What does QCA mean?
QCA stands for Quality Credit Average, and is how MIC tracks your performance throughout college.
When your grades are added together at the end of a semester, your overall result is given to you in a numerical form. This number will ultimately decide what level of degree you graduate with.The highest possible QCA is 4.00.
Some of your grades may be "double weighted", which means they're worth twice as much as a standard module, so will have a bigger impact on your QCA.
Your Student Handbook explains QCA with more in-depth information and helpful examples. Information on grades and QCA can be found between pages 11 and 20.
Click here to view the MIC Student Handbook 2025/26.
How is my QCA calculated?
Calculating QCAs is an exact science that considers QPVs and factors such as the weighting of years and modules. Your QCA is calculated by the college.
To see how it's done exactly, check out the MIC Student Handbook 2025/26.
Academic Grades
Types of Grades
Outside of the standard A-F grading system, there is a collection of grades that can be awarded in exceptional circumstances.
|
Grade Type
|
Grade Description
|
| P |
A Pass grade is awarded to students attending modules graded on a pass or fail basis. This applies most commonly to placements. |
| N |
A fail or N grade is awarded to students attending modules graded on a pass or fail basis. This applies most commonly to placements. |
| G |
An audit grade awarded for attendance only, applies most commonly to extra modules taken by students. |
| I |
An 'I' Grade is an Incomplete grade that can be received for certified illness or an immediate family bereavement.
‘I’ grades need to be cleared no later than the annual repeat period following the award of the I-grade.
Students who have been granted an I-grade(s) must register for this module(s) at Annual Repeats time.
It is the responsibility of any student who receives an I-grade to contact the faculty member responsible for the module immediately following the publication of the grade, to determine how the outstanding requirements are to be completed.
If a faculty member is unavailable, the student should contact the relevant Head of Department for a decision.
Details on applying for an I-Grade can be found on the MIC Student Sharepoint Site here.
|
| M |
Awarded in the case of projects/dissertations spanning multiple semesters or sequences of linked modules. |
| NG |
"NG" Grades are awarded when a student has submitted no assessment material and no certification has been received to support the request of an I-grade.
NG Grades MUST be cleared during the Annual Repeats period in order to proceed to the next Academic Year.
|
Grade Percentages
Grading Rubrics can differ across courses, departments, and faculties and so we suggest contacting your relevant lecturer / module coordinator if you wish to know what percentage your received grade equals.
If you are unsure of who your module coordinator is, please reach out to your relevant Faculty Office for further information.
The Arts Faculty cane be contacted on ArtsOffice@mic.ul.ie
The Education Faculty can be contacted on EducationOffice@mic.ul.ie
MIC Thurles Students should email ThurlesAdmin@mic.ul.ie
Performance Standards
A cumulative QCA of 2.00 with no deficient grades (i.e. 'F', 'NG', 'I') is the minimum standard for progression to the next year of your course.
To meet the minimum standards of academic performance in each stage of your programme, your QCA must be 2.0 and you must not have received any grade less than D2 in each required module of the programme.
While D1 and D2 are compensating fail grades, C3 is the minimum pass grade.
If your QCA is greater or equal to 2.0 and includes D1/D2 grades (Compensating Fail grades), you may not need to repeat the modules for which you got the D1 or D2 grades. The reason for this being that a student must have done well enough in other modules to compensate for the D1/D2 grade and you are entitled to progress to the next year without repeating modules.
The only exception to this rule is if a module has a minimum passing grade such as a C3 and students would have been informed of this before the examinations period. If you are unsure about a modules passing grade, you can contact your Faculty Office for further information.
If you don't meet the minimum standards of academic performance, you will be required to follow one of the courses of action outlined in the table below:
|
End of Spring Semester Progression
|
Following Annual Repeats
|
| Take annual repeats – repeat a maximum of four modules (not including I-grades) |
Link-in by repeating deficient modules in the next academic year. You can only repeat two modules from any one semester. |
| Repeat a full semester |
Repeat a full semester |
| Repeat the year |
Repeat the year |
| Have your enrolment terminated |
Have your enrolment terminate |
Classification of Awards
The award of a bachelor's degree, diploma (either undergraduate or postgraduate) or certificate (either undergraduate or postgraduate) is made at honours levels. To qualify for the award of a bachelor's degree or diploma or certificate, a candidate must:
- Satisfy all the assessment and other requirements set for the programme of study;
- Achieve a minimum final cumulative QCA of 2.00, with full credits in all prescribed modules of the programme of study, and;
- Satisfy any programme specific regulations as specified for particular programmes.
Awards will be at one of the following classifications:
Award Classification/Cumulative QCA
- First Class Honours: 3.40
- Second Class Honours Grade 1 (2.1): 3.00
- Second Class Honours Grade 2 (2.2): 2.60
- Third Class Honours: 2.00
The Academic Council Examination Board may consider a candidate whose final cumulative QCA is not more than 0.10 less than the QCA required for a First Class, 2.1 or 2.2 classification and who satisfies the other requirements for the proposed award.
If you have fallen between these bands, you will be able to see if your award has been moved up when transcripts are available (your awarding degree will be at the top), these are usually available late on results day, or the day following.
Email saa@mic.ul.ie (Limerick campus) or ThurlesAdmin@mic.ul.ie (Thurles campus) if you have queries about your awarding degree.
Please get in touch with your relevant faculty office with queries relating to your QCA:
ArtsOffice@mic.ul.ie
EducationOffice@mic.ul.ie
ThurlesAdmin@mic.ul.ie (Thurles Campus)