Where Does the GPA Come From?
Stellic uses a combination of institution-provided GPAs and Stellic-calculated GPAs to display student academic performance.
GPAs Provided by Your Institution
The following GPAs are typically sent via your institution’s student information system (SIS) and are not calculated by Stellic:
Cumulative GPA
Other institution-defined GPAs, such as a mid-semester GPA or department-specific GPA.
GPAs Calculated by Stellic
Program GPA (PGPA): The GPA calculated for all courses that are applied to a student's program requirements in Stellic. The specific courses included depend on institutional settings, such as whether all attempts of non-repeatable courses contribute or only those actively fulfilling a requirement.
Term GPA: The GPA for all eligible courses taken within a given term.
Requirement GPAs: Adding a "calculate GPA for this requirement" constraint will prompt Stellic to calculate the GPA for any courses counting within the requirement.
Key Definitions
Required Course: A course is considered required if it is placed under a "fulfill all" constraint within a program.
(Note: If a "fulfill all" requirement is placed under a "fulfill any" constraint, it is no longer considered required.)Counting Toward a Requirement: A course counts toward a requirement when it is actively fulfilling a specific requirement in the degree audit.
Non-Repeatable Courses: Courses that students may attempt multiple times but are only allowed to count once for credit (e.g., Calculus I). Institutions can define whether all attempts or only specific attempts of the same non-repeatable course should contribute to the calculated GPA.
How is a GPA Calculated by Stellic?
A course will contribute to a Stellic-calculated GPA only if it meets the following conditions:
It carries more than 0 credits/units.
It has received a factorable grade.
It does not have a repeat code that excludes it from GPA calculations (this rule is defined and sent via institutional data).
It is not excluded by a constraint – for instance, the "Exclude this requirement from the program GPA" constraint will prevent any courses within that requirement from contributing to the PGPA calculation.
If a course enrollment is double-counting across multiple requirements and at least one of those requirements has "Exclude from GPA", the course will be excluded from all GPAs.
Calculating a Term GPA
A Term GPA includes all GPA-eligible courses taken by a student within a specific term.
Calculating a Program GPA
The Program GPA (PGPA) appears in the upper right corner of a student's audit and is calculated based on the courses included in the student's program. If your institution does not wish to use Stellic's PGPA, you can apply the "hide the program GPA" constraint to disable it.
Stellic calculates a PGPA using all GPA-eligible courses (as defined above) that count toward the program’s requirements. Institutions can configure how non-repeatable courses contribute to the PGPA.
Constraints That Impact Program GPA Calculation
Unused Matched Courses Are Also Accounted in the GPA
This constraint ensures that any eligible course in a student's plan that could have counted toward a requirement is included in the PGPA calculation, even if it was not used to fulfill a requirement. This is the most inclusive way to calculate a PGPA, as it captures courses that are not contributing to any requirement but were eligible.
Exclude This Requirement from the Program GPA
This constraint ensures that any courses counted within the requirement will not be included in the PGPA.
Hide the Program GPA
This constraint will disable the PGPA entirely, making it invisible to users.
Configurable Options for GPA Calculation
Stellic allows institutions to configure how repeated attempts of non-repeatable courses contribute to GPA calculations (for both program and requirement GPAs). If adjustments are needed, please consult your Stellic representative.
1. Include All Attempts of Required Non-Repeatable Courses (Default Setting)
All attempts of required non-repeatable courses are included in the GPA.
For non-required courses, only the counted attempt contributes to the GPA.
Even if a student fails all attempts of a required course, they will still be included in the PGPA.
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
A basic program with a required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a required course that's been failed:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been failed:
2. Include All Attempts
All attempts of required non-repeatable courses are included in the GPA.
For non-required courses, if at least one attempt of a non-repeatable course is present in the audit, the remaining attempts also contribute to the GPA.
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
A basic program with a required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a required course that's been failed:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been failed:
3. Include Only Attempts That Count Toward Requirements
Only course attempts that actively fulfill a requirement (program, universal, or specific) will be included in the GPA.
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
Examples of scenarios with this setting enabled
A basic program with a required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been repeated:
A basic program with a required course that's been failed:
A basic program with a non-required course that's been failed:
