01Overview
A Contribution Score shows how much an institute contributed to one student’s result. It’s worked out from the course and dates the institute logged in its dashboard when the student joined, using the same six factors for every institute.
The six factors add up to a maximum of 100 marks. The total then becomes a grade from A to E, which is what appears on the badge. Each score belongs to one student’s result, and is never averaged across students.
02What Goes Into a Score
Every score is worked out only from details the institute added to its dashboard:
- The course the student enrolled in: its program type, scope, learning mode and the exam stages it prepares for.
- The student’s enrollment date, joining date and course end date, and the date of any course upgrade.
- The result date and outcome, once it’s declared.
Two rules decide whether a score can be worked out at all. The student must have been added within 10 days of admission, and the result can only be recorded for a student already on the institute’s list. If either rule isn’t met, no score is given.
03Program Type
What kind of program the student was enrolled in.
| Program type | What it means | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated Learning | Several parts, such as classes, tests and mentoring, working together toward one clear goal, all actually delivered. | 25 |
| Full Course | Teaches the complete declared syllabus, subject or skill. | 22 |
| Crash or Intensive Course | Concentrated preparation or revision in a short period. | 19 |
| Short Course or Module | Focused teaching on one limited topic or skill. | 16 |
| Workshop or Bootcamp | Hands-on, practical skill building. | 16 |
| Mock or Test Series | A set of mock exams or tests, mainly for practice. | 13 |
| Single Test or Assessment | One standalone test or evaluation. | 10 |
04Course Scope
How much of the exam’s syllabus the course covered.
| Scope | What it means | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Scope | Covers the full syllabus of the exam or stage. | 15 |
| Multi-Subject | Covers more than one subject, but not the full syllabus. | 10 |
| Single Subject | Covers one subject or topic area. | 5 |
05Learning Mode
How the course was taught.
| Mode | What it means | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Offline | Taught in person at a centre or campus. | 5 |
| Hybrid | A planned mix of in-person and online teaching. | 4 |
| Online | Taught fully online, live or recorded. | 3 |
06Time Studied
How long the student studied with the institute.
Measured from the student’s joining date to their course end date. If the result was declared before the course ended, it’s measured up to the result date instead. Only full calendar months are counted.
| Time studied | Marks |
|---|---|
| 12 months or more | 25 |
| 6 to under 12 months | 20 |
| 3 to under 6 months | 15 |
| 1 to under 3 months | 10 |
| Under 1 month | 5 |
07Recency
How close the student’s time with the institute was to the result.
Measured in full calendar months from the end of the student’s time with the institute (the course end date, or the result date if that came first) to the result date.
| Gap before the result | Marks |
|---|---|
| Under 3 months | 15 |
| 3 to under 6 months | 12 |
| 6 to under 12 months | 9 |
| 12 to under 24 months | 5 |
| 24 months or more | 0 |
08Exam Stage Coverage
How many stages of the exam the institute helped with.
The total number of stages for each exam is fixed in our exam list, so every institute uses the same number. For example, an exam with a written test, an interview and a medical has 3 stages. A course that prepares for the written test and the interview supports 2 of them, which gives 2 ÷ 3 × 15 = 10 marks. Marks for this factor are rounded to two decimal places.
09From Score to Grade
The total out of 100 becomes a grade. The grade is what appears on the badge and the public QR record, with the score shown beside it.
There’s no bad grade. Every grade, including E, shows a real part in a student’s result. A lower grade simply means the support was narrower, shorter or longer ago.
10Worked Example
Ananya R. was selected in UPSC CSE 2025. She joined Northstar Academy’s hybrid GS Foundation course for Prelims and Mains on 01 Jul 2024. Her course ended on 30 Apr 2025, and the result was declared on 22 Jun 2025. (Sample student and institute.)
| Factor | How it applies | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Program Type | Full Course | 22 |
| Course Scope | Multi-Subject (Prelims + Mains) | 10 |
| Learning Mode | Hybrid | 4 |
| Time Studied | 01 Jul 2024 to 30 Apr 2025: 9 months, so 6 to under 12 months | 20 |
| Recency | Course ended 30 Apr 2025, result 22 Jun 2025: under 3 months | 15 |
| Exam Stage Coverage | Written exam and interview supported, 2 of 3 stages: 2 ÷ 3 × 15 | 10 |
| Total | Grade B, since 81 is between 70 and under 85 | 81 |
11Special Cases
- Course upgrades. If a student upgrades to another course, program type, scope, learning mode and stages are taken from the course they were on when the result was declared. Time studied still counts from their first joining date.
- More than one institute. If several institutes helped the same student, each gets its own score for its own part. Scores aren't shared out or capped between them.
- Short courses. A short course or mock interview scores fewer marks on time-based factors, but marks are never taken away for being short.
- Result before the course ends. Time studied stops at the result date, and recency counts as under 3 months.
- Students added late. A student added more than 10 days after admission can't be scored, whatever their result.
- Corrections. If a record is corrected after a report, the score is worked out again. Major changes are listed in our monthly report.
12What the Method Doesn’t Measure
A Contribution Score is an honest marketing score, not a quality score. It doesn’t measure:
- How good an institute or its teachers are overall.
- Whether an institute will produce similar results in future.
- The student's own effort, or help from family, school or self-study.
- Fees, facilities, batch sizes or student reviews.
13Versions and Changes
| Version | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | July 2026 | First published version, applied to every record. |
We may improve the method over time. Every change gets a new version number and date, is announced to registered institutes before it takes effect, and is listed in our monthly report. Questions about the method can be sent to Grievance@contributionscore.in.