Academic Grading in Serbia - Tertiary (university) Level

Tertiary (university) Level

At universities, a six-point grading scale is used:

• 10 (excellent - outstanding),
• 9 (excellent),
• 8 (very good),
• 7 (good),
• 6 (sufficient, satisfying) is the lowest passing grade,
• 5 (not sufficient, not satisfying) is failing grade.

Requirements for "a minimum achieved percentage at all stages of exam taking (written, practical, oral) in order to achieve corresponding grade" is regulated by the statute of each individual institution, but general rules apply:

When calculating average grade, two decimals show up (e.g. 9.54).

In practice hardly any marks of 10 are given (as such a mark implies perfection, which is hardly ever present in the student's, or indeed the lecturer's own, work), and even 9's are fairly rare. Therefore an average pass with an 8 is considered a very good pass. This implies even more to the group of schools of mathematics, science and engineering.

In internal use - before a final mark is given, professors may use credit, percentage, or decimal numbers (on a scale 0-100 credits, 0-100 points, 0-100%, or 1.0-10.0). Usually a mark of 5.5 is makes for a narrow pass whereas 5.4 and below constitute a fail. If no decimal places are used, 6 and up is a pass and 5 and below a fail. Sometimes, when no decimal place is used, an additional grade, 6-, is used to indicate that the student "barely passed". Sometimes it maybe possible to compensate fail marks with high passes, provided the average mark is a pass (e.g. a mark 4 and 9 would average at ((4+9) /2=) 6.5 which makes for a pass. Compensation of marks is usually not allowed in the course specifications, but a lower limit for a compensable grade may be set (marks lower than 4 may not be compensated - e.g. 4 and 8 (4+8/2=6) would be a pass, while 3 and 9 (also a 6 on average) would not make up for a pass).

Depending on the grade, universities can grant some honors (although this system is very limited compared to some other countries). A general heuristic (although this differs between institutions) is that a study average at least grade 9.5, final thesis graded 10, not a single grade below 8 and completing the curriculum without delays will lead to (in Serbian) izvanredan, meaning cum laude, extraordinary. For an average better than 9.0, but not meeting the criteria for cum laude, odličan (excellent) is awarded, and for an average better than 8.0, but not meeting the criteria for excellent - vrlo dobar (very good) is awarded.