Will you be on AU’s Honours List this year?
Every six months, AU publishes its Undergraduate Honours List. The next list is due out July 2015. Will you be on it? Here’s how it works:
Who qualifies?
The short answer: Undergraduate students who are enrolled in a program, and have achieved an average GPA of 3.60 in the last 30 credits they took for their program. Of the 30 credits, at least half must be AU credits; the remainder can be transfer credits but only the AU courses will be factored into the GPA calculation.
The long answer: According to AU’s Undergraduate Honours List Policy, students must meet all the following conditions to be eligible for the Honours List:
– Be enrolled in an undergraduate program.
– Have completed a minimum of 15 AU credits at the program benchmark.
– Have reached a program benchmark in their program in the six-month time periods ending June 30 or December 31.
– Have achieved a grade point average of 3.60 or higher on the AU credits earned since the previously recognized program benchmark up to the current program benchmark (e.g. 1 ? 30 credits or 31 ? 60 credits or 61 ? 90 credits, or 91 ? 120 credits.)
– Have any combination of transfer credit and a minimum of 15 AU credits that are collectively recognized towards an undergraduate credential. A “P” indicating a pass in pass/fail grade mode contributes towards credit earned but is not included in the GPA calculation.
– Not have any current penalties associated with academic or non-academic misconduct on their student record.
How do I know why my GPA is?
Students don’t need to track their GPA in order to get on the Honours List. However, students who wish to monitor their own progress can download a free transcript preview, which lists the GPA of each completed AU course. To access a transcript preview, first login to your student account at myAU. Then, look for “Request Transcripts” down the left-hand side, under “Manage Your Student Record”. Finally, on the Transcript Request page, find the underlined word “preview” in the second paragraph. Click on “preview” to instantly download a pdf copy of your transcript (note that this preview copy cannot be used for official purposes; refer to this article from The Voice for helpful information on decoding an AU transcript.) You can also refer to AU’s Undergraduate Grading Policy to convert an alpha grade to a numerical value, or pages 264 and 265 in the 2015 AUSU Student Handbook and Planner. Either way, you’ll need to do some math to calculate your average GPA for the relevant 30-credit benchmark period, unless you have only completed 30 AU credits for a program so far.
When does it happen?
At the end of each six-month period, January to June, and July to December. Qualifying students must have reached a program benchmark of 30, 60, 90, or 120 credits towards their program during the six-month period. Only the last 30 credits are considered, so students in a 4-year program of 120 credits could qualify for the honours list in four different periods. The Honours List is one of the few AU awards that doesn’t rely on cumulative GPA calculations; the 30-credit benchmark periods mean that a low GPA average in one period, due to one dismal course mark for example, won’t affect your ability to get on the Honours List in the next 30-credit period.
How will I know?
If you qualify for the honours list, AU’s Office of the Registrar will notify you by letter.
Where can I see the Honours List?
The Honours List is posted six months after the qualifying period, and can be accessed from AU’s Scholarship and Award Recipients page. The reason for the delay in posting is to ensure that AU has all the final grades recorded from the qualifying period, and to allow qualifying students who choose not to have their name printed on the Honours List time to notify the Office of the Registrar.
Still have questions about AU’s Honour List? Refer to AU’s Undergraduate and Honours List Policy and Undergraduate Honours List Procedures for more information, or contact AU’s Office of the Registrar. To access previous honours lists, go to AU’s Scholarship and Awards Recipients webpage.
Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer, photographer, and AU student. She lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario
