UTeM Grading System 2026: Grades, GPA & CGPA Guide

If you study at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka — UTeM, the public technical university in Melaka where most degrees are engineering, engineering technology, or computing — your entire academic life is governed by an 11-grade scale with a feature that confuses almost every new student: the pass line is 40, not 50. Score 39 and you get an E worth 0.00 — a fail you must repeat. Score 40 and you get a D worth 1.00 — a pass, though a conditional one. One mark. Zero to one. That cliff, plus a generous A− band at 75–79 and no A+ at all, makes UTeM’s scale one of the most misunderstood in Malaysia.

Here’s the short version. UTeM grades run from A (4.00) down to E (0.00), with plus/minus grades between: A− (3.70), B+ (3.30), B (3.00), B− (2.70), C+ (2.30), C (2.00), C− (1.70), D+ (1.30), D (1.00). Your semester GPA is Σ (grade point × credit hours) ÷ credit hours attempted that semester — UTeM’s regulations call these “total grade point value” (JMN) over “total credit counted” (JKK). Your CGPA is the same calculation across every semester, not the average of your semester GPAs. End each regular semester with CGPA ≥ 2.00 and you’re in Good Academic Standing (KB); fall to 1.70–1.99 and you’re Conditional (KS); drop below 1.70 and you’re Failed (KG) — and if you can’t climb back to KB, you’re dismissed. The Dean’s List bar is 3.50, but only counts if you registered at least 12 credits that semester — and industrial-training students are excluded entirely.

This guide walks through the full official grade table (verified against UTeM’s Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Programmes and the university’s e-Peraturan akademik), the GPA and CGPA formulas with real worked examples — including the university’s own official example — the marks-band traps that cost students the most quality points, the conditional-pass (40–49) repeat rule that everyone misreads, the KB/KS/KG standing system decoded in plain language, the Dean’s List and graduation rules, and answers to the questions UTeM students actually ask. Where a detail isn’t in UTeM’s own documents, I say so — your faculty handbook always has the final word.

The Short Answer: UTeM Grades at a Glance

• Grade scale: 11 grades, A to E, on a 4.00 scale. There is no A+ — 80–100 is simply A worth 4.00. The A− band (75–79, 3.70) is generous by Malaysian standards.
• Pass line: D at 40–43 (1.00). Grades D to C− (40–49) are conditional passes — you passed, but UTeM lets you repeat the course to improve the grade.
• Semester GPA = Σ (grade point × credits) ÷ credits attempted this semester. CGPA = the same calculation across all semesters. Never average your GPAs.
• Academic standing: KB (Good) at CGPA ≥ 2.00; KS (Conditional) at 1.70–1.99; KG (Failed) below 1.70. A KS student who fails to reach KB is dismissed.
• Dean’s List: semester GPA ≥ 3.50 with at least 12 registered credits. Industrial training doesn’t count.
• Graduation: KB in your final semester + every required course passed. Degree programmes allow up to 11–12 semesters depending on the programme.
• The 39/40 cliff: 39 = E (0.00, fail, repeat the subject); 40 = D (1.00, conditional pass). One mark decides everything.

Calculate It Yourself: The CGPAPro UTeM Calculator

Before the theory, the practical shortcut. CGPAPro’s UTeM CGPA calculator computes your semester GPA and projected CGPA from your courses, credit hours, and grades. Enter each subject exactly as it appears on your UTeM student portal, and it does the credit-weighted math for you.

Note: this article ships without an embedded calculator screenshot — the site’s bot protection currently blocks automated screenshot capture, so the worked examples below are fully hand-verifiable instead. Every number is worked out step by step, and you can paste the same courses into the calculator to confirm you get the same answer.

The general CGPA calculator is useful for “what-if” planning too — enter your current CGPA and completed credits, add next semester’s expected grades, and see your projected pointer before results are even out.

Read More: How to Calculate SGPA: Formula & Examples (2026) — the credit-weighted formula behind every number in this guide, explained step by step.

The Official UTeM Grade Table (All 11 Grades)

This is UTeM’s scale exactly as published in the university’s Academic Regulations for Bachelor Degree and Diploma Programmes (confirmed across the English regulations document and the Malay Panduan Sistem Peraturan Akademik — the numbers are identical in both).

Three things about this table surprise almost everyone:

1. There is no A+ at UTeM. An 82 and a 98 both earn A worth 4.00. Students coming from matriculation or STPM — where 90+ can mean an A+ — keep hunting for a higher ceiling that doesn’t exist. If you’re already on an A, the effort to push it higher is pointer-neutral; spend it on the course where you’re sitting at a B− instead.

2. The A− band is genuinely generous. 75–79 earns 3.70 at UTeM. At many Malaysian public universities, 75 lands you a B+ (3.33) or the A− band starts at 80. UTeM’s 75–79 window means a student averaging high-70s is pulling a 3.70 pointer per course — that’s what makes the 3.50 Dean’s List bar achievable rather than mythical.

3. The bottom of the table is a slope, not a cliff — until it is. From 40 to 49 you descend gently: D (1.00), D+ (1.30), C− (1.70). Then 39 hits E (0.00). UTeM’s pass line at 40 is actually lower than most Malaysian universities (which fail you below 50), so the failure zone is smaller — but the single-mark cliff at 39/40 is real, and borderline students should know exactly where it sits.

Beyond the 11 grades, UTeM uses three special grades that never touch your GPA: HL (Attendance Pass) and HG (Attendance Fail) for courses registered as compulsory-attendance (HW), and HS (Attendance Only). These carry no grade points and are excluded from the GPA calculation entirely.

The Marks-Band Traps (Where One Mark Moves Your Pointer)

UTeM’s bands are narrow and the steps between grades are uneven, so borderline marks hurt more than students expect. Here’s the damage per 3-credit subject:

• 79 vs 80 (A− vs A): 3.70 vs 4.00 — one mark costs 0.30 × 3 = 0.90 quality points.
• 74 vs 75 (B+ vs A−): 3.30 vs 3.70 — one mark costs 0.40 × 3 = 1.20 quality points. This is the most expensive single mark on the upper half of the table.
• 64 vs 65 (B− vs B): 2.70 vs 3.00 — one mark costs 0.30 × 3 = 0.90 quality points.
• 49 vs 50 (C− vs C): 1.70 vs 2.00 — one mark costs 0.30 × 3 = 0.90 quality points, and it moves you out of the conditional-pass band into a clean pass.
• 39 vs 40 (E vs D): 0.00 vs 1.00 — one mark costs 1.00 × 3 = 3.00 quality points, plus the difference between repeating the subject and not.

The practical takeaway: in the final weeks of a semester, an hour spent lifting a 74 to a 75 is worth roughly four times an hour spent lifting a 68 to a 70. And if you’re sitting anywhere in the 36–39 zone, that is an emergency — it is the only band on the table where a single mark decides between “pass” and “repeat the whole subject.”

“Conditional Pass”: What the 40–49 Band Actually Means

This is the most misread part of UTeM’s system, so let’s be precise. Grades D (40–43), D+ (44–46), and C− (47–49) are labelled Conditional Pass (Lulus Bersyarat). That means:

• You passed. The course counts as completed; you do not have to repeat it.
• You may repeat it anyway. UTeM’s regulations explicitly allow a student with a conditional pass (D to C−) to repeat the course to improve the grade, subject to Regulation 8(2)(a).
• The achievement column on your slip says “Conditional Pass”, not “Fail”. New students routinely panic when they see it — don’t.

Compare this with the general retake rules across Malaysian and Bangladeshi universities: UTeM is unusually explicit that conditional passes are repeatable. At many universities you’d have to live with a C− forever or beg for a special arrangement. At UTeM, the rule is written down — use it strategically. A C− (1.70) in a 4-credit core subject is dragging your CGPA down by (2.00 − 1.70) × 4 = 1.20 quality points relative to a clean C; if you can realistically lift it to a B, the repeat is worth it.

Semester GPA vs CGPA: The Formula, Worked Twice

UTeM’s regulations define the two measures plainly: the semester GPA covers one semester; the CGPA covers every semester you’ve completed. Both use the same formula:

Semester GPA = total grade point value earned in the semester (JMN) ÷ total credit counted (JKK) for that semester.

CGPA = cumulative grade point value across all semesters ÷ cumulative credit counted across all semesters.

Here is a full semester worked example on UTeM’s official scale — five courses, exactly the kind of mix a first-year engineering student carries:

Semester GPA = 53.90 ÷ 16 = 3.3688 → 3.37. Paste these courses into the UTeM calculator and you’ll get the same answer.

Now the CGPA — and this is where most students go wrong. CGPA is not the average of your semester GPAs. Here is the university’s own official example from its Academic Regulations (Tables 11 and 12), which makes the point better than any invented numbers:

• Semester I: 39.50 quality points ÷ 14 credits = GPA 2.82.
• Semester II: 28.50 quality points ÷ 14 credits (13 counted) = GPA 2.04.
• CGPA after Semester II: (39.50 + 28.50) ÷ (14 + 13) = 68.00 ÷ 27 = 2.52.

If you naively averaged the two GPAs, you’d get (2.82 + 2.04) ÷ 2 = 2.43 — wrong by nearly a tenth of a pointer. The CGPA weights every semester by its credits: the semester with more credits pulls harder. UTeM’s own regulations even add a note under this example: the CGPA fell in semester II because the semester GPA fell — and they stress that high-credit courses matter most. Whenever your portal number disagrees with your “average of GPAs,” trust the portal: it’s doing the credit-weighted math.

Read More: UiTM Grading System 2026: Grades, GPA & CGPA Guide — Malaysia’s biggest public university uses a 13-grade scale with D1–D7 academic status bands — a useful contrast if you’re comparing offers.

Academic Standing: KB, KS, and KG Decoded

At the end of every regular semester, after the Senate endorses the results, UTeM assigns you an academic standing (kedudukan akademik) based on your CGPA. It appears on your Examination Result Slip alongside your GPA, CGPA, and course grades. There are three:

The part students miss: KS is a one-semester grace period, not a permanent status. A student on KS who fails to improve to KB is given KG and dismissed. And dismissal is not automatic-reversible — a dismissed student’s only route back is re-registration (DS), and a DS student who fails to obtain KB in their very first semester back is dismissed again.

There’s also an edge case buried in the regulations that almost nobody knows about: if your CGPA is ≥ 2.00 but your semester GPA is below 1.00 — a disastrous single semester on top of a decent record — the Senate may either let you continue with KB or direct you to postpone your studies for the next semester (still with KB). It’s discretionary, not automatic, and it’s the regulation equivalent of a circuit breaker.

Your year of study is tracked separately, based on credits earned (KD): you stay with your cohort as long as KD ≥ JKL − 6, where JKL is the total regular credits your faculty set for the previous academic session. Fall behind on credits and you slip a year — even with a decent CGPA.

Dean’s List: 3.50 — With Conditions Students Forget

UTeM’s Dean’s List (Senarai Dekan) requires a semester GPA of at least 3.50 in a regular semester. Sounds simple. The conditions are where students get caught:

• You must have registered for no fewer than 12 credits that semester. A 4.00 semester on 10 credits doesn’t count.
• Students undergoing Industrial Training are not eligible — your LI semester can never be a Dean’s List semester, no matter the grades.
• The term “Dean’s List” is inscribed on your transcript and Examination Result Slip — it follows you to job applications, so it’s worth planning for.

Is 3.50 realistic at UTeM? More so than at most Malaysian public universities, thanks to that 75–79 A− band (3.70). A semester of straight A−s is a 3.70 — comfortably over the bar. Contrast this with UTAR’s Dean’s List bar of 3.6000, which requires genuinely excellent results. At UTeM, consistent high-70s work gets you there.

Graduation Requirements: The KB-in-Final-Semester Rule

UTeM confers the bachelor’s degree or diploma only when all of these hold:

1. You obtain KB (CGPA ≥ 2.00) in your final semester — not just overall, but specifically at the end.
2. You pass all courses required in your curriculum — including the HW/HW attendance courses.
3. Any other conditions the university sets (programme-specific requirements, fees cleared, and so on).

Meet the academic conditions and you receive the Good Academic Standing Award (KBA) on conferment. Run out the maximum study duration without meeting them and you get the Elapsed Good Academic Standing (KBTT) instead — the same degree, a different annotation. The maximum durations: 12 semesters for most bachelor’s programmes (Engineering, Technology Management, Technopreneurship, Engineering Technology), 11 for Computer Science/IT, and 10 for Diploma.

One more regulation worth knowing: students who complete their studies with certain KB-variant statuses are not allowed to improve their course grades afterwards. If you’re thinking of repeating a conditional-pass subject, do it while you’re still studying — the window closes at graduation.

GPA vs CGPA: Why the Difference Matters at UTeM

Students use these interchangeably; UTeM’s regulations don’t:

• Semester GPA measures one semester. It’s what the Dean’s List looks at (3.50 bar) and what determines whether an individual semester was good.
• CGPA measures your entire academic career. It’s what determines your standing (KB/KS/KG), your graduation eligibility, and what employers ask for.
• Because CGPA is credit-weighted, early semesters with heavy credit loads cast long shadows. A weak first year (engineering programmes front-load credits) takes several strong semesters to dilute — the forum wisdom about “CGPA being hard to repair” is mathematically true at UTeM.

Common Mistakes UTeM Students Make

1. Averaging GPAs instead of credit-weighting. The single most common error — see the official 2.43-vs-2.52 example above. Always compute total quality points ÷ total credits.

2. Thinking 79 is “basically an A.” At UTeM, 79 is an A− (3.70) and 80 is an A (4.00). In a 4-credit subject that’s 1.20 quality points gone on one mark. Borderline students should check how their faculty handles rounding — some round 79.5 up, some don’t, and the regulations don’t standardise it.

3. Panicking over a D, D+, or C−. These are conditional passes, not fails. The course is complete; repeating is optional and strategic, not mandatory.

4. Ignoring the 12-credit Dean’s List minimum. Students with light semesters (underloaded to “protect” their GPA) disqualify themselves from the Dean’s List by design. If you’re chasing the List, plan your credit load first.

5. Assuming industrial training counts toward the Dean’s List. It doesn’t — LI semesters are excluded, full stop.

6. Letting KS slide. Conditional standing is a deadline, not a label. If your CGPA is in the 1.70–1.99 zone, your next semester needs to be planned like a recovery mission: fewer, easier subjects won’t help — you need quality points, which means credits with good grades.

7. Using the wrong scale on calculator sites. Generic “Malaysia GPA calculator” tools often use a 50-pass-line scale or the wrong plus/minus steps for UTeM. UTeM’s official steps are 3.70/3.30/2.70/2.30/1.70/1.30/1.00 — if a tool shows 3.67/3.33/2.67, it’s using a different university’s scale. The CGPAPro UTeM calculator uses UTeM’s official values.

Tips: Planning Your Semesters Around UTeM’s Scale

• Front-load effort, not credits. First-year engineering semesters carry the heaviest credit loads and the hardest adjustment curve. A strong start compounds for four years; a weak one takes years to dilute.
• Hunt the 74s and 79s. In the last month of the semester, identify every subject sitting at 73–74 or 78–79. A single mark there is worth 1.20 quality points in a 3-credit subject — the highest ROI studying you’ll ever do.
• Use the conditional-pass repeat strategically. Repeating a 4-credit C− you can lift to a B+ earns (3.30 − 1.70) × 4 = 6.40 quality points. That’s more than most students gain in an entire easy semester. But only repeat if you can genuinely improve — a second C− wastes a semester.
• Keep semesters at 12+ credits if you want the Dean’s List. Underloading protects your GPA but kills your List eligibility. Decide which goal matters more before registration week.
• Watch the 39/40 line like a hawk. If any subject is tracking in the high-30s, it deserves emergency attention — it’s the only band where one mark is the difference between a fail and a pass.

UTeM Grading FAQ

What is a good CGPA at UTeM?

3.50 and above puts you on the Dean’s List each semester — that’s the recognised “excellent” line. 3.00+ is solid and keeps every door open (scholarships, postgraduate applications). 2.00 is the survival line: below it you’re on conditional standing. Anything under 1.70 means failed standing and likely dismissal.

Is 75% an A at UTeM?

No. At UTeM, 75–79 is an A− worth 3.70; you need 80+ for an A (4.00). There is no A+ at UTeM at all, so 80–100 is all one grade. This trips up students from matriculation/STPM backgrounds where 75 could mean different things.

What happens if my CGPA falls below 2.00 at UTeM?

You get KS (Conditional Academic Standing) for CGPA 1.70–1.99 — a formal warning. You must earn KB (CGPA ≥ 2.00) afterward; if you don’t, you’re given KG (Failed) and dismissed. Below 1.70 you’re KG immediately. Results are announced through the student portal after Senate endorsement, and you can print an Examination Result Slip showing your GPA, CGPA, standing, and grades.

Can I repeat a subject I passed at UTeM?

Yes, if the grade was D, D+, or C− (40–49). These are conditional passes, and UTeM’s regulations explicitly allow you to repeat the course to improve the grade. Clean passes (C and above) can’t be repeated for improvement under the normal rules — the repeat provision covers D to C− only.

Does UTeM round marks up (e.g. 79.5 to 80)?

UTeM’s published regulations define the bands as whole numbers (75–79, 80–100) and don’t standardise rounding of fractional marks — that’s set at faculty or course level. If you’re sitting at 79.5, ask your lecturer or check the course outline before results are finalised; don’t assume.

Do failed (E) subjects count in my GPA?

Yes. An E is worth 0.00 grade points, but its credits still count in the denominator (total credit counted, JKK). An E in a 4-credit subject adds 4 credits of zero to your GPA — which is why a single fail drags the pointer down so hard, and why you must repeat the subject.

Is UTeM’s postgraduate grading the same?

No — it’s stricter. UTeM’s postgraduate taught-course scale requires a minimum of B− (2.70) to pass a subject (redeemable), and anything C+ or below is a fail earning no credit. Postgraduate academic standing runs on different bands too (KB at CGPA ≥ 3.00, dismissal below 2.70). This guide covers the undergraduate scale; postgraduates should check the School of Graduate Studies regulations.

The Bottom Line

UTeM’s grading system rewards consistency over brilliance: with no A+ ceiling, a generous 75–79 A− band, and a pass line at 40, the students who do best are the ones who keep every subject in the 75+ zone rather than chasing 95s in two subjects while a third slides toward 39. Know your marks-band edges, never average your GPAs, treat KS as the deadline it is, and plan your credit loads around the 12-credit Dean’s List minimum. The numbers are all public — the students who read the regulations are the ones who stop being surprised by them.

Sources: UTeM Academic Regulations for Bachelor Degree and Diploma Programmes (English) via FTKE UTeM; e-Peraturan Akademik (English) via the UTeM portal. Grade scale and standing rules verified identical across both documents. Always confirm programme-specific details against your faculty’s current handbook.