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Are graduates getting smarter?
It is an anxious time for thousands of students getting their degree results, but this year the stakes are higher than most.
A report last week by the Association of Graduate Recruiters found almost four out of five employers combing through job applications from graduates are insisting on a minimum 2:1 grade.
But if recruiters have raised the bar, some believe universities have done the opposite. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show the number of students getting first class and 2:1 degrees to be rising.
You can see by clicking through this graph below how upper second degrees have risen while lower seconds and unclassified grades have fallen. Thirds have also gone up slightly. But the most remarkable trend has been the increase in first class degrees.
Continue reading the main storyChanging grades
- The percentage of students gaining an upper second class degree has increased since 1995 from 42% to 46%. A total of 131,480 students were awarded a 2.1 degree last year.
- The proportion of students obtaining a third class degree or a pass has increased marginally, despite a largely static recent trend, while the proportion of students getting lower second class degrees has declined.
- The starkest rise can be seen in the percentage of students gaining a first class degree which has almost doubled in the last 14 years from 7%to 13%. Last year a total of 37,460 UK students got a first class degree.
So are students getting brighter or is it getting easier to get a first class degree?
According to Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of umbrella organisation Universities UK, there are a number of factors to consider.
"Attainment, whether at A-level or through other routes, has been rising over the same period," she says.
"In addition, there is a widespread perception among many students that they need 'the essential 2:1' to be even considered by employers. That has undoubtedly driven students to work hard, which should be praised."
Subject successesThere is no suggestion that some degree subjects are "softer" and so skewing the results, with the average 10% increase in first class and 2:1 awards being borne out across most areas.
Mathematical sciences saw the sharpest rise in students getting an upper second class degree or above going from 48% in 1995 to 62% last year.
Students taking language degrees (including English) tend to do very well, with 74% obtaining a 2:1 or higher against 51% in computer science. Both have seen significant rises in the top grades.
Other possible explanations for the improving grades relate to changing assessment practices, involving more coursework and continuous assessment rather than examinations alone.
However, last year, the Parliamentary universities committee reported some academics' concerns about "an obvious decline in standards".
The suggestions were denied by the Russell Group of 20 leading UK universities, which pointed to a correlation between entrants being better qualified and the subsequent improvement in degree results.
However, Education Secretary Michael Gove recently cited universities' complaints that A-levels did not prepare students well enough as reason to shake up the exams. A* grades have also been introduced to help institutions identify the top pupils.
Despite this, MPs on the committee said there was "no appetite" among universities to examine why the proportion of top degree grades had risen.
'Inconsistent' standardsThey also suggested inconsistency in standards was "rife" between institutions and called for a national set of classification standards against which universities in England match their honours classes.
Anthony McClaran, chief executive of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) insists standards across UK higher education are "fundamentally sound".
However, the organisation has set up a quality assurance group with aims including to ensure there is "authoritative, publicly accessible" information on standards and to improve consistency of assessment.
Whatever the arguments about why a greater proportion of higher grades are awarded, there is little comfort for graduates facing stiff competition for work.
Over 15 years, the number of students awarded a 2:2 has remained fairly steady at roughly 77,000 to 81,000.
But graduate at that level today and you will find yourself up against almost 140,000 better-qualified rivals - nearly 30,000 more than you would have done in 1995.
It is definitely not a case of students getting smarter, in general. I got a 1st class degree a number of years ago, and now teach undergraduates in that subject. They arrive with better A-levels than I achieved, but with a far inferior level of education - many can barely write coherent English, even by their final year. It is incredibly frustrating having to give students 1st class marks for pieces of work which I know full well would have been worth a low 2.i, at most, only five years ago. However, universities, individual departments, and even courses, want as many students to receive top grades as possible in order to help 'sell' the course to perspective students, so pressure is applied to staff when marking work.
Higher education has been dumbed down so that more people who would be on the dole queue can do something useful with their time, and have a better chance at getting ahead.
I've got a 2.2 earned in the 90's from a university that doesn't rank very highly. However on recently meeting a number of recent graduates with 1st degrees I was horrified at their lack of ability and knowledge overall. I'm not saying I'm an intellectual giant but the grading of students has definitely lapsed since I went to college which is unfair to the students themselves who have been given unrealistic expectations and a false evaluation of their abilities.
The problem is unlike A-Levels which are all marked against the same criteria, degrees from different universities differ so much, there is no standardisation, the University your 2.1 degree came from matters much more in many cases than the actual degree you achieved.
I am doing a Masters course while working. And I really have a feeling that standards have fallen. I get pretty good grades, but I am not sure if my work is worth it. The feedback from tutors is so general that it could apply to most students. Therefore, it is not clear if I am really doing that well or that the grades are given away easily. It is not bad to get good grades, but I also want to make sure I learn. Right now, I can judge only myself if I am learning enough.
I work at on of the Russell group University and don't think undergraduates are getting smarter. But I do think they are often harder working than when I was an undergraduate at the same university. They pay a lot of money for their education now so it makes sense that they try to get the best result they can. I've always thought that intelligence OR exceptionally hard work would get through to you a 2:1 but to get a first you need both. Maybe the smart ones are now also working harder.
It's the same old story again. Whenever graduates like myself achieve higher grades, there's always some killjoys who claim the courses are easier, or the grading system is soft. I don't know if this is because they never went to university and don't know what it is like, or whether they're bitter because their grades weren't as good as ours. I can tell you I've had to work really hard for my degree, juggling it with a part time job which is now the norm, and an unpaid placement within my chosen field. As stated in this article, most employers won't touch you if you don't have a 2:1, so students are driven with more ambition to get this grade.
I'm a little bit fed up that every time it seems that people are doing well in their exams, it's put down to exams becoming easier. People said it when my GCSE results came out and they're saying it again about A levels, and now degrees? Maybe people are just working hard to make sure they can get a job, which can be more difficult nowadays? I worked hard at GCSE, I worked hard at A Level and I will work hard when I'm doing my degree. Getting good grades should be praised, not undermined.
I think the issue is still students being spoon-fed the exact requirements for the exam, instead of being required to learn - so their qualification means less than it used to. I'm including myself in that group.
As a soon-to-be 4th year student of one of Britain's Russell Group Universities I have been disappointed and bored by the low standard of my first and second year. (Studying Economics + Philosophy and then changing to Economics + History of Art to remedy the infuriatingly low standard of Philosophy). On a year's exchange to McGill University I was taken aback by the impressive work ethic and resources available. Not only was McGill more organised, more user-friendly and more challenging; it had inspiring extra curricular societies. Fortunately my British University also has inspiring societies with which I filled my time; but many students are not so proactive and spend much of term time partying or working menial jobs to pay for partying. I think it is appalling that revising a few days before an exam and barely attending lectures for the aforementioned subjects (let alone others) should be enough to get a 2:1 (60-70%) two years in a row. The standards are getting!
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