How We Verify Formulas

The one rule

A formula does not ship on GradeKar until I can point to the exact line in an official university document — an academic ordinance, a circular, a controller-of-examinations notice, or the official examinations handbook — where that formula is written. No second-hand sources. No "I saw it on a Reddit thread." No "another calculator site uses this."

Where the formulas come from

For each of the 15+ universities currently on the site, the formula is sourced from one of these document types, in order of preference:

1. Academic Ordinance / Academic Regulations — the long PDF the university's academic council approves. Usually the most authoritative source.
2. Controller of Examinations circular — a dated notice from the exams office, often when a formula is being introduced, modified, or repealed.
3. Examination handbook — the student-facing version of the regulations, usually a chapter on grading and conversion.
4. Official university website's grading page — only when the page is on the .ac.in domain and lifted directly from the ordinance.

Each calculator page cites the specific document name and number in the "source" line right under the formula. Click any university calculator and look for it.

What the "Verified [date]" stamp means

Every university calculator page carries a small "Verified [date]" stamp near the formula. That date is the most recent day I personally re-opened the source document, confirmed the formula on the page still matches the regulation, and re-read any newer circulars that might have changed it. The stamp is not auto-generated. If the date is more than six months old and you are about to submit a transcript on the strength of it, please email me first — I would rather you delay an hour than submit a wrong number.

When a regulation changes

Universities update their grading rules. Mumbai University, for instance, repealed its long-standing (CGPA × 7.1) + 11 formula on 1 January 2026 under Circular Exam/Result/803 of 2026. The site flagged that change within five days of a reader emailing the circular PDF, and the Mumbai University page now carries a "Formula repealed" banner above the historical formula instead of pretending it still applies.

That five-day turnaround is the target for any reported regulation change: read the source, update the data file, ship the change, and re-publish the page with a fresh "Verified" date. The reader who flagged it gets a thank-you email and, on request, a written acknowledgement of contribution (see an example credit page).

What we will not do

• Invent or interpolate formulas for universities that don't publish one. If a regulation does not give a formula, the page either uses an approximation clearly labelled as such, or the calculator is not built for that university yet.
• Carry over a formula from one university to another. AKTU's formula is not VTU's formula. Treating them as interchangeable is the single most common error in the generic online calculators we are trying to displace.
• Hide a regulation change behind silent data updates. When a formula is repealed or changed, the calculator page keeps the historical formula visible (with a banner) so students with older marksheets can still match what's printed on their transcript.

The open dataset

All 15+ verified formulas live in an open CC-BY-4.0 dataset on GitHub: ritusmoikaushik/indian-university-grading-formulas. Other calculator tools and educational sites are welcome to use the data with attribution — the goal is fewer students getting the wrong number, regardless of which calculator they end up on. If your tool uses this data, link back to GradeKar so future corrections propagate.

Found an error?

If a formula on this site disagrees with what your university's transcript or circular says, please tell me. Two channels:

• Email: [email protected] — I read every message personally. Attach the circular or ordinance page if you have it.
• Report button: Every calculator page has a small "Report incorrect formula" link in the footer area.

I aim to acknowledge reports within 48 hours and ship a correction within a week. Bigger universities sometimes take a second pass because their ordinances are 200-page PDFs and finding the right paragraph takes a day.

Why this matters

A wrong CGPA-to-percentage number on a TCS NQT form, a visa application, or a university transcript is not a rounding error — it can cost a placement, a scholarship, or a visa interview slot. Most online calculators pick one generic formula and apply it everywhere. GradeKar exists because that approach quietly fails students whose universities use a different rule, and the failure is invisible until the transcript prints.

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