Grade points | Quality points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | 4 | B | 3.0 | 12.0 |
| English | 3 | A | 4.0 | 12.0 |
| Math | 3 | C+ | 2.3 | 6.9 |
| Art | 2 | A- | 3.7 | 7.4 |
| Total | 12 | 38.3 |
GPA = 38.3 divided by 12 = about 3.19.
The four-credit biology course has more influence on the GPA than the two-credit art course, because the same grade is multiplied by a bigger number of credits.
Cumulative GPA
To find your cumulative GPA, add up quality points across all terms and divide by total credit hours attempted. This is why one bad semester has a large effect early on, and a smaller effect after you have many credits.
What counts and what does not
- Included: graded courses with letter grades.
- Usually excluded: pass/fail or credit/no credit courses, audits and withdrawals.
- Depends on the policy: repeated courses, where the old grade may be replaced or averaged, and transfer courses, which often bring credit but no grades.
- Incompletes are not counted until a final grade is assigned.
Using the idea
Quality points help you plan. If you know your current quality points and credits, you can calculate what grades you need in upcoming courses to reach a target GPA for honors, scholarship renewal or graduate admissions.
Related terms
See grade point, credit hour, grade forgiveness, academic standing and incomplete grade.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate quality points?
Multiply the grade points for your letter grade by the course's credit hours. For a B (3.0) in a four-credit course, quality points are 12.
How do quality points relate to GPA?
GPA is total quality points divided by total credit hours attempted. Quality points weight each grade by the size of the course.
Do pass/fail courses have quality points?
Usually not. They are excluded from GPA, though credits may still count toward graduation if you pass.