At most Australian universities, your WAM includes all subjects with a numeric percentage mark, including failed subjects which use your actual fail mark rather than zero. Pass/fail subjects with no numeric mark are generally excluded. Exchange units, advanced standing from other institutions, and some professional placement units are typically excluded. The exact rules differ by university.¹
Included in WAM at virtually all universities: any subject where you received a numeric percentage mark, whether you passed or failed. Fail marks use your actual percentage (e.g. 43%), not zero. This differs from GPA where fails are typically assigned zero grade points, making WAM somewhat more forgiving of a single bad result.
Excluded at virtually all universities: subjects graded on a pure pass/fail basis with no numeric mark attached, advanced standing or credit transferred from another institution, and subjects still in progress (CNT or IPR grades with no numeric mark yet assigned).
OLE units completed before Semester 1 2025 that received a numeric mark are still included. USyd does not calculate a GPA: WAM is your only official academic metric.
Your Faculty WAM for honours may use a different subset of courses. Check your faculty for honours WAM rules.
WAM is calculated to three decimal places. Excluded results appear on transcript with '^', e.g. "75 H2A^".
Your WAM appears on transcript alongside GPA. First year units count at half weight, so a weak first year has less permanent impact at Monash than at other universities.
UQ uses GPA (7-point scale), not WAM.
Does a failed subject count towards my WAM?
Yes. At most Australian universities, failed subjects use your actual fail percentage (e.g. 42%) in the WAM calculation. This differs from GPA where fails are assigned zero. The impact is smaller than many students expect: a 42% in a 6CP subject moves your WAM less than a 42% in a 24CP subject, because credit points determine how much weight each result carries.
Does exchange count towards my WAM?
Generally no. Grades from overseas exchange programs are typically excluded from your WAM because grading schemes at other institutions differ. UQ explicitly states exchange courses are credited as transfer credit with no grade applied.⁵ Check with your faculty: some universities include exchange grades if they are converted to a comparable mark.
If I repeat a failed subject, does the first attempt still count?
At USyd, yes: both the failed attempt and the subsequent pass count in your WAM.¹ At most other universities the same applies. This is one of the most common surprises for students: repeating a subject does not remove the original fail from your WAM.
Do pass/fail subjects affect my WAM?
No, if they carry no numeric mark. Subjects graded purely as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory or Pass/Fail with no percentage attached are excluded from WAM at all major Australian universities. However, a Fail on a graded subject (one that also has a percentage) does count.
Does advanced standing count towards my WAM?
No. Credit granted for study at another institution is excluded from your WAM at all major Australian universities. Only subjects completed at your current institution contribute to your WAM, with some exceptions for intra-university transfer (e.g. UNSW includes transfer credit from UNSW in a different program from Semester 1 2016 onwards).
Sources
Not sure what's in your WAM?
Grademate shows your running WAM with every subject included or excluded correctly.