{"id":42714,"date":"2018-03-05T13:16:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T21:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=42714"},"modified":"2018-03-05T13:16:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T21:16:31","slug":"many-graduates-getting-good-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/many-graduates-getting-good-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Are too many graduates getting good degrees?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nMore than a quarter of UK graduates received a first-class degree, and nearly half received an upper second-class award in\u00a02016-2017<\/a>. This means 75% of graduates gained \u201cgood degrees\u201d \u2013 up from 60%\u00a0ten years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Repeated\u00a0media outcry<\/a>\u00a0and government condemnation over this upward drift, continues to fuel debates over the robustness of the current degree classification system and slipping academic standards \u2013 bringing with it the charge of grade inflation.<\/p>\n

But evidence suggests students are getting higher grades for valid reasons \u2013 such as\u00a0improved outcomes<\/a>\u00a0in primary, secondary and further education \u2013 meaning students are better prepared for higher education.<\/p>\n

Steps taken by universities in recent years have also improved student performance. These include increased emphasise on\u00a0teaching excellence<\/a>, assessment and student\u00a0feedback<\/a>. As well as investments in\u00a0campus facilities<\/a>, such as 24-hour libraries, and improved student support services.<\/p>\n

There are other developments that have also contributed to rising grades, such as changes to\u00a0subject mix, course and student characteristics<\/a>. For example, more women now go to university, and women are 5% more likely to get good degrees.<\/p>\n

Students may also be\u00a0motivated to work harder<\/a>, as they are\u00a0paying consumers<\/a>\u00a0and the graduate job market they will enter is\u00a0highly competitive<\/a>.
\n

\"\"

HESA data. Author provided<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Academic studies<\/a>\u00a0support the argument that grade increases are genuine. Here, rising grades are the result of what education economists call improved \u201cefficiency<\/a>\u201d \u2014 where better outputs are achieved from inputs. But despite this, the government has asked the\u00a0new Office for Students<\/a>\u00a0to look at the significant rise in the number of good degrees awarded in the last few years.<\/p>\n

Universities like good grades<\/strong><\/h4>\n

While more top grades doesn\u2019t necessarily mean degree classification inflation is happening, the increases in the number of good degrees cannot be entirely explained by the reasons above.<\/p>\n

Critics argue that the \u201cdegree algorithms<\/a>\u201d universities use to determine final degree classifications are inflating grades. Degree algorithms are the rules and procedures that convert all the grades a student has achieved during their studies into one final classification.<\/p>\n

Over the last ten years\u00a0significant changes<\/a>\u00a0have been made to degree algorithms by many universities, to achieve \u201ccompetitor alignment\u201d. This is where a university seeks to match the percentage of good degrees awarded by competitor institutions.<\/p>\n

The proportion of good degrees a university awards is included in\u00a0league tables<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where a greater number of good degrees means a higher ranking. Universities therefore have a reason to award more of them. Widespread practices of tweaking the rules by changing the algorithm to gain league table advantages, has fuelled sector wide grade inflation.<\/p>\n

This produces artificially high average grades, compressing all grades at the top of the classification scale. And there have also been reports that lecturers are under pressure from senior management to award\u00a0more high grades<\/a>\u00a0when marking.<\/p>\n

On top of this,\u00a0student satisfaction<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0alumni donations<\/a>\u00a0are also now of much higher importance to universities. Students are more satisfied with higher grades than lower grades. And graduates with good degrees are happy alumni who are more likely to donate money later in life.<\/p>\n

Graduate employers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So many graduates \u2013 all with the top grades \u2013 creates a challenge for graduate recruiters, who want to distinguish between differing academic abilities and skills. One solution is to supplement classifications with additional detail.<\/p>\n

Grade Point Average<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Higher Education Achievement Report<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 which gives a detailed picture of a student\u2019s extracurricular activities, prizes and voluntary work \u2013 providing a holistic view of students\u2019 achievements. Both were recommended by the\u00a02007 Burgess Report<\/a>, which said that \u201cthe UK honours degree classification system was no longer fit for purpose\u201d.
\n

\"\"

Record number of university students graduated with first-class degrees. Shutterstock<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Some of UK\u2019s largest graduate employers like\u00a0Ernst & Young<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Penguin Random House Publishers<\/a>, no longer use degree classifications as entry criteria for their graduate schemes. Instead, they use their own assessment centres to filter applicants. Google also announced its move to\u00a0debunk college transcripts<\/a>\u00a0as a hiring metric in their recruitment processes. Such reactions from employers means universities need to do more to rebuild confidence in the value of a degree certificate.<\/p>\n

Government response<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It is easy then to understand why the robustness of the classification system has come under sustained criticism. The\u00a0UK honours degree<\/a>\u00a0is a highly valued qualification and\u00a0recognised brand<\/a>, inseparable from higher education which is an important sector of the economy.<\/p>\n

The government has warned against \u201cgaming behaviour\u201d and that long-term inflation trends will undermine the credibility of UK degrees. This also makes it difficult to differentiate genuine grade improvements from artificial grade inflation. But it is unlikely that universities, left to their own devices, will address grade inflation.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0former universities minister<\/a>\u00a0challenged universities to ensure degree outcomes genuinely reflect improvements in student attainment, calling for a wholesale sector wide reform. A\u00a0project<\/a>\u00a0has since been launched to look into the issue.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0new regulatory framework<\/a>\u00a0for higher education empowers the\u00a0Office for Students to take action<\/a>\u00a0against universities failing to comply with sector agreed standards. The government has also added an analysis of degree trends to the\u00a0Teaching Excellence Framework<\/a>\u00a0(TEF).<\/p>\n

So while the government wants to intervene and mitigate against the risks of grade inflation at universities, it is clear that the myriad of complex reasons behind rising grades will make this a very challenging task.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Andrew Gunn is a Researcher in Higher Education Policy and Priya Kapade is a Postgraduate Researcher in Higher Education both at the University of Leeds<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than a quarter of UK graduates received a first-class degree, and nearly half received an upper second-class award in\u00a02016-2017. This means 75% of graduates gained \u201cgood degrees\u201d \u2013 up from 60%\u00a0ten years ago. Repeated\u00a0media outcry\u00a0and government condemnation over this upward drift, continues to fuel debates over the robustness of the current degree classification system […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":42715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[10021],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-42714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-graduates-3"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre too many graduates getting good degrees? - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/many-graduates-getting-good-degrees\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are too many graduates getting good degrees? - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than a quarter of UK graduates received a first-class degree, and nearly half received an upper second-class award in\u00a02016-2017. 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