Universities agree to more openness on student grading

British universities have pledged to justify publicly the way they assess their students’ performance, in an effort to respond to growing concerns over ‘grade inflation’, writes Andrew Jack for the Financial Times.

The UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment, a coalition of higher education institutions, recently issued guidelines setting out the criteria that undergraduates should meet to attain different marks and calling on universities to publish quality assurance reports.

The action follows concern after the proportion of first-class honours degrees awarded by English universities jumped from 16% to 29% over the past decade. The trend has sparked claims that universities – under pressure from students and regulators – are awarding overly generous grades while failing to adequately train graduates or provide a fair assessment of their capacities to employers.
Full report on the Financial Times site