Every calculator and guide on ScholarVector is built from publicly available official documents. This page explains the categories of sources we rely on, how sources are selected and verified, how often they are revisited, and what their limitations are. Together with our Methodology and Editorial Policy, it describes the complete foundation our academic calculators stand on.
Why Sources Matter for a Calculator Website
A grading or eligibility calculator embeds a rule. If the rule comes from a forum post or another website’s guess, the calculator inherits that guess. Our policy is source-first: a calculator is built only when its governing rule can be traced to an official document, and it is published only after the implementation has been verified against that document.
Categories of Sources We Use
University and Institutional Documents
- University regulations and academic ordinances — the primary source for grading systems, credit structures, SGPA/CGPA calculation, and degree classification rules.
- Examination rules and evaluation schemes — how internal and external marks combine, passing criteria, and revaluation provisions.
- Official academic handbooks and prospectuses — programme structures, credit requirements, and attendance conditions.
- Official circulars and institutional notices — amendments, clarifications, and batch-specific rules that modify the base regulations.
Government and Regulatory Publications
- Government education department notifications — rules issued by central and state education authorities, including scholarship schemes and their eligibility criteria.
- UGC publications — frameworks and guidelines relevant to higher-education grading and credit systems.
- AICTE guidelines — regulations relevant to technical education programmes.
- State education board publications — rules governing school-level marks, grading, and certificates.
- Vocational training publications (such as NCVT) — where a calculator concerns vocational qualifications.
Supporting Public Documents
- Worked examples in official documents — sample calculations published by institutions, used to verify that our implementation matches the official method.
- Official result and marksheet formats — used to cross-check how institutions actually present the figures our calculators estimate.
We deliberately describe sources by category rather than maintaining a list of specific documents on this page, because individual documents are tied to specific calculators and are cited where they are used. Each calculator page indicates the rule it implements.
How Sources Are Selected
A document qualifies as a source for ScholarVector when it meets these criteria:
- It is issued by the institution or authority that actually governs the rule in question.
- It is publicly available, so users can, in principle, locate and read it themselves.
- It is the current version applicable to the students the calculator serves — or, where older batches follow older rules, the version applicable to that batch.
- It is specific enough to yield an unambiguous calculation, or can be clarified by an official circular or worked example.
Unofficial sources — forums, coaching materials, other calculator websites, and social media posts — are not accepted as the basis for any formula. At most, they can prompt us to look for the official document behind a claim.
How Sources Are Verified
Before a document is used, we confirm that it originates from the relevant institution or authority, that it applies to the programme and batch in question, and that it has not been superseded by a later amendment we can find. Where two documents appear to conflict, the newer or more specific official document prevails, and the calculator’s explanation notes the rule it follows.
Update Frequency
Sources are revisited in three situations: when a user report suggests a rule has changed, when a scheduled periodic review reaches that calculator, and when we independently become aware of a new regulation or notification. Sources behind frequently changing rules — scholarship criteria in particular — are prioritized for review over sources behind stable rules such as long-standing grading ordinances.
Source Limitations
We are transparent about the limits of even official sources:
- Institutions sometimes revise rules without prominent announcement, creating a gap before our review catches the change.
- Official documents can be ambiguous or silent on edge cases; where that happens, our calculator implements the most defensible reading and says so.
- Affiliated colleges may apply local variations that a university-level document does not capture.
- A document may apply only to certain admission batches, which is why our calculators state the rule they implement.
Public Document Policy and Copyright
We rely only on documents that are publicly available, and we use them for verification — we do not republish or reproduce official documents on ScholarVector. Our calculators and explanations are original works that describe rules in our own words. If a rights holder believes any content raises a concern, they can reach us through the Contact page and we will review it promptly.
Transparency Statement
ScholarVector is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any university, education board, or government body. References to institutions and regulations exist solely to identify which publicly available rules our educational calculators implement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Do you list the exact document behind each calculator?
Ans. Each calculator page explains the formula it implements and identifies the rule it follows. This page describes our source categories and standards platform-wide.
Q2. Why don’t you use answers from student forums?
Ans. Forum answers are frequently outdated or simply wrong, and errors in a formula propagate into every result. Unofficial sources may point us toward an official document, but they are never themselves the basis for a calculator.
Q3. What happens if an official document is ambiguous?
Ans. We look for clarifying circulars or worked examples first. If ambiguity remains, the calculator implements the most defensible reading and its explanation states the interpretation used, so users can judge it themselves.
Q4. How quickly do you catch rule changes?
Ans. It depends on how the change is announced. User reports, periodic reviews, and our own monitoring all feed into updates, but there can be a gap between a quiet rule change and our review — one of the reasons we describe results as estimates.
Q5. Are government scholarship criteria checked every year?
Ans. Scholarship-related sources are our highest-priority review category because criteria change frequently. Even so, always verify eligibility against the current official notification before applying.
Q6. Can I suggest a source or point out a newer regulation?
Ans. Yes, and it genuinely helps. Send the document reference through our Contact page; source-backed reports are the fastest way to get a calculator reviewed.
Conclusion
Our calculators are only as good as the documents behind them, which is why we hold every formula to a public, official source. To see how those sources become working tools, read our Methodology, review our Editorial Policy, or explore the calculators themselves from the homepage and calculator categories.