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Are Durham degrees getting easier?
Statistics reveal grade inflation over the past thirteen years at the University
Statistics published by the Durham Student Registry have highlighted that the classification of degrees awarded to graduating finalists has been increasing over the past thirteen years. In 1999, 65.5% of graduates were awarded a 2:1 or above by the University, whilst by 2012 this figure had increased to 84%. This means the vast majority of students are now leaving university with a ‘good’ degree: either a first or an upper second classification.
Moreover, the amount of first class honours degrees awarded to Durham graduates nearly doubled from 11.2% to 21.26%. This is consistent with a nationwide trend in the United Kingdom, with Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reporting that 40,670 graduates left university with a first in 2012, accounting for 16.7%, or around 1/6 of total graduates. The extent of grade inflation in UK universities has led to allegations that university is becoming easier, and that the value of a good degree is now diminishing because of the number of students attaining higher marks.
Percentage of Durham graduates with a 2:1 or above in 1999
Percentage of Durham graduates with a 2:1 or above in 2012
Charlotte Bransgrove
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65.5%
Correspondingly, the number of students obtaining a 2:2 has more than halved from 27.6% in 1999 to 13.85% in 2012, whilst those receiving a third dropped from 5.3% to just 1.01%.
84%
Speaking to Palatinate, Sam Dale, Deputy Academic Registrar for the University, commented: “Since the late 1990s, the number of students leaving with first class degrees has increased at universities across the
country. “Research indicates that this may be due to a number of factors, such as improvements to the quality and structure of teaching nationwide, use of a broader range of assessment methods that test different graduate skills, and a rise in entry criteria, particularly at highly selective universities such as Durham. “The rise in the number of firsts should accordingly not be interpreted as a decline in academic standards. “We have a long history of producing sought-after graduates and an ambitious Employability and Enterprise Skills Strategy, committing us to producing graduates who are in high demand and stand the best chance of securing the employment they want.” David Morris, Academic Affairs Officer for Durham Students’ Union, branded the subject of assessment processes as “an incredibly complex issue, difficult to break down.” He added that further research is required to fully understand such issues, stating: “Both in Durham and nationally we need far more hard evidence, particularly in the form of student
feedback and student engagement, to ascertain whether grades really are rising in line with better student learning, or if there is something else at work.” Many students will, however, take comfort in the fact it is highly likely they will leave university with a good degree, particularly when entering into extremely competitive job markets in which many graduate schemes require a minimum of a 2:1 degree to even submit an application. Dan, a third year reading Mathematics, said: “I work really hard to get high marks because I’m aware of how tough the job situation is. It’s encouraging to see that it’s likely all my efforts will be paid off when I come to graduate.” Others however, believe grade inflation only adds to the problem because employers cannot distinguish between applicants. Joe, a second year Natural Sciences student, commented: “Grade inflation does little to benefit students because nearly everyone ends up with similar results, so having a good degree does not make you stand out.” continued on page 4