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. If you're enrolled in an undergraduate certificate program, and you've earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50, you've passed.

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

Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the faculties of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections), Education, Medicine, except for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine, have different regulations on this topic.

Academic Regulation B-7.1.
 

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.

Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the Faculties of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections), Education, Medicine, except for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine, have different regulations on this topic.

Academic Regulation B-7.2.

In addition to the cases of mandatory withdrawal set out in the University’s regulation on academic misconduct and any cases covered by Faculty regulations approved by the Senate, withdrawal from a program or a Faculty is mandatory in various situations.

Withdrawal from your program of studies is mandatory if:

• you have two failures in compulsory work terms, including in programs where participation in co-operative education is compulsory;
• you have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) below 4.00 at the Faculty of Health Sciences;
• you have two failures in courses with an NSG course code worth 3, 6 or 9 units, or three failures or more  in courses with an NSG course code where the sum of course units is 6 or more; and withdrawal from the Honours Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Sciences in the case of two failures in courses with NUT course codes, regardless of whether the failed courses were repeated and subsequently passed;
• you have obtained a second “F” grade for a compulsory or elective course at the Faculty of Education (undergraduate program) - except if the failed course has been repeated successfully;

Withdrawal from your Faculty is mandatory if:

• you have a CGPA below 3.00 after having taken (successfully or not)
  • 24 units in the case of a bachelor’s or honours bachelor’s program;
  • 9 units in the case of an undergraduate certificate program;
• you have a CGPA below the minimum average required after being placed on academic probation and after having taken (successfully or not)
  • 24 additional units in the case of a bachelor’s or honours bachelor’s program;
  • 9 additional units in the case of an undergraduate certificate program
• The decision will be made in accordance with the conditions of your academic probation (withdrawal from the program or the Faculty, depending on the situation).

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

Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the faculties of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections), Education, Medicine, except for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine, have different regulations on this topic.

Academic Regulation B-7.3.

If you were withdrawn from a bachelor’s or honours bachelor’s program, you may be eligible for admission to another program of the Faculty.

If you wish to enroll back in the program or the Faculty, you must submit a new application for admission, meet the academic upgrading conditions required by the Faculty, and fulfill the current admission requirements. You will be able to do so after taking (successfully or not):

• 24 units following withdrawal, in the case of a bachelor’s or honours bachelor’s program;
• 9 units following withdrawal, in the case of an undergraduate certificate program.

At the Faculty of Health Sciences, a new admission to the program while retaining already completed NSG and NUT course units is not possible when two failures in courses with NSG or NUT course codes, of which at least one was a clinical or practicum placement course, prompted the withdrawal from the Honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing or the Honours Bachelor in Food and Nutrition Sciences.

Applications for admission from students withdrawn from a Faculty will be evaluated on the basis of the average they obtain during the period of academic upgrading. The requirements for averages for university transfers apply in cases of admission following mandatory withdrawal.

Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the Faculties of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections), Education, Medicine, except for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine, have different regulations on this topic.

In all cases, if you have been withdrawn from your Faculty or program, make sure to keep in contact with your Faculty’s Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) (or equivalent) to know what are the next steps in your situation.

Academic Regulation B-7.3.

If you’ve voluntarily interrupted your undergraduate studies for six consecutive terms or less, you can re-enrol in 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.

Please note that unless otherwise indicated, the Faculties of Law (Common Law and Civil Law sections), Education, Medicine, except for the Honours Bachelor of Science in Translational and Molecular Medicine, have different regulations on this topic.

Regulation B-7.5.

Undergraduate

We strongly recommend that you meet with an academic advisor from your faculty 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.

Graduate

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

Professional leave: You may apply for temporary leave for an internship or employment opportunity that is of high value to your career development. Requests for professional leave are subject to approval by your thesis supervisor, the director of graduate studies (or equivalent) of your program, and the vice-dean of graduate studies (or equivalent) of the Faculty offering the program, and may not exceed more than one year in total in their program of study.

Medial or compassionate leave: You may apply for temporary leave from your studies on medical or compassionate grounds. The request for leave must clearly state the reasons for, and the length of, the intended interruption of studies, and must be accompanied by relevant supporting documentation (e.g., in the case of illness, a medical certificate issued by a physician). Requests for leave are subject to approval by your thesis supervisor, the director of graduate studies (or equivalent) of your program, and the vice-dean of graduate studies (or equivalent) of the Faculty offering the program.

Parental leave: You may apply for temporary parental leave for each birth or adoption of a child occurring prior to completion of your program. The request for leave must be accompanied by proof of the birth or adoption.

Academic Regulation C-3.2.

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

Academic regulation A-3: Grading System

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.

The passing grade is C for:

• all undergraduate courses at the Faculty of Education
• all courses in the Undergraduate Medical Education Program (MED and CLI)
• all undergraduate courses in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PHA) program

The passing grade is C+ for:

• all undergraduate nursing courses (NSG)
• some undergraduate nutrition and dietetic courses (NUT)

For graduate studies, the passing grade is usually C+, though some programs may require a different grade.

Note: the passing grades required in a course that includes students at more than one level are determined by each student’s level and not by the course level.

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 or Carleton University.

If you’ve written a supplemental examination for a course, only the grade you receive after the supplemental examination counts toward your grade point averages (TGPA and CGPA). However, a note on the transcript will indicate that this grade was obtained as a result of a supplemental exam.

Your cumulative grade point average (CGPA) measures your academic performance in all of the courses you have taken (successfully or not).

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). It is rounded to two decimal places. 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, you must have a CGPA of at least 5.00, except in programs that have received special Senate approval.

For an undergraduate certificate program, you must have a CGPA of at least 3.50.

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 Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) undergraduate grade conversion table.

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

Your grade report lists the final grade for each course in which you were registered during a term.  It is available on the application My Grades in uoZone 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 enrolled for 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 also appear on your transcript.

Academic Regulation A-3.4 and A-3.5.

You can order a copy of your official transcript through uoZone (under the Applications tab, select Purchase Official Documents). You can either purchase a digital copy (through partner service MyCreds^TM) or a paper copy (through InfoService).

You can also make a request in person at InfoService, or by mail or fax using the appropriate form. In all cases, you will be charged an administrative fee. Please also note that, if you owe money to the University, you can’t receive a transcript until you’ve settled your debt.

For more information, visit the  Transcripts and academic documents page.

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

Academic regulation A-3.4.