Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
s://.bbc.com/news/education-48951653
"The higher education watchdog also examined why the proportion awarded top degrees might have risen from 16% to 29%, such as students arriving from school with better qualifications.
But the analysis found much of the increase could not be explained.
The figures showed over 40,000 more students graduated with firsts last summer than in the cohort of seven years before.
Mr Hinds said that if universities were giving many more top degrees without a legitimate reason, it was unfair on those who had studied to the same standard in previous years.
The watchdog showed the changes in students awarded first-class degrees between 2010-11 and 2017-18, including:
Imperial College London from 31% to 46%
University of Huddersfield: 15% to 40%
University College London: 24% to 40%
Durham University: 18% to 38%
University of East Anglia: 14% to 39%
University of Northumbria: 16% to 35%
University of West London: 13% to 34%
Staffordshire University: 14% to 34%
The study also looked at those awarded either first or upper-second class degrees (2:1s). These now account for the great majority of degrees.
In the University of Bristol, 92% of students are awarded either a first or 2:1 and at Cambridge 94% reach this threshold.
|
There is a very simple reason for this.
The metric by which UK universities accept students for undergrad courses is by assessing whether the student will be able to get a 2:1 at the end of his course. The ones who get a 2:2 are students who were assessed to be capable of getting a 2:1, but for some reason, did not. It this stands to reason that they have a higher rate of 2:1 and 1st class graduates.