How University Course Grades Are Calculated in Vietnam

The course-grade formula under MOET Circular 08/2021

Under the university-level training regulation issued with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDĐT (in force since 3 May 2021), each course is assessed through at least two component scores; courses under 2 credits may have just one. Component scores are on a 10-point scale, and the form and weight of each component are set in the detailed course syllabus. Course grade = sum of (component × weight), rounded to one decimal place, and only then converted to a letter grade.

Many students still say 'course average' the way they did in high school; at university the proper name is the course grade, and the way a course average is calculated is really just one formula — what differs is the weights. Say a course has three columns: attendance 10%, midterm 30%, final 60% — you score 8.0 / 6.5 / 5.0, so the course grade = 0.8 + 1.95 + 3.0 = 5.75, rounded to 5.8, a C on the Ministry's scale. That is the number that appears on your transcript and feeds your GPA later.

The Ministry's floor: A 8.5–10, B 7.0–8.4, C 5.5–6.9, D 4.0–5.4, F below 4.0; a course is passed from D upward. Universities may subdivide further (A+, B+, C+, D+…) and set a higher pass line, so do not assume 4.0 is safe — below you will see 3 of the 5 schools use 5.0.

What are the process score, attendance score and component score?

Component score is the umbrella term for every column that makes up a course grade. The process score (điểm quá trình — roughly 'coursework score'; some lecturers call it the continuous score, and students often loosely call it 'the midterm') is everything graded while the course is running, before the final exam: in-class tests, homework, presentations, reports, lab work, e-learning, and attendance. The final score (end-of-course exam score) is the remaining column.

The attendance score rewards showing up and taking part in class; TDTU's regulation explicitly lists the 'attendance score' and the 'score for awareness and attitude in class activities' as part of the process score. At HCMUTE the process score must be built from at least 3 columns and lecturers must publish it to students during the course; it cannot be carried over or appealed. UEH does not accept appeals on process scores either — if a number looks wrong, ask the lecturer while the semester is still on.

The course syllabus (detailed course outline) is the document handed out or posted in the first session; it states how many score columns there are, the percentage of each, the exam format and the conditions to sit the exam. By regulation the weights live in the syllabus, not in the university's rulebook, so two classes with the same course code can differ. Taking a photo of the syllabus's assessment page in week 1 is the simplest way to avoid a surprise at the end of term.

Do not confuse the process score with the midterm: several schools (TDTU, for one) keep three separate columns — process, midterm, final — so the sit-down midterm is just one column among the pre-final scores.

Process–final split: 40/60, 30/70 or 50/50?

The most common process–final splits you will meet are 30/70, 40/60 and 50/50, but the exact number is decided by each course syllabus; the university rulebook only sets a ceiling or a floor. HCMUTE and TDTU set a floor for the final: the end-of-course exam carries no less than 50% (HCMUTE allows exceptions if the syllabus says so; TDTU allows exceptions decided by the Rector). UEH writes the same idea from the other side: the process score is capped at 70%, i.e. the final is at least 30%.

So there is no single answer to the question 'what percentage does the midterm carry': in a 40/60 course where the process score is just one midterm, the midterm is 40%; where attendance and homework are added, it may be only 20–30% (illustrative). One nationwide rule from Circular 08/2021: online assessment may contribute at most 50% of the course weight — UEH, HCMUTE and TDTU all keep this rule in their own regulations.

The table below collects what each school states in its current regulation; — means the rulebook sets no number, ? means it could not be verified from public documents. For HCMUT, the grading scale for cohorts from 2021 sits in Decision 2931/2021 (clause 14.2, Article 14) but the full text is not accessible from outside the school; the MyBK rules page only gives the formula and the exam-ban constraints. EIU uses a 100-point scale and its 2025-26 handbook lists no common split.

On YourCampus: The process–final split of each class is often noted by students in course reviews on YourCampus. App user guide

How many points do you need on the final to pass? Reverse calculation

The reverse formula: final needed = (pass line − process score × process weight) ÷ final weight. For a 40/60 course with a process score of 6.0 and a 5.0 pass line: (5.0 − 6.0 × 0.4) ÷ 0.6 = 4.33, so you need about 4.4 on the final. If the school only requires 4.0 like the Ministry's floor, you need just (4.0 − 2.4) ÷ 0.6 ≈ 2.7.

The table below is pre-computed for two pass lines: 5.0 (UEH, HCMUTE, TDTU) and 4.0 (the Ministry's floor), rounded up to 0.1 and without counting on any rounding help from the software; a '>0' cell means that arithmetically any score above 0 is enough. The 30/70 column shows why the final is heavy: at the 5.0 line, with a process score of 8.0 you still need 3.8 on the final, whereas in a 50/50 course you need only 2.0.

Three caveats before trusting the number: first, the pass calculation above only holds if you are eligible to sit the exam (see the absence section below); second, some schools have a fail-floor on the final that makes the addition meaningless (next section); third, whether the line is 5.0 or 4.0 depends on the school — HCMUT could not be verified, and EIU uses a 100-point scale with a line at 50.

On YourCampus: On YourCampus, course reviews from students in the years above often mention the process–final split and the exam style, so you can get a rough number as early as registration. App user guide

Does a final below 4 mean you fail? Fail-floors and exam-ban constraints

It depends on the school. Under the Ministry's floor there is no fail-floor: a 3.0 final with a process score high enough to lift the total to 4.0 still passes. But HCMUTE (regulation 3116/2025) adds a rule: if the final is below 3.0 and lower than the weighted course grade, the final becomes the course grade — process 9.0 × 40% + final 2.5 × 60% = 5.1 on paper, but the recorded course grade is 2.5, an F.

HCMUT constrains you before the exam: under 'Constraints on component and total scores' (clause 18.1, Article 18 of the consolidated academic regulation, published on MyBK), every component column must be above 0 — any component equal to 0 means an exam ban; for courses with lab work, a lab score below 4.0 also means a ban. Graduation courses (external internship, major project, thesis) only pass from C upward, i.e. 5.5.

UEH has no fail-floor as such, but it has a 4.9 cap: if either the process score or the end-of-course score is absent or 0, the course grade can be at most 4.9 — below the 5.0 pass line, so you fail even if the other column is high. TDTU records an unexcused exam absence as grade V, counted as 0 and not accumulated; an excused absence is grade H, excluded from averages, with a make-up exam. One rule is nationwide under Circular 08/2021: missing an exam without a valid reason scores 0; with a valid reason you sit another session and it counts as a first attempt. If you fail, you retake the course and the grade is recalculated — see the article on failing a course, retaking it and academic warning in this guide series.

An exam-ban score is not a Ministry concept but a per-school one, and each school blocks you at a different point: at HCMUT you are kept out of the exam room, at HCMUTE your grade is replaced after you sit the exam, at UEH you hit the 4.9 cap. Read your own school's regulation before calculating.

How many absences get you barred from the exam: attendance thresholds by school

There is no nationwide number; Circular 08/2021 only covers missing an exam, while missing classes is left to the school and the syllabus. Of the 5 schools, TDTU is the most explicit: a student who does not meet at least 80% of the course's compulsory in-class and at-home requirements is 'ineligible to sit the exam' and gets an F for that column (counted as 0). Lecturers must announce these compulsory parts in the very first session; the ban list is proposed by the lecturer and approved by the faculty.

Also at TDTU, 'not fulfilling tuition obligations as regulated' is listed among the grounds for exam ineligibility and an F — the failure reason nobody expects. HCMUTE sets no absence percentage in its regulation; for UEH, the public regulation pages state no general absence threshold — the specific threshold sits in each course syllabus. HCMUTE handles it through scores: missing a process test without a reason gives 0 for that column, and a 0 column drags the whole course down. HCMUT bans you when any component is 0, as noted. EIU: the 2025-26 handbook states no threshold — unverified.

So the '20% or 30% absence means an exam ban' you hear in class groups is really a threshold set by an individual syllabus or faculty, not a general rule. The surest check: open the course syllabus (exam eligibility, attendance section) and ask the lecturer in the first session; if the course has lab, practical or project parts, also read the completion conditions for compulsory parts, since both TDTU and HCMUT ban you from the exam if they are missing.

• TDTU Below 80% of compulsory in-class and at-home requirements → ineligible to sit the exam, grade F (Decision 1830/2021, Article 25).
• HCMUT Any component column = 0 → exam ban; lab courses with a lab score below 4.0 → exam ban (Article 18 of the academic regulation, MyBK).
• HCMUTE No absence % in the regulation; missing a process test without a reason → 0 for that column (Decision 3116/2025).
• UEH Public regulation pages state no general absence %; arriving more than 15 minutes after the paper is opened → not allowed to sit (Decision 4419/2024, Article 12).

How is the course grade rounded? The final course grade on the transcript

The nationwide rule is to round the course grade to one decimal place after applying the weights — 5.75 becomes 5.8, 4.94 becomes 4.9. HCMUT, UEH, HCMUTE and TDTU all apply this rule as is; HCMUTE and TDTU also require each component score to be rounded to 0.1 before summing. EIU grades on a 100-point scale and assigns letters by range (e.g. 75–79.9 is B), without converting to 10 points.

The common misunderstanding: rounding happens only once, on the course grade; letter grades are not rounded up — 8.4 is B+ at UEH, not A, and 4.9 is still below the 5.0 line. So when working backwards, aim for the unrounded total to reach the line rather than hoping 4.95 rounds to 5.0; each school's software may treat a 5 in the hundredths place differently and none publishes how.

After rounding, the final course grade is recorded in both the 10-point scale and a letter, then converted to the 4-point scale for semester and cumulative averages (HCMUTE, UEH and TDTU all spell out this process; at TDTU the 4-point scale is for reference only). The 10 → letter → 4 conversion differs between schools — the 'Converting 10-point grades to 4-point GPA' article in this guide series has the tables.