University education is a journey filled with challenges and triumphs, and a very common hurdle that students face is the concept of a carryover(referencing a course). A popular question University students ask is “Can a carryover affect my CGPA?”
In this blog post, we’ll not only answer the question but also explore how carryovers can affect a student’s CGPA and provide insights into how a Carryover can be managed effectively.
The simple answer is…
YES!!!
It can and will affect your CGPA
CGPA is a calculation of the average grade point obtained in all courses offered by a student in a higher institution. The full form of CGPA is Cumulative Grade Point Average. For schools and colleges, CGPA is used to measure the overall academic achievement of a student by awarding A, B, C, D or F grades.
A carryover is a situation where a student did not meet the required scores/grades to pass a course and has to take that course again the following year. Carryovers are quite common for a lot of university students and even though failing a course does not necessarily mean you are a failure, it does have its adverse effects.
How A Carryover Affects Your CGPA
Most universities have a similar academic rating. That is the point allocated to each grade a student scores in a course. It looks like this.
ACADEMIC RATING(A-F)
A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1 and F=0.
The score that you get in a course depends on what grade you have.
So if you score an A in a Chm 203, a 3 unit course, your point will be
5×3= 15 points
If it’s B, then 4×3= 12 points,
if it’s C,then 3×3= 9 points,
if D, then 2×3= 6 points
if it’s E, then 1×3= 3 points
And if you score an F, it is 3×0=0. Which means that nothing is recorded for that student for that particular course and the student will have to carry over the course to the next year in the hopes of passing it the best year.
And passing a Carryover course is not a very simple task. Not only do you have to attend lectures, prepare for tests and exams for the courses in your current level and also have to do that for the carryover course.
The possibility of the timetable for your current courses and the carryover course clashing is very high. Even the timetable for exams can also clash!!! It happens a lot in Nigerian Universities.
But here’s the most interesting part, if you read really hard and pass the carryover course the next year and even score an A, your CGPA will still be affected.
Here’s why
With higher institutions, the policy for calculating a CGPA for a carryover course is an average of the old and new grades.
This just means that your new grade will be divided into two because you wrote it two times.
That is:
If you score and A in a 3 unit carryover course, you didn’t really have an A. Because it will be divided into 2. As in
A(5÷2) = 2.5=D
Which mean the actual grade you got for that course is a D. And if you multiply that by 3(the unit of the course) that is
2.5×3= 7.5
If You scored a B, then 4/2=2. Which is D
If C, then 3/2=1.5 approx.2.Which is D
If D, then 2/2=1 your final result is E
If E, then 1/2=0.5 approx.I which is E.
And if you failed the course again and have to retake it for the 3rd time, whatever you score will be divided into 3.
Yikes.
So needless to say, a carryover will affect your CGPA negatively.
But with every academic problem there is a solution.
How to manage a Carryover
Having a Carryover is not the end of the world. There are things you can do to manage it effectively to make sure you only write again once.
All of the steps you can take to manage a carryover are contained in this free PDF.
In conclusion, while carryovers might create a temporary dip in a student’s CGPA, they do not reflect the entirety of a student’s educational journey. With determination, resilience, and the right support, students can not only overcome carryovers but also emerge stronger, more confident, and better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
I hope you find this blog post helpful! If you have any other questions about carryovers or universities in general, leave your question as a comment below.
Goodluck!
