What percentage is a 7 at UQ?
The short answer: UQ doesn’t say. The table you have found somewhere else belongs to a different university.
Quick answer: The University of Queensland publishes no percentage ranges for its 1–7 grades. Its Assessment Procedure defines each grade by what a student can demonstrate, not by a mark cut-off. The widely-copied table — “7 = 85–100%, 6 = 75–84%, 5 = 65–74%, 4 = 50–64%” — is Queensland University of Technology’s, published in QUT’s own policy and reprinted under UQ’s name.
What UQ actually publishes
UQ’s Assessment Procedure defines grades 1 to 7 in Part H by criterion-referenced descriptors. A 7 is described as an exceptional achievement of the course learning outcomes; a 4 as a functional achievement. There is no percentage attached to any of them, anywhere in the document.
The procedure goes further. It requires assessment to be criterion-referenced, and it permits a course’s cut-offs to be varied after assessment has been finalised — lowered with the Head of School’s approval, raised with the Associate Dean’s. A fixed university-wide percentage table would contradict that mechanism, which is presumably why UQ does not publish one.
So if you have a mark of 82 at UQ, there is no published rule that turns it into a grade. Your course profile is the only place a cut-off appears, and it can differ between courses.
Where the table actually comes from
QUT — a different Queensland university — publishes exactly that table, in its Grading Scales and Awards Policy (MOPP C/5.2), Section 4:
| QUT grade | Percentage range |
|---|---|
| 7 — High Distinction | 85–100% |
| 6 — Distinction | 75–84% |
| 5 — Credit | 65–74% |
| 4 — Pass | 50–64% |
| 3 — Marginal Fail | 40–49% |
| 2 — Fail | 25–39% |
| 1 — Low Fail | below 25% |
The four passing rows are the table that circulates under UQ’s name. The three failing rows almost never travel with them — which is itself a clue that the table was copied from a summary rather than from QUT’s policy.
The misattribution appears to trace to a 2004 international credentials report that was describing QUT, and has been reprinted since without the correction. We have not been able to inspect that 2004 report directly, so treat the origin as the most likely explanation rather than an established fact. What is established is both ends of it: QUT publishes the table, and UQ does not.
Why UQ and QUT are so easily confused
They are separate universities in the same city with near-identical initials, both grading on a 1–7 numeric scale rather than letters. Both put a 7 at the top. The difference is that QUT publishes three layers per grade — a short descriptor, a standard description, and a percentage range — while UQ publishes only the first two. Anyone looking for a percentage table finds QUT’s and files it under the better-known name.
What this means if you are a UQ student
- Do not use the 85/75/65/50 table for UQ. It is not UQ’s and UQ has not adopted it.
- Check your course profile. If a cut-off applies to your course, that is where it is stated — and it can be varied.
- Your GPA is the portable figure. UQ calculates a GPA on the 1–7 scale, weighted by unit value, and that is what appears on your record.
- For applications, use the transcript. An official transcript showing your grades and GPA is the authoritative document. A percentage you derived from a table found online is not.
What this means if you are a QUT student
The table is yours and it is correct — but check the full seven rows, not the four that usually get copied. QUT’s failing grades are graduated (3, 2 and 1) and, unusually, they carry grade points: a marginal fail contributes 3 to your GPA and a low fail contributes 1. At most Australian universities a fail contributes nothing, so the difference between a 45 and a 20 is real at QUT and invisible elsewhere.
How we checked this
Both universities’ current policies were read directly, not summarised from elsewhere:
- UQ — Assessment Procedure (Part H, grade descriptors; clause 99 on varying cut-offs)
- QUT — Grading Scales and Awards Policy, MOPP C/5.2 (Section 4, grading scales)
You can open both and confirm it in about two minutes. We would encourage you to.
Key takeaways
- UQ publishes no percentage ranges for its grades — they are criterion-referenced.
- The “UQ 7 = 85–100%” table is QUT’s, from MOPP C/5.2.
- UQ course cut-offs live in the course profile and may be varied after assessment.
- QUT’s fail grades carry non-zero grade points — 3, 2 and 1.