Integrated Cumulative Grade Point Average (iCGPA): Benefits and Challenges of Implementation for the Medical Faculty

The Ministry of Higher Education introduced the integrated cumulative grade point average (iCGPA) system in 2016 as an aspiration to produce holistic and well-balanced graduates based on Malaysian Qualification Agency’s (MQA) learning domains. In this article, we provide a comparison of iCGPA with other established medical competency frameworks and share our experience in implementing iCGPA in the medical faculty. Throughout the process, it was noted that medical educators require several core competencies in order to successfully implement iCGPA in their courses. Two of the most important core competencies are understanding the pedagogies of the 21st century (heutagogies, paragogies, and cybergogies) and apprehending the concept of outcome-based education. On top of the requirement of core competencies, there were also challenges in tailoring teaching and learning to meet the requirement of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. We also describe in detail the benefits and other challenges of iCGPA implementation in our faculty. We conclude this article with our recommendation for successful iCGPA implementation in the future for the medical faculty.