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are degrees getting easier?

more students are getting firsts and 2:1's than ever before

first they started on a levels, now degrees! are degree's really getting easier or are students working harder?

and because people are getting higher class degree's are 2:1's becoming devalued? nowadays do people need a first class degree in order to distinguish themselves from everyone else? :confused:

:confused:

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Those statistics mean nothing. If 100% of people get a first at University A, and 20% get a first at University B, it doesn't mean the standard overall is changing.

Although it would point to some sloppy marking in one of those institutions.

VoodooDoll

more students are getting firsts and 2:1's than ever before

first they started on a levels, now degrees! are degree's really getting easier or are students working harder?

and because people are getting higher class degree's are 2:1's becoming devalued? nowadays do people need a first class degree in order to distinguish themselves from everyone else? :confused:

:confused:

We have a better educated population than ever before, so why can't it be that students are working harder. The people who say "qualification X is easier than it used to be" nearly always seem to be people who did that qualification a few years ago and so have moved on to something else and are regarding it with rose-coloured spectacles. Of course something seems easier if you've already done it, because you know what was involved and have learnt it already.

And there's probably more good degrees being awarded since there are more students than ever before.

i reckon students are working harder, we are paying 9 grand for our degrees and there really is no point doing it if you are going to get a 2:2, a 2:1 is pretty much essential if you want a decent graduate job with this market *shrug*

rah

i reckon students are working harder, we are paying 9 grand for our degrees and there really is no point doing it if you are going to get a 2:2, a 2:1 is pretty much essential if you want a decent graduate job with this market *shrug*

eah I think thats part of it, its widely appcepted now that to me noticed you need a 2:1 or above, where as in the old days the grade didn't matter so much, it was the fact you had a degree that counted.

Also 1sts, 2:1s are kind of fixed so that if people get a lot better, less 1sts would be awarded. On my course the standard of assignments is getting better every year, I did assingment which I got 75% for, my tutor said if I did the same assignment two years ago I would have got 90%.

Also this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3515984.stm

The rising numbers of first-class degrees awarded by universities make them look like they are "dumbing down", a leading Liberal Democrat says. The Russell Group - composed of 19 leading universities - gave firsts to 15.5% of students last year, compared with 11.8% in 1998.

But

:biggrin:

@ this bit:

Warwick, however, saw the proportion of students gaining first-class degrees almost double from 10.6% to 20.3% during the five years.

rah

i reckon students are working harder, we are paying 9 grand for our degrees and there really is no point doing it if you are going to get a 2:2, a 2:1 is pretty much essential if you want a decent graduate job with this market *shrug*

lol thats funny, I got a 2:2 in electronic design and am in a very good graduate scheme, getting paid a very good wage with a very well respected company.

Vladek

lol thats funny, I got a 2:2 in electronic design and am in a very good graduate scheme, getting paid a very good wage with a very well respected company.

Engineering? :smile:

:smile:

shiny

Engineering? :smile:

:smile:

yup, how'd you guess :biggrin:

:biggrin:

Vladek

yup, how'd you guess :biggrin:

:biggrin:

Because in my experience getting a 1st in Engineering doesn't make you a good engineer.

shiny

Because in my experience getting a 1st in Engineering doesn't make you a good engineer.

i guess it all depends on the person when it comes down to it really.

Vladek

i guess it all depends on the person when it comes down to it really.

Plus anyone who gets a 1st in Engineering is more than likely not going to end up as an engineer :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

More opportunities for everyone else though :smile:

:smile:

exactly shiny! the more that don't become engineers the more jobs for the people with lower grades eh :biggrin:

:biggrin:

Vladek

exactly shiny! the more that don't become engineers the more jobs for the people with lower grades eh :biggrin:

:biggrin:

That's the great thing about engineering. We can enter other people's industries but few can intrude on ours :biggrin:

:biggrin:

yeah like we can go for just about anything, managment, fianance loads of stuff :biggrin:

:biggrin:

just not english, i can't spell for anything!

VoodooDoll

more students are getting firsts and 2:1's than ever before

first they started on a levels, now degrees! are degree's really getting easier or are students working harder?

and because people are getting higher class degree's are 2:1's becoming devalued? nowadays do people need a first class degree in order to distinguish themselves from everyone else? :confused:

:confused:

Wouldn't worry about the media perpetuated garbage. I expect that 3 days before A-Level results we will see a similar thread claiming that A2's are getting easier etc... I prefer to ignore the pompous gits behind such stories. :wink:

:wink:

They just say that things are getting easier because everyone likes to beleave they they are superior therefore when we get higher grades than they did they just say "ah but they arn't worth as much", etc. Its quite pathetic really.

yeah but A-levels are easier aren't they :tongue:

:tongue:

anyhow if the students are getting better then perhaps make the degrees harder.

Although my knowledge of specific examples in the UK is very limited, I think one should at least consider whether there is an inflation in grades at a particular institution. Universities are depending on students to get funding, and many would not apply for universities where it is excessively hard to get good grades.

Of course, there is an opposing argument to this, as any future employers will try and look into whether it was hard to get good grades at the universities his/her potential employees attended. It is not my firm contention that there has been an inflation in grades, my knowledge of the field is not sufficient to support such an argument, I just feel that one should be open-minded and appreciate the potential validity of these views.

Vladek

yeah but A-levels are easier aren't they :tongue:

:tongue:

anyhow if the students are getting better then perhaps make the degrees harder.

Yes but you cannot really make a fair comparision - if you try to do an old paper you wouldn't be able to but that is because there are things on there that arn't in out specification (and vice-versa). Just look at A-Level Physics - they teach us the fundamentals of nuclear power plants, nuclear bombs and nuclear fussion (as well as other non-nuclear stuff! :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:

).

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