Have your say: Universities told to end grade inflation or risk fines
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This grade inflation was laughably predictable when the £9k fees were introduced, and lo and behold the proportion of first class degrees has nearly doubled. In my view this is a good first step by the government; however they need to further this by realising that the quality and difficulty of degrees varies greatly throughout the country. Not all firsts are created equal and it is still the case that it is far tougher to obtain a first at high ranking institutions (such as Oxford/Cambridge) than at other institutions, now more so than ever it seems. More must be done to standardise degrees across institutions.
It's in a university's interest to increase the proportion of good degrees. If you have a >50% chance of getting a 1st at Surrey, it makes sense to go there.
As a lecturer there is real pressure to increase grades. Sometimes this is done with a bare-faced policy e.g. "rounding up" any mark that ends in a 9 e.g. 59% becomes 60% for no reason!
The only real solution I see is for the government to mandate that a certain proportion of degrees will fall into each category e.g. 0-20% 1sts, 0-50% 2.1s etc. That of course will make it hard to distinguish between genuine student achievement across universities but that's already very difficult.
As a lecturer there is real pressure to increase grades. Sometimes this is done with a bare-faced policy e.g. "rounding up" any mark that ends in a 9 e.g. 59% becomes 60% for no reason!
The only real solution I see is for the government to mandate that a certain proportion of degrees will fall into each category e.g. 0-20% 1sts, 0-50% 2.1s etc. That of course will make it hard to distinguish between genuine student achievement across universities but that's already very difficult.
How are the govt proposing to distinguish between grade inflation and grade improvement?
Original post by candokoala
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Grade inflation is wrong and immoral and needs to be stopped as soon as possible ......after my son has graduated
At my uni most got 2:1s but only a handful about 5/50 finished on a 1st.
10% between grades is way too much also. I finished on 60.3 and am man enough to admit I didn't deserve to get the same certificate as the folk who finished on 68, 69 etc. Bit of an insult to them as I wasn't in the same ball park.
10% between grades is way too much also. I finished on 60.3 and am man enough to admit I didn't deserve to get the same certificate as the folk who finished on 68, 69 etc. Bit of an insult to them as I wasn't in the same ball park.
(edited 5 years ago)
Not surprising that it happens, given the competitive nature of universities. But then... isn't grade inflation to be expected when more and more publications, research, books and so on are easily accessible, with minimal effort, online?
Even as recently as 2010/11 there was nowhere near as much information parked in nice, user-friendly online libraries as there is now. It's far easier to acquire knowledge now, so it's not surprising grades are rising...
Even as recently as 2010/11 there was nowhere near as much information parked in nice, user-friendly online libraries as there is now. It's far easier to acquire knowledge now, so it's not surprising grades are rising...
Original post by Nichrome
This grade inflation was laughably predictable when the £9k fees were introduced, and lo and behold the proportion of first class degrees has nearly doubled. In my view this is a good first step by the government; however they need to further this by realising that the quality and difficulty of degrees varies greatly throughout the country. Not all firsts are created equal and it is still the case that it is far tougher to obtain a first at high ranking institutions (such as Oxford/Cambridge) than at other institutions, now more so than ever it seems. More must be done to standardise degrees across institutions.
The more standardised it is, the less special Oxbridge becomes... Which might be a good thing, I'm not sure it's really important to have special universities - especially for undergrads. Germany isn't really a technological or cultural backwater but it's unis don't score particularly well in international rankings.
Original post by candokoala
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I was pissed when I saw this initially, but if the university are being a little lax and giving firsts to students who haven't done as much work as other first students and would normally get a 2:1, then I understand their point. I would be annoyed too if I got a first after a lot of hard work and saw fellow students who didn't work as hard as me, still pick up a first!
20% got firsts when I graduated in Mechanical Engineering 2014 however I doubt changes to now have had much effect on employability as most employers treat a 2:1 or above as a tick in a box. The scoring metric that they measure engineering grads is unlikely to be affected by grade inflation imo as most competitive applicants met that requirement already.
Still better system than GPA in North America where although it's common to bellcurve to previous year averages there's still crazy comparisons between universities- 4.0 at a top uni is near impossible due to extremely academic people scoring high 90%s on extremely hard tests, whereas state unis have way less outliers. Employers still have to factor that in.
Still better system than GPA in North America where although it's common to bellcurve to previous year averages there's still crazy comparisons between universities- 4.0 at a top uni is near impossible due to extremely academic people scoring high 90%s on extremely hard tests, whereas state unis have way less outliers. Employers still have to factor that in.
what if, hear me out, Students are working hard to get those grades?
Is this a joke? Whenever I move to the next stage of education (GCSEs and A level) I am always part of the first bunch of people who are used as lab rats for these *****y government reforms on education. I thought university would be safe from these reforms but turns out I was wrong, JUST NO NO AND NO.
Let me go to ****ing uni first, let me graduate THEN do your *****y reforms cause I have already been exposed as a lab rat to these reforms in GCSE and A level.
And to add to the main post, students don't pay 9 grand a year to be awarded with *****y degrees. If "too many" are graduating with top degrees is because they genuinely work for it and the government should just keep their noses off. Politicians themselves graduated from independent school and used their parents privilege to go to top unis like Oxbridge, of course they can't feel the effects.
Let me go to ****ing uni first, let me graduate THEN do your *****y reforms cause I have already been exposed as a lab rat to these reforms in GCSE and A level.
And to add to the main post, students don't pay 9 grand a year to be awarded with *****y degrees. If "too many" are graduating with top degrees is because they genuinely work for it and the government should just keep their noses off. Politicians themselves graduated from independent school and used their parents privilege to go to top unis like Oxbridge, of course they can't feel the effects.
(edited 5 years ago)
I just want a 2:1 at this point tbh lol. My tutors are such hash markers I can't see anyone getting a first
About time, I got really bad grades at a level yet I am on track for a 1st at university??????!? Also some degrees have some form of standardisation such as mechanical engineering by IMechE but some don’t such as sociology. To ensure some form of parity of grades, all degrees should have some form of standard body controlling the degrees otherwise you get two degrees from two universities. One is much harder but both end up with the same grade and that’s not fair.
Original post by The RAR
Is this a joke? Whenever I move to the next stage of education (GCSEs and A level) I am always part of the first bunch of people who are used as lab rats for these *****y government reforms on education. I thought university would be safe from these reforms but turns out I was wrong, JUST NO NO AND NO.
Let me go to ****ing uni first, let me graduate THEN do your *****y reforms cause I have already been exposed as a lab rat to these reforms in GCSE and A level.
And to add to the main post, students don't pay 9 grand a year to be awarded with *****y degrees. If "too many" are graduating with top degrees is because they genuinely work for it and the government should just keep their noses off. Politicians themselves graduated from independent school and used their parents privilege to go to top unis like Oxbridge, of course they can't feel the effects.
Let me go to ****ing uni first, let me graduate THEN do your *****y reforms cause I have already been exposed as a lab rat to these reforms in GCSE and A level.
And to add to the main post, students don't pay 9 grand a year to be awarded with *****y degrees. If "too many" are graduating with top degrees is because they genuinely work for it and the government should just keep their noses off. Politicians themselves graduated from independent school and used their parents privilege to go to top unis like Oxbridge, of course they can't feel the effects.
Literally, was the guinea pig (no pun intended) cohort for the new a-levels. If people are getting firsts it's because they have done really well. It's really hard to get a 1st people assume it's easy because it's 70% and that seems low compared to GCSE and A-level but uni is a lot harder.
Original post by Themysticalegg
About time, I got really bad grades at a level yet I am on track for a 1st at university??????!? Also some degrees have some form of standardisation such as mechanical engineering by IMechE but some don’t such as sociology. To ensure some form of parity of grades, all degrees should have some form of standard body controlling the degrees otherwise you get two degrees from two universities. One is much harder but both end up with the same grade and that’s not fair.
I am pretty sure there is already a body which monitors universities but they don't have exam boards like with GCSEs. And I prefer it that way because marking university degrees is very hard and challenging and the examiners would probably be very bad and clueless in their job. A lot of professors just wouldn't want to spend their time marking degrees and for what when they can already do that at their own uni for their own students with generous money benefits?
There is no way I will have my Computing teacher from high school mark my Computing degree as he does not even know how to divide, seriously.
Also if all unis displayed the same level of hardness, top unis like Oxbridge will lose their prestige
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by The RAR
I am pretty sure there is already a body which monitors universities but they don't have exam boards like with GCSEs. And I prefer it that way because marking university degrees is very hard and challenging and the examiners would probably be very bad and clueless in their job. A lot of professors just wouldn't want to spend their time marking degrees and for what when they can already do that at their own uni for their own students with generous money benefits?
There is no way I will have my Computing teacher from high school mark my Computing degree as he does not even know how to divide, seriously.
Also if all unis displayed the same level of hardness, top unis like Oxbridge will lose their prestige
There is no way I will have my Computing teacher from high school mark my Computing degree as he does not even know how to divide, seriously.
Also if all unis displayed the same level of hardness, top unis like Oxbridge will lose their prestige
The thing is when the University of Surrey has 50.1% of students obtaining a 1st I do question how good this body is. I agree with the final point on where if other unis were equally rigorous Oxbridge would lost their prestige, however a problem I can think of is say a graduate scheme asks for a 2,1 and someone from a top flight university on a more challenging course where more time was required ended up with a 2,2 is automatically rejected. Whilst someone from a bottom flight university on an easier course who spent less time got a 2,1 and gets accepted I don't think that's fair as graduate scheme employers are likely to not take into account the differences in difficulty of the courses. However this is making an assumption that lower ranked universities are easier which they may not be.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by The RAR
I am pretty sure there is already a body which monitors universities but they don't have exam boards like with GCSEs.
You might be thinking of the newly formed "Office for Students". They do in theory have powers to monitor universities but haven't really done anything yet.
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