Grade Distribution Table; Grade Conversion

The grade distribution table should primarily provide transparent grade conversion for exchange students.
If you need a conversion of the grade on your degree certificate, please contact Student Services-International Admissions.

1. What is a grade distribution table?

A grade distribution table is an overview of grades that statistically provides information on the distribution of grades within a given reference group. This was suggested by the EU Commission in the ECTS Users‘ Guide as a tool to simplify the transfer and conversion of grades between institutions and cultures with differing grading systems. The grade distribution table replaced the so-called ECTS grades (A-F), which had given rise to practical problems.

At JGU, grade distribution tables can be found on the transcript of records since the beginning of 2014 for bachelor’s degrees and since spring of 2016 for master’s degrees. The distribution of grades of all examination results (excepting final examinations) that go into the calculation of the overall score of a field of study will be collected, therefore all the grades of the module examinations and module section examinations will be collected. In order to be able to collect statistically valid values, the query of the bachelor's study programs comprises 12 semesters and those of the master's programs 8 semesters. The tables are updated regularly on a yearly basis (in the download area, the currently valid tables are available, as well as the archived old tables).

2. How is the conversion calculated?

Grade conversion in the course of Recognition of Academic or Examination Performance (Credit Transfer) can only take place if a grading table is available from both universities. If this is the case, the two grading tables can be compared. By comparing the percentage distribution of grades, the grade of one university can be converted into a corresponding grade of the other university.

In most cases at JGU, grade conversion is carried out by a technically qualified person delegated by the responsible examination board (see § 5 of the recognition regulations of the JGU). In the download section of the German page, Learning and Teaching provides these persons with a spreadsheet with which the grade conversion can be carried out in accordance with the ECTS Users‘ Guide, provided that the grading table of the foreign university is available. If you have any questions about the grading tables of the JGU or the Excel spreadsheet, please contact the SL1-team (sl1 [at] uni-mainz.de).