The proportion of top grades awarded to students in England could fall by nearly 25% after universities said they wanted to reverse grade inflation seen during the Covid pandemic.
Universities UK and GuildHE, representing institutions in the higher education sector, have jointly announced plans to return to pre-pandemic levels of firsts and 2:1s awarded over the next two years.
Universities have been criticized by ministers and the higher education regulator for the annual rise in the proportion of top grades awarded, and the Office for Students (OfS) has accused universities of damaging the reputation of higher education.
By the end of this year, universities are expected to publish degree outcome statements outlining how they intend to bring future awards in line with the proportion of first and second class degrees awarded in 2019.
The impact of the measures will reduce the proportion of first-class degrees awarded by nearly 25%.
Anthony McClaren, Vice-Chancellor of St Mary’s University, Twickenham and Chair of GuildHE, said: “During the pandemic, we have rightly recognized the disruptions students face and supported student achievement to be recognized as flexibly as possible.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, it is time to redouble our focus on protecting academic standards and take decisive action to ensure we maintain wider trust and confidence in the system.”
Universities UK said measures to ensure students “were not unfairly disadvantaged during the unique circumstances of the pandemic” contributed to the sharp increase in firsts and 2:1s awarded.
In 2021, nearly 38% of students in England were awarded first degrees, more than double the 16% awarded a decade earlier and well above the 29% awarded before the pandemic. Last year a total of 84% of pupils achieved a first or upper second, compared with 67% a decade earlier.
The OfS’s analysis of awards, carried out in 2021, claimed that more than half of first-class diplomas could not be explained by “observable factors” such as student achievement or social background.
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Steve West, president of Universities UK and vice-chancellor of UWE Bristol, said students who have graduated in the past three years “should feel proud and confident in the qualifications they have worked hard to achieve”.
Michelle Donnellan, England’s higher education secretary, said she was “delighted” by the announcement.
“Just as the government is restoring pre-pandemic grading to GCSEs and A-levels by 2023, today’s announcement will ensure that universities also eliminate the grade rise that occurred during the pandemic, and on the same timetable,” she said.
“Hard-working students deserve to know that gaining a first or upper second really matters and that it carries weight for employers, who in turn need to be able to trust the high value and rigorous assessment of university courses.”
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