22nd July 2017 1:00
By Blue Tutors
University degrees, like many qualifications, are awarded with an indication of the proficiency of the student and level achieved. While many countries opt for a GPA, the UK uses a class system, with 1st, upper 2nd (or 2:1), lower 2nd (2:2) and 3rd class constituting a passing mark. A first-class degree is only awarded to the students that performed best; while numbers vary year on year, the proportion of students achieving a first used to be less than one in five. In recent years, however, the number has risen sharply, with four times as many Universities awarding a first to over quarter of students in 2016 compared with 2011.
This statistic does exaggerate the shift, but only slightly. There are not four times as many firsts being awarded, but in some Universities, the number has doubled over those five years. The University of Surrey increase the proportion of firsts by 110% (from 19% to 41%) whereas UAE almost tripled within just five years. While these are extreme examples, it is not an isolated problem, with 50 different institutions (one third of all the universities in the UK) giving out firsts to over a quarter of students. Among Russel Group universities, this is the norm rather than the exception, as the average number of firsts now lies at 25% among the group. That means it is now more common to graduate with a first than a 2:1 based on the 2015-16 academic year Higher Education Statistics Agency data.
There increase in firsts awarded is not a new phenomenon. Numbers have been steadily rising over the past 20 years, with the number doubling from around 7% in 1995 to 16% by 2010. But the sudden increase in the rate of increase from around 0.5% points per year to 2% has sparked some concern that this is just the latest example of “chronic grade inflation”.
So why are they giving out so many firsts? One of two things are happening: the standard achieved by students on average has gone up, or the standard needed to get gain a first has gone down.
A lot has changed in the past five years in UK higher education, and some think this may be what has caused the sudden spike in performance. There has been a lot of change in the curriculum and teaching within UK schools, whose students make up half of the undergraduate student body in UK universities. More rigour at school and increasingly challenging A levels to combat years of dilution and grade inflation at that stage have brought up the level at entry. Equally, an increasingly competitive market has allowed some Universities to increase their entry requirements, meaning the average calibre of student has improved, leading to improved outcomes at the end. The tripping of fees may also have played a role; taking on twice the level of student debt required by their predecessors may have produces a new more studious undergraduate, taking their studies more seriously to ensure a good return on their investment. At the same time, universities are being held more accountable for the standard of their teaching and student satisfaction and outcomes are being put under the microscope, potentially leading to better quality education and so better final marks.
This may all be true, but with over £9000 per year at stake, universities are increasingly needing to convince potential applicants that attending their university is worth it. With a first-class degree providing better employment opportunities, and sometimes coming with cash prizes or scholarships, a greater likelihood of achieving a first is a real incentive to choose one university over another. Equally, the marks awarded are used in league tables and in the government’s new Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), so institutions have a reason to award more firsts to boost their academic and student satisfaction scores. No, with so many universities upping their numbers, others simply “don't want to get left behind”. By using academic politics, like getting a friend in another institution to be the external examiner, institutions can get around the moderation process by which the standard between universities should be accounted for and somewhat levelled out.
The impact of this dilution, with over three quarters of students now achieving a 2:1 or above, is that many employers now see an upper second as the minimum ‘pass’ to hire a graduate, leaving thousands of students ineligible for the vast majority of graduate schemes employment opportunities when they leave. Although it is definitely a good thing that universities are focusing on improving the quality of teaching they provide, maybe universities, like GCSE and A level boards, should be limited to a more or less fixed quota for how many of each mark they can assign? Or maybe the entire degree classification is no longer fit for purpose and needs a complete change.