Academic standing and grading system

If you’re in a bachelor’s program (90 or 120 units) and have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 4.00, you’ve passed. If you’re in an honours program and have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 5.00, you’ve passed.

Some faculties or programs of a particular faculty may have other requirements, subject to the approval of the Senate.

If you have taken (successfully or not) at least 24 units and your cumulative grade point average (CGPA) is less than the minimum required for your program, your faculty will put you on probation. This means that you will be monitored until your CGPA reaches the minimum required by your program.

If your CGPA, in an honours program, is below 5.00, you can:

• re-enrol in the honours program with probationary status; or
• enrol in a bachelor’s program (90 or 120 units).

In the latter case, you won’t be put on probation unless your CGPA is below 4.00.

Decisions on lifting probation or withdrawal from the program are made only after you have taken (successfully or not) another 24 units, in accordance with the conditions of your probation. Probation is lifted when your CGPA reaches the required minimum for your program.

Withdrawal from your program of studies is mandatory if:

• you have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) below 4.00 at the Faculty of Health Sciences;
• you have two failures in compulsory work terms, including in programs where participation in co-operative education is compulsory;
• you have two failures in NSG or NUT courses at the Faculty of Health Sciences even if the failed courses were repeated successfully;
• you have obtained a second “F” grade for a compulsory or elective course at the Faculty of Education (undergraduate program) even if the course has been repeated successfully;
• you have a CGPA below the minimum average required after being placed on probation and after having taken (successfully or not) another 24 units.

Withdrawal from your faculty is mandatory if:

• you have a CGPA below 3.00 after having taken (successfully or not) 24 units;
• you have a CGPA below the minimum average required after being placed on probation and after having taken (successfully or not) another 24 units.

If you were withdrawn from your program, you may be eligible for admission to another program of your faculty. After taking (successfully or not) another 24 units after your withdrawal, you can submit a change of program request to re-enrol in your program. In order to do that, you must fulfill admission requirements.

If you were withdrawn from your faculty, you may re-apply for admission to re-enrol at the faculty only after having taken (successfully or not) another 24 units after your withdrawal. In order to do that, you must fulfill admission requirements and meet your faculty’s academic upgrading conditions. Your application will be evaluated on the basis of the average you obtained during the period of academic upgrading.

You can also be withdrawn from your program or faculty if you violate the regulation on academic fraud or your faculty’s regulations.

You have the right to appeal your mandatory withdrawal to your academic unit. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 10 (ten) working days from the date of receiving the withdrawal notification.

You can re-enrol in your program with probationary status or enrol in a bachelor’s program (90 or 120 units), in which case you won’t be on probation unless your cumulative grade point average is less than 4.00.

If you have met the requirements for the courses in which you've been enrolled but haven’t maintained the required CGPA for your program, you can still enrol in up to 24 additional units, so long as they are in addition to your program requirements.

If you’ve interrupted your undergraduate studies for six consecutive terms or less, you can re-enrolin the same faculty without submitting a new application for admission. If you’ve been away for seven or more consecutive terms, you must make a new application for admission to one of the types of programs described in Regulation 3.1.

Undergraduate

We strongly recommend that you meet with an academic advisor before interrupting your studies, to ensure that you’re not penalized. For example, certain bursaries require that you be enrolled full time without interruption throughout your studies and some professional programs such as Nursing require that you take some refresher courses after 6 months of absence.

Students registered at the Faculty of Education must meet with the program director prior to interrupting their studies.

Regulation 11: Academic Standing, Probation and Mandatory Withdrawal

Graduate

You may apply for temporary leave from your program only on medical, compassionate or parental grounds.

Regulation 3.2 Leaves of absence

The University of Ottawa’s official grading system is alphanumeric. Transcripts include letters and numerical values (in other words, the letter grade A+, which represents a grade of between 90%–100%, has a numerical value of 10).

This system is used for all courses, except in certain cases approved by the University Senate. Some courses use a “Satisfactory/Not satisfactory” or “Pass/Fail” system, because of the type of learning outcomes (for example, “Pass/Fail for CO-OP placements or “Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory” for nursing placements).

* Redeemable failure in some faculties

The passing grade depends on the program or faculty. We recommend that you visit your faculty’s website.

For undergraduate studies, the passing grade is usually D.

However, there are some exceptions:

• In the Faculty of Education, the passing grade is C.
• In the Faculty of Engineering, the passing grade is D+ for all courses at the 2000 level or higher.
• The passing grade for all NSG and NUT courses is C+.
• For graduate studies, the passing grade is C+. Some programs may require a higher grade.

Your grade point measures your performance in a course. It is based on the number of units and the numerical value of your letter grade. Your grade point for each course is calculated by multiplying the number of course units by the numerical value of your letter grade. For example, if you received a B+ in PSY 1101, multiply the numerical value of a B+ (7) by the number of course units (3), and you get a grade point of 21.

The term grade point average (TGPA) measures your performance in all your courses during one term.

Your TGPA is calculated by dividing the sum of all your grade points by the sum of the units for all the courses you’ve taken during a term. Example:

TGPA calculation:

1. 27 + 30 + 18 + 21 + 24 = 120
2. 5 (courses) x 3 (units) = 15
3. 120 ÷ 15 = 8.00

Your grade point average only includes courses you’ve taken at the University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University, Dominican University College or Carleton University.

If you’ve written a supplemental examination for a course, only the grade you receive after the examination counts toward your grade point averages (TGPA and CGPA).

Your cumulative grade point average (CGPA) measures your academic performance in all of the courses you have taken (successfully or not). It is reounded to two decimal places.

Your CGPA is calculated by dividing the sum of all your grade points by the sum of the units of all the courses you’ve taken (successfully or not). Decimals are rounded to the next highest number if the third decimal is 5 or higher and to the next lowest number if the third decimal is 4 or lower.

For a bachelor’s, you must have a CGPA of at least 4.00.

For an honour’s bachelor (90 units), you must have a CGPA of at least 5.00, except in programs that have received special Senate approval.

You can use the CGPA Calculator (from uoZone, select Applications and then CGPA Calculator), which was created to help students predict and track their average. Calculations are for information purposes only.

The following shows the four-point scale equivalent to the official University of Ottawa alphanumerical grading system, as determined by the Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS).

To calculate your CPGA on a four-point scale, convert your grade in each course first. Don’t convert your CGPA directly to the four-point scale. Calculate your CGPA by dividing the sum of all your grade points by the sum of units of all the courses you’ve taken.

Example for two terms:

Calculation of CGPA on a four-point scale for two terms:

1. 11.7 + 12 + 27 + 9.9 + 22.2 + 11.7 + 9 = 103.5
2. 5 (courses) x 3 (units) + 1 (course) x 9 (units) + 1 (courses) x 6 (units) = 30
3. 103.5 ÷ 30 = 3.45

The application My Grades in uoZone shows your academic performance for one term. It is available as soon as the term grades are official. For the exact dates, see Important academic dates and deadlines.

Your transcript is an official document that shows all the courses in which you have enrolledfor at the University, all of your results, and all of the degrees, diplomas and certificates you’ve received from the University. The University doesn’t issue partial transcripts. Course titles appear in the language of the course, and the University doesn’t translate transcripts. If at least six students were enrolled in a course you took, the group average and the number of students enrolled in the course appear on your transcript.

You can order a copy of your official transcript through uoZone (under the Applications tab, select Purchase Official Documents). You will be charged an administrative fee. You must have a valid credit card. Please note that in all circumstances, if you owe money to the University, you can’t receive a transcript until you’ve settled your debt.

You can also make a request by mail or fax. Print and complete the form.

Please allow five to seven business days for delivery of documents.

Send your request by fax to 613-562-5323 or mail it to:

University of Ottawa
InfoService
75 Laurier Avenue East
Ottawa ON K1N 6N5

For more information, visit the Requesting academic documents page.

If your transcript contains errors or is missing important information, you must let your home faculty know within 90 days of the date on which grades become official. Otherwise, your transcript will remain unchanged. See the Important academic dates and deadlines page.

Regulation 10.4