Weighted Average Mark (WAM) Calculation Guideline
Section 1 - Introduction
(1) A weighted average mark (WAM) is the average mark achieved across all completed units in a
Section 2 - Purpose
(2) This guideline has been developed to assist
Section 3 - Scope
(3) This guideline applies to all
Section 4 - Guidelines
(4) The WAM is calculated as:
- a cumulative WAM, calculated over all
units undertaken within aProgram ; or - a WAM calculated over a specified number of
units or allunits at or above a specified level;- for calculation of Honours the weighted average mark calculated over all 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 level
courses ; or
- for calculation of Honours the weighted average mark calculated over all 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 level
- a WAM calculated over an approved
major ; or - an annual WAM is the weighted average mark of the results of
courses taken in a particular calendar year.
(5) The WAM can be expressed mathematically as:
Where:
M = the mark as defined below;
V = the unit value of the course concerned; and
W = the weighting of the course concerned as set out below.
(6) The value of “M” is defined as followed:
- where the final result in a
course is given in the range 50 to 100 inclusive, “M” is equal to that percentage mark; - where the final result in a
course is a failing grade, in the range 45 to 49 inclusive, “M” is equal to that percentage mark; - where the final result in a
course is a failing grade, in the range of 0 to 44, “M” is equal to a mark of 44; - where the
student has passed thecourse but the result is not provided as a percentage mark and thestudent receives a UP (ungraded pass) the mark demoted as “M” will be deemed to be as per Clause 10.
Table 1 – Course Mark Values for WAM
Grade | Percentage Mark | M |
---|---|---|
UP* | Not provided | 58* (refer to Clause 9) |
P,C,D,HD | 50-100 | Equal to the percentage mark |
FF | 45-49 | Equal to the percentage mark |
FF | 0-44 | 44 |
(7) The first number of a
Table 2 Course Weightings (cumulative WAM)
Course Level | Weighting (W) |
---|---|
1000 | 1 |
2000 | 2 |
3000 | 3 |
4000, 5000 and 6000 | 4 |
(8) The WAM for Bachelor Honours is calculated on all
Table 3 Course Weighting (Bachelor Honours – Embedded Honours)
Course Level | Weighting |
---|---|
2000 | 2 |
3000 | 3 |
4000, 5000 and 6000 | 4 |
(9) The determination of
- where all
units have been completed at the University of Newcastle and within the sameprogram , allunits will be included in the WAM calculation; - where all
units have been completed at the University of Newcastle but across differentprograms , allunits that have contributed to the relevantprogram being awarded will be included in the WAM calculation (including credit); - where a
student has receivedcredit from an external institution (including cross-institutional study) only thoseunits completed at the University of Newcastle will be included in the WAM calculation; - where a
student has completed more than the maximumunits , only the approvedunits will be counted towards the WAM calculation. For example in a 240unit program only 240units of approved courses where thestudent has received a pass (or greater) plus all fail grades will be included in the WAM calculation. Forstudents who over-enrol (i.e.extraneous enrolment inunits additional to the overallprogram value) only the earliest completedcourses are counted; courses completed extraneously cannot be counted within the WAM calculation.Students who have successfully completed acourse will not be permitted to undertake the samecourse again (see definition forExtraneous enrolment in acourse );- where, through an administrative error, a
student has passed the samecourse twice, the grade of the first completion, not the highest mark, will be utilised in the WAM calculation; and - where a
student is studying a combinedprogram , only thoseunits which have contributed to the completion of each singleprogram will be included in the WAM calculation for each of theprogram or the WAM may be calculated for the overallunit value for the combinedprograms , subject to the conditions outlined above.
(10) *Ungraded pass (UP) Grades are not included in the calculation of a WAM, except:
- where the inclusion of the ungraded pass grade in the calculation will advantage the
student , ie when thestudent has a WAM of less than 58. In this instance the WAM is recalculated including the value of the ungraded pass grades; or - when more than 50% of the grades presented are ungraded pass grades. In this instance, the WAM would be calculated with the ungraded pass grades included in the calculation.
(11) The following will be taken into account when calculating the WAM:
students re-enrolling after leave of absence will retain their previous WAM as the basis of future calculations;- if grades of ‘Incomplete’ (I) or ‘Special Consideration’ (S) are awarded to a
student , the WAM will remain uncalculated until the final marks are awarded.
(12) Multi-term sequence
- upon completion of Part A of a multi-term sequence
course students will be awarded an NA grade, NA grades are not included in WAM calculations; - upon completion of Part B of a multi-term sequence
course students will be awarded a percentage mark and grade, weighted according to theunit value of Part A and B, this mark will be included in the WAM calculation.
Rounding
(13) For consideration of honours, a WAM is rounded as follows:
- a maximum of two decimal points in a WAM is used;
- a WAM at or below xx.49 will be rounded down to the previous full decimal; and
- a WAM at or above xx.50 will be rounded up to the next full decimal.
Table 4 – Rounding Examples
WAM (to 2 decimal points) | Rounded WAM |
---|---|
76.49 | 76 |
76.51 | 77 |
Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities
(14)
(15)