Now one in four students achieves a first

THE proportion of students getting top degrees has rocketed in the past five years amid grade inflation at universities.

Figures show that a quarter of undergraduates (24 per cent) were awarded a first class degree last summer, up from 17 per cent in 2012.

And the proportion gaining a first or 2:1 increased from 66 per cent in 2012 to 73 per cent in 2016, according to the Government’s Higher Education Statistics Agency.

In 2005, only 11 per cent of students achieved a first class degree, while in the early 1990s, it was only about 8 per cent. In the early 1980s, when fewer people entered university, about 60 per cent achieved a 2:2, making it the most typical degree grade.

The surge comes amid growing concerns from employers that they now have no way to pinpoint the brightest applicants.

Fears have also been raised that universities may be under mounting pressure to treat students as customers as they compete to fill their places. The Government recently removed the cap on the number of students universities are able to recruit, creating a buyer’s market.

Today’s university students are paying more than any previous generation – tuition fees are £9,000 a year – and they can use league tables to find out which are most likely to award them a

‘The current system is a blunt instrument’

top mark. Marking systems are moderated by external examiners, but there have long been questions over how effective this is.

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank, said: ‘The situation needs monitoring very closely.

‘There are valid questions about whether growing competition between universities is encouraging grade inflation and also whether the external examiner system is fit for purpose. It is in no one’s interests for people to think students are having an easier ride than in the past.’

Graduate recruitment expert Martin Birchall said: ‘It makes life harder if almost everyone who applies for a graduate job comes with a first or a 2:1 because employers can’t use that to differentiate between candidates.’

A spokesman for Universities UK, which represents vice chancellors, said: ‘The sector has recognised for some time that the current degree classification system is a blunt instrument.’

Several universities were, therefore, conducting trials of alternatives such as the US grade point average system which provide more precise data on how students have done.