CGPA Full Form

CGPA full form is a Cumulative Grade Point Average and helps to measure the academic achievement of the students. It is calculated as the average grade point obtained by students in each subject. Undoubtedly the educational sector has evolved over the years in different aspects, and the grading system is perhaps the most reflective one. 

In Indian educational institutes, pupils are marked on grades that range from A to F, well it might vary as per an institute. The grading system helps both students and teachers to understand the academic skills of the student, based on which strategies can be framed to bring improvement in their performance. 

What is CGPA Full Form?

The full form of CGPA is Cumulative Grade Point Average, enforced by the University Grants Commission to update the evaluation process in schools, colleges and universities. Basically, a CGPA is calculated by dividing the total marks of all subjects by the number of subjects. 

In the educational sector, evaluating pupils after the end or in the middle of a session is essential to know how the learners grasped concepts taught in schools and colleges. This system both motivates and helps an educational institute to assess its teaching methods. If you are intended to discover more about the cumulative grade point average system, then read this article to gain adequate knowledge about the assessment system. 

Highlights on CGPA

Evolution of Grading System Over the years

The education sector has always been ever-growing with updates on exam patterns, curriculum and grading systems. This section of the article will majorly focus on the amendment made in the assessment process. Let’s begin with the history of the grading system. William Farish, a Cambridge University teacher discovered a system of rewarding grades to students during an academic session in 1972. 

The prime objective that inspired him to invent the system is to learn whether the pupils were able to understand the topics properly or not. Well, a few of you might be unaware that before introducing the grading system in education, factories used it as a tool to rate the quality of manufactured products. 

It won’t be wrong to say that since its evolution in 1975, a wave of changes has been registered on this front. There was a time when UGC awarded percentages to pupils; however, later it was renewed to grades because it somehow discouraged students. CBSE uses CGPA, full form of which is Cumulative Grade Point Average, as a tool to establish uniformity in the assessment system. 

What are the Advantages of the CGPA System?

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA full-form) serves the major purpose of evaluating students’ performance and also assesses the teaching system in any educational institute. We have listed down some of the major advantages of the grading system, let’s check them out.

• Shed study load: Grading system sheds the load of scoring high marks because report cards mention only alphabets ranging from A to E without revealing any number. Assessing pupils in terms of numerals often lowers their morales. 
• Recognize strengths and weaknesses: CGPA enables students to learn where they stand. It allows them a chance to self-analysis their academic skills so that in future they can improve weak subjects.
• Evolutionary pattern: CGPA is regarded as an evolutionary pattern as students are now assessed not alone on academic performance but even on other components like school assignments, project works and attendance. 
• Improves teaching method: Besides proving fruitful for learners, the grading system can even allow teachers to ensure whether their teaching techniques are helpful enough for students or not. 
• Classification of students: Teachers use CGPA as an effective tool to create different groups of weak, bright and average students. It will help them work more on those who score D or E grades.

Are there any Loopholes in the CGPA System?

As it is popularly said, there are two sides to a coin hence CGPA offers a host of benefits to students and teachers, but it has some loopholes. 

• Limit competitiveness: As CGPA marks students based on grades, it has somehow reduced competitiveness among students who are content to get passing marks. 
• Promoted lethargy: The grading system assesses students based on different aspects like attendance, and project work which is proving harmful for the student. Pupils are now putting lesser effort into sharpening their academic skills.
• Demotivation: In grades, it's difficult to differentiate between an outstanding performer from a good student. For eg a student who scored 98% is awarded an A grade, while those scoring 90% too rewarded an A grade. This has somehow unmotivated students to perform well. 

GPA Vs CGPA System- Understanding the Concepts

Are you confused between GPA and CGPA grading systems? In some universities, the admission process to any UG/PG courses is conducted by taking both grade point average and cumulative grade point average into consideration. To help you understand both the grading system, we have tried comparing and contrasting them.

Besides differences, both the grading system holds equal importance in a student's academic life. Let’s check their relevance for students.

• Most universities give admission to tehri graduate programs only after assessing both GPA and CGPA scores
• To enhance chances of getting high CGPA, students are required to maintain good GPA
• High GPA and CGPA helps students to bag great job opportunities.

Calculation Process of CGPA

Students often remain in an utter state of confusion when calculating CGPA from percentage or vice versa. To make sure you don’t get stuck in calculation of CGPA, we have offered a step-by-step process.

• Add up the grade points or marks of all the main subjects
• Now divide the grade point by total number of subjects
• You will get the CGPA

Let’s understand it with an example

Suppose your grade points for five subjects are:

Subject 1: 6

Subject 2: 7

Subject 3: 9

Subject 4: 7

Subject 5: 8

When you add them up, the result will be 37. Now if you divide it by 5 i,e total subjects then you will get CGPA which will be 37/5=7.4

Calculating Percentage from CGPA

Most colleges in India accept 10+2 scores in the form of percentage and not CGPA, full form of which is Cumulative Grade Point Average,  hence it is vital for you to  learn about the process to calculate percentage from CGPA. Check the steps below:

• The first step will be multiplying your CGPA score by 9.5
• For example CGPA in the above result is 7.4 hence the percentage will be

Percentage = 7.4*9.5=70.3%

Grading Criteria in the CGPA System

Every educational institute in India adheres to different norms when determining grades in respect of marks. Well, below is a list of grades and their respective marks for student’s reference.

How is CGPA Different from SGPA?

SGPA refers to a learner’s overall performance in a semester and it is calculated by average of all CGPA. Most colleges score students on SGPA which is to be converted to cumulative grade points. If your university gives grade points and you are wondering the process to calculate Semester Grade Point Average then follow these steps

1. Assemble credit points for all your subjects
2. Now, multiply the credit points with the grade points for each subject
3. Add the marks
4. Next divide the total credit points by aggregate of the credit points, you will get the SGPA

Converting SGPA into CGPA

Well, not all educational institutes will accept SGPA score so if you want to find CGPA from your SGPA score then follow the steps below:

1. Find the average of all subjects
2. Add average score of each semester and divided it by total semesters
3. You will get CGPA score

You can use a formula when calculating or converting CGPA from SGPA. Let’s explain it through an example:

Suppose, your SGPA is 7 and 8 in two semesters so you can calculate CGPA by following the formula

Sum of CGPA of semester/number of semesters

i.e.

7+8/2= 7.5

Hence your CGPA will be 7.5.

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA full form) undoubtedly plays a vital role in enabling students to assess their performance and work harder. Students are advised to keep their CGPA high so that admission to their preferred college can be done without much hassle.