In this post, we’ll go over the KNUST grading system in detail and show you how to figure out your weighted average and cumulative weighted average.
One of the few schools in Ghana that uses the Cumulative Weighted Average, or CWA, as a grading system is the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Most universities in Ghana use the Grade Point Average (GPA), so most Ghanaians are used to figuring out their GPA and often don’t understand how to change their CWA to their GPA.
Find out more about KNUST’s grading system and how to figure out your average grade below.
How to calculate KNUST CWA
Every semester, each student has to take between three and ten classes. In some cases, this can go up to eleven or thirteen classes. No matter how many classes you take, the credit hour should be between 16 and 21 units.
Scenario Below;
Course No. Credit Marks (Hrs)
MAS 151 3
MAS 153 2
MAS 155 2
MAS 157 2
MAS 159 2
MAS 161 2
MAS 163 2
MAS 159 3
COM 157 2
Total Cumulative Credit 20
KNUST 2023-2025 Grading System – How To Calculate Your CWA
How To Calculate KNUST Weighted Average
When you add the weighted average for the first semester to the weighted average for the second semester, you get the cumulative weighted average (CWA).
Here are the steps you need to take to figure out your weighted average.
Step 1: To get the Weighted Marks, multiply the percentage mark you got in each course by the course credit.
Step 2: Add up all the Weighted Marks that have been calculated up to the end of the semester to get the Cumulative Weighted Marks.
Step 3: At the end of the semester in question, add up all the Course Credits to get the Cumulative Credits.
Step 4: Divide the total number of cumulative weighted marks by the total number of cumulative credits to get your cumulative weighted average for that semester.
The steps shown above are shown in the table below.
Calculations of Cumulative Weighted Marks
Course No. Credit Marks (Hrs) (A) Marks (100%) (B) Weighted Marks (A*B)
No Credit Hour Score Cumulative Weighted Mark
MAS 151 3 74 222
MAS 153 2 71 142
MAS 155 2 67 134
MAS 157 2 89 178
MAS 159 2 55 110
MAS 161 2 47 94
MAS 163 2 67 134
MAS 169 3 70 210
COM 157 2 34 68
Total: 20 1292
Total would be divided by 20. (Total Credit Hour or Unit).
Getting your WA:
The total number of weighted marks should be divided by the number of credit hours.
WA= 64.6
The weighted average is based on the results of the first semester of year 1. The only way to get the Cumulative Average is to add the Weighted Averages of the two semesters and divide by 2.
If a student fails more than four classes each semester, they will be asked to drop out. If a student finishes the school year but still needs to retake some classes, they will have to pass those classes before they can get a certificate.
This could mean an extra semester or year, depending on the situation. Now, you should know that the KNUST grading system is not good for students who don’t work hard.
If you want to do well at this highly sought-after school, you’ll have to buckle up. KNUST is known for being excellent.
And now that the student used as an example has a CWA of 64.60 in year one semester one, if the student works hard the next semester, semester two, and gets, for example, 1576 with a total of 21 credit hours, that gives the student an average of 75.04 for that semester; therefore, the student’s total KNUST grading system (CWA) for that year would be 1576 + 1292, which would give 2868, and this would be divided by the total number of
Students are told to pay more attention to the credit hour with the most credits. A student’s score goes up when they have more credit hours.
How To Calculate Your KNUST Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA)
We’ve already told you how to figure out your weighted average; that’s your first semester’s results.
Follow the steps below to find out the Cumulative Weighted Average for the school year.
Figure out the weighted average. You can do that by following the instructions above.
Once you have your weighted average, add it to the current weighted average and divide it by the number of members.
Example below;
Let’s say that the following are your first-year results:
First semester results – 64.6%
Second-semester results – 75%
Add the averages of the two numbers, 64.6%, and 75%, and divide by two (Semesters)
Thus, 139.6/2 =69.8
So, your overall weighted average is 69.8, which, according to the KNUST Grading System, is a second class (upper).
KNUST Grading System for Class of Degree
The KNUST Grading system for the class of degree is the calculated points that are used to give students an award of degree. Here is the list of how these points measure up to an honors’ award in order of the highest to the lowest grade.
Marks Grade
70 to 100 A
60 to 69 B
50 to 59 C
45 to 49 D
40 to 49 E
0 to 39 F
Grade Classification
- First-class; a CWA of 70.00 and above
- Second class upper, a CWA of 60.00 to 69.99
- The second class lowers a CWA of 50.00 to 59.99
- Pass a CWA of 40.00 to 49.99
KNUST Grading System
| Class | CWA |
|---|---|
| First Class | 70.00 and above |
| Second Class Upper | 60.00 – 69.99 |
| Second Class Lower | 50.00 – 59.99 |
| Pass | 40.00 – 49.99 |
At the end of all your years of school, you can’t graduate if your total weighted average is less than 40. For students to graduate from KNUST, they have to get at least a 40%.
The same grading system is also used by students at the Institute of Distance Learning. They cover the same curriculum and take the same tests as regular students, but they get to study away from the main campus of the university.
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We hope the information provided in this guide on how to calculate the CWA, KNUST 2023-2025 Grading System has been useful.