Understanding & Calculating Your GPA
Each letter grade has a specific numeric value assigned to it EXCEPT for Withdrawal (W), Withdrawal for Extenuating Circumstances (WE), Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) or Audit (AU), which have no numeric value and are not calculated in a student's GPA. CSULB courses numbered below 100 are also not included in the GPA calculation.
A student's total grade points are calculated by multiplying the number of units by the number of grade points associated with each grade assigned.
Consider the following example for a 3-unit course:
| Grade |
Numeric Value |
Units |
Total Grade Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| B | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| C | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| D | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| F/U | 0 | 3 | 0 |
The student's GPA is determined by dividing the total number of units attempted into the total number of grade points awarded.
Thus, if a student takes four 3-unit courses and receives 3 B's and 1 C, then the student's GPA is as follows: