How many minus credits are still okay in the HSG assessment year? (1/2)

Update October 2026: Since the autumn semester 2026, at most 8 (instead of 12) minus grade credit points are allowed, no more than 4 of them in Contextual Studies. We have updated the rules and the table below.

As soon as the autumn semester grades are published, many students anxiously ask themselves how many minus credit points are still acceptable. The answer – as you probably expected – is very individual and hard to generalise. But we at the Coaching Institute still want to give you a simplified answer, so you get a feel for whether it's worth really giving your all this semester.

Let's briefly recall what has to be true for you to pass the assessment year at HSG. The assessment year is passed if the following conditions are met:

1. 60 credits are earned and the overall grade average is at least 4.00;
2. a total of 8 minus grade credit points (M-NCPs) is not exceeded, of which no more than 4 may come from Contextual Studies;
3. the accounting exam has been passed;
4. the first foreign-language course has been completed.

Note that minus credit grade points are calculated as follows: the difference between 4.0 and the grade actually awarded in the “fail” range, multiplied by the number of credits per exam. (Swiss grades run from 1 to 6, where 6 is the best and 4.0 is the minimum pass grade.)

For many students the second condition is the critical one, as the other conditions are usually met. To answer the question, it's important to weigh up effort and benefit carefully. If you really did very little in the first semester and got a lot of minus credit grade points, it's worth really giving your all in the spring semester. To help you assess yourself, we've created a table that can help.

A quick note on the table: what do high, medium and low commitment mean?

Very high commitment to exam preparation means being very motivated, focused and disciplined in preparing intensively for the exam. You invest a lot of time and energy in preparation, for example by studying textbooks, notes and other materials, solving practice questions and meeting regularly with fellow students and lecturers to clear up questions and get feedback.

Medium commitment means the person prepares for the exam, but not as intensively as someone with very high commitment. They may invest less time and energy in preparation and tend to concentrate on the most important topics and questions. They may not meet with fellow students and lecturers as regularly as someone with very high commitment, but they still make an effort to acquire the necessary knowledge and pass the exam.

Low commitment means the person has little interest or motivation to prepare for the exam. They may invest only very little time and energy in preparation and tend to focus on other activities. They may not meet regularly with fellow students and teachers and may not study textbooks or notes either. This can lead to poor preparation and increase the risk of a bad grade or even failing.

Whatever type you are – there are recommendations for every type on what you can do to turn things around. You'll find out what you can do in our next blog post.

We at the Coaching Institute support you individually in your HSG studies and prepare you in the best possible way for the coming semester. Here you can find out more about our offer specifically for students at the University of St.Gallen.

If you're interested, feel free to contact us with no obligation

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