The academic performances of students of tertiary institutions, undergraduates and postgraduates alike, are measured using different grading systems. The University of Lagos adopts the 5-Point Grading System, which is the NUC standard. In this article, students and prospective students of UNILAG will learn how to keep track of their academic performances on their own.
UNILAG’s grading system for undergraduates and PG will be addressed below:
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UNILAG Grading System for Undergraduates
The University of Lagos operates on the NUC 5-Point Grading System. This system is adopted by a majority of tertiary institutions in the country. The undergraduates of UNILAG are assessed using this 5-Point grading system. It will be explained in detail as we move on.
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UNILAG Course Grading System
All courses offered by undergraduate students of UNILAG are graded out of a maximum of 100 marks, of which the scores obtained are assigned letter grades. These letter grades may be A, B, C, D, E, or F. Each letter grade has a weighted value, shown in the table below:
Table 1: Grading Modalities
| Marks (100%) | Letter Grade | Grade Point |
| 70-100 | A | 5.00 |
| 60-69 | B | 4.00 |
| 50-59 | C | 3.00 |
| 45-49 | D | 2.00 |
| 40-44 | E | 1.00 |
| 0-39 | F | 0.00 |
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How Can an Undergraduate Know His Grade Point Obtained in a Course?
Every course offered by an undergraduate has allotted credit units (CU). When an undergraduate has obtained final marks for a course, the score is assigned a letter grade and grade point (as illustrated in table 1). A weighted score for each course is obtained by multiplying the grade point obtained by the student in a course, by the credit unit for that course. For instance, if a student obtains 75% as the final score in a 3-credit unit course, his Grade Point (GP) is 5×3=15 (75% = A = 5).
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How Can an Undergraduate Assess His Performance for an Academic Semester?
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is how an undergraduate of UNILAG can calculate his performance in an academic semester. The Grade Point Average is calculated by dividing the sum of the total number of weighted scores in a semester by the total number of credit units (TCU) for that semester. That is, for example, if in a semester a student obtained a total weighted score of 61 for 16 credit units, then the student’s GPA for that semester is 61/16=3.81.
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How Can the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) be Calculated?
The Cumulative Grade Point Average is achieved by multiplying the weighted point attained in each course by the number of units assigned to the course to obtain the weighted score for each course. Then, add all the weighted scores of all the courses offered so far. With the figures of total weighted scores and total credit units taken up to the point of assessment, the Cumulative Grade Point Average is obtained by dividing the total weighted score by the total credit units.
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How Can a Student Know if His Performance Puts Him in Good Standing or Not?
At the University of Lagos, as long as an undergraduate’s Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and present semester’s Grade Point Average (GPA) are not below 1.00, an undergraduate is regarded to be in “good standing”. If a student’s Grade Point Average goes lower than 1.00 for the first time, he will be issued a ” warning”.
In the case where an undergraduate’s Cumulative Grade Point Average for two consecutive semesters drops below 1.00 but he has a Grade Point Average of at least 1.00, such student will be placed on “probation”. If the student’s academic performance fails to pick up and his Cumulative Grade Point Average is still less than 1.00, such student will be asked by the UNILAG management, through his departmental Examination Officer, to withdraw.
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Hypothetical Illustration of UNILAG Grading System for Undergraduates
To illustrate the UNILAG’s grading system for undergraduate students, a novel case of a student named Toheeb, will be used. Toheeb is a student of the Department of Education Physics. He’s just seen his first year’s second-semester results. So, Toheeb wants to calculate his academic performance in his first year as an undergraduate, using UNILAG’s grading system for undergraduates.
Table 2: Hypothetical First Semester for Toheeb
| Course Code | Credit Unit (CU) | Mark (100%) | Grade | Weighted Score |
| GST 102 | 2 | 55 | C | 2×3=6 |
| GST 105 | 2 | 87 | A | 2×5=10 |
| FSC 111 | 3 | 69 | B | 3×4=12 |
| FSC 112 | 3 | 79 | A | 3×5=15 |
| FSC 114 | 3 | 50 | C | 3×3=9 |
| FSC 115 | 3 | 55 | C | 3×3=9 |
| Total | (TCU) 16 | 61 |
In his first semester at the Department of Education Physics, he offered 6 courses; two from General Studies and four from his Department. From the result of his first semester, he obtained a total weighted score of 61, which was derived from the addition of the weighted score of each of the six courses he offered that semester. For the courses offered, the Total Credit Units (TCU) summed up to 16. So, to calculate Toheeb’s Grade Point Average for this semester, it will be the total weighted score divided by the Total Credit Units ( i.e, 61/16), which is rounded up to 3.81.
Table 3: Hypothetic Second Semester for Toheeb
| Course Code | Credit Unit (CU) | Marks (100%) | Grade | Weighted Score |
| GST 103 | 2 | 53 | C | 2×3=6 |
| FED 121 | 2 | 66 | B | 2×4=8 |
| PHS 121 | 3 | 69 | B | 3×4=8 |
| PHS 122 | 3 | 90 | A | 3×5=15 |
| PHS 123 | 2 | 59 | C | 2×3=6 |
| MAT 122 | 3 | 60 | B | 3×3=9 |
| STA 121 | 3 | 44 | D | 3×2=6 |
| Total | (TCU) 18 | 62 |
The Grade Point Average for Toheeb’s second-semester performance is 3.44, which is derived from dividing the Total Weighted Scores by the Total Credit Units (ie, 62/18).
To obtain the Cumulative Grade Point Average of Toheeb’s first academic session, add 61 and 62 together (i.e, both semesters’ total quality points) and divide the total which is 123 by the sum of the Total Credit Units for the academic session (i.e, 16+18) to get 3.61. So, the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) for the two semesters is 3.61.
This result showed that Toheeb had dropped in his first semester’s performance. And, judging from Toheeb’s academic performance in his first year, he is in the Second Class Upper-division.
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UNILAG’s Classification of Degrees
The award of a Bachelor’s degree to an undergraduate of the University of Lagos is possible if he has offered and passed the required number of credit units, plus passed all courses required of him, in due time. All the courses offered by a student in the course of his study at UNILAG except the approved GST courses and those graded fail/pass will be counted.
The GST courses an undergraduate of UNILAG is expected to pass, but won’t be calculated as part of his final Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) include Philosophy and Logic (GST 112), Nigerian Peoples and Culture (GST 113), Use of English (GST 115), General African Studies (GST 211), Basic Computer Concepts (GST 214), and Entrepreneurship Studies (GST 317).
The classification of a Bachelor’s degree in UNILAG is based on the student’s obtained Cumulative Grade Point Average as follows:
Table 4: UNILAG’s Degree Classification
| Class of Degree | Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) |
| First Class | 4.50-5.00 |
| Second Class Upper Division | 3.50-4.49 |
| Second Class Lower Division | 2.40-3.49 |
| Third Class | 1.50-2.39 |
| Pass | 1.00-1.49 |
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Get the Facts about UNILAG Grading System for Postgraduate Students
Postgraduates students running programs such as Postgraduate Diploma, Master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. in the University of Lagos have their grading system slightly different from that of the undergraduates. The difference is that the classification of postgraduate degrees is not based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) obtained during postgraduate studies at the University of Lagos. This is not to say no attention should be paid to building a solid CGPA as a postgraduate student. In Nigeria, Ph.D. programs may require that a student have a good CGPA as a requirement for admission. To put it in context, a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.50, (sometimes 4.00) out of 5, is a prerequisite for admission to Ph.D. in major Nigerian universities. However, if a student seeking a Ph.D. slot has other attributes like the originality of research and has published articles, among others, such prospective Ph.D. student may be able to convince the examining panel with the aforementioned facts, if his Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is a little below the cut-off point for that department.
Also, if you are to benefit from opportunities such as scholarships and research grants, and so on, an excellent academic performance is given utmost consideration. Transcripts are usually requested by boards of scholarships and grants to assess the academic quality of potential recipients.
These are some reasons that may spur you to build academic excellence as a postgraduate student at the University of Lagos.
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Course Grading for UNILAG Postgraduate
Courses of postgraduate students are graded the same way the undergraduate is done. The final marks of any course of a postgraduate student are usually assigned the traditional letter grade of A, B, C, D, E, or F. The letter grade A has a weighted value of 5 and is for scores 70% and above. The B grade is assigned a value of 4, and for grades between 60% and 69%. The letter grade C has a grade point of 3 and is assigned marks between 50% and 59%. The letter grade D is assigned to scores between 45% and 49%, with a weighted value of 2. If F is scored by a postgraduate student, it indicates failure, that is, that 40% and below, and has a grade point of zero (0). The student is required to re-sit for any course he failed to pass on the next trial.
As explained in the undergraduate section of this article, postgraduate students can calculate their weighted score for each course offered, and know their Grade Point Average, including being able to calculate the CGPA. This will afford them the chance to know their academic standing at every point of the way.
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How then is UNILAG Postgraduate Degree Rated?
Every postgraduate student of UNILAG who has met the required number of credit units, passed the required courses and completed his thesis (research project), is awarded a postgraduate certificate, but without any class of degree attached to it. That is to say, degree classifications such as first-class, second-class upper division, second-class lower division, and third class are not indicated in UNILAG postgraduate certificates.
To reiterate, this does not imply that the CGPA is not important to postgraduate students. There are immense benefits that one stands to gain from having a great CGPA in his postgraduate run at the University of Lagos. Scholarships and grants are opportunities for postgraduate students to benefit immensely if they have a strong CGPA
It is not uncommon to find undergraduates and postgraduate students who do not know what UNILAG’s grading system is, nor how to track their academic performance. This article has explained in-depth what the UNILAG grading system is, and has provided detailed explanations on how to calculate the weighted score for each course, Grade Point Average, and the Cumulative Grade Point Average.
Though the postgraduate certificates awarded to successful UNILAG postgraduate students are not classified according to the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), it does not rule out their importance in acquiring scholarships, academic grants, and furthering to Ph.D.
As an undergraduate, being equipped with this knowledge of being able to calculate academic performance stimulates zeal to achieve academic excellence. Mediocrity is not celebrated at the University of Lagos; abysmal academic performances may lead to withdrawal from an undergraduate program at UNILAG. For prospective students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), this information is particularly worthwhile.