Degrees

[MrGongGong]

Its oblivious, innit :

The horse has bolted after locking the stable door.

[ardcarp]

Never bolt your door with a boiled carrot. ~ Irish Proverb

When you have three daughters, you sleep with the door open. ~ Korean Proverb

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

When you have three daughters, you sleep with the door open. ~ Korean Proverb

Would they be the Three Degrees?

[Padraig]

Would they be the Three Degrees?

At least two of them could be Firsts.

[Bryn]

At least two of them could be Firsts.

And the third burns?

[Padraig]

And the third burns?

I think the Third is punishment enough.

[LMcD]

I heard on the news today (or somewhere) that one-quarter of university degrees are now awarded with first class honours. What???
Any views?

The University of Surrey is clearly the place to send one's offspring for a degree - over 40% of those lucky enough to attend are awarded a 1st. 51% of degrees awarded over all universities are now 1sts or Upper 2nds. Universities aren't keen on a national standard as it will 'affect their independence'.
The whole thing reminds me of stories read in childhood in which vicarage tea parties were held in glorious sunshine, delicious scones were served with lashings of cream and there were competitions in which everyone won a prize.

[Bryn]

When the old Polytechnics morphed into universities under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they should have retained the CNAA and imposed its remit on the old universities too. Canny employers will simply regard a Surrey and like 1st with disdain.

[LMcD]

When the old Polytechnics morphed into universities under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they should have retained the CNAA and imposed its remit on the old universities too. Canny employers will simply regard a Surrey and like 1st with disdain.

'Well, I think I'm the sort of chap you're looking for - I'm ambitious, a good team player, keen to learn - and, oh yes, I spent a gap year volunteering in Africa in a charitable foundation funded by your company...'
'Yes...I see you got an Upper 2nd at Surrey'
'Yes, that's right.
'Yes....we'll let you know...'

[greenilex]

Has the stable horse bolted after locking the door?

[oddoneout]

they should have retained the CNAA and imposed its remit on the old universities too

Trouble is nothing is safe from 'pressure'(aka corruption) so although as the proud possessor of a CNAA degree from an excellent Polytechnic I agree with the sentiment I suspect that the organisation, had it continued, would have been leaned on to toe the upgrading line even without the stupid move to university all the polys.

[Belgrove]

Having acted as External Examiner and chaired exam boards at my own Russell Group institution throughout this past week, I am able to give an insiders perspective. Since the introduction of fees university management across the sector have aggressively sought to retain more students progressing to the final stages of a degree programme and to award more 'good' degrees, both in the face of resistance from examiners who wish to maintain their perceptions of quality. That resistance has been overcome by imposing regulatory borderlines (below the higher class threshold) at which promotion to the award of a higher class of degree must be considered. This is usually an algorithmic procedure that removes subjectivity (or bias) and cleverly avoids the differences in marking cultures that exist between disciplines. It imbues uniformity across an institution. Examiners regard the institutionally imposed borderlines as generous. 20% of the Firsts we awarded this week were promotions occurring at these borderlines.

Who wins? The students (who in this country are now paying for some of the most expensive degrees in the world) are delighted and express satisfaction of their experience, and that delights management too - institutions are measured by such things. Hence there is a virtuous, or cynical, symbiosis established between student and university. But what of society? The best graduates of any epoch are genuinely hard working, talented and highly intelligent. Where these individuals once obtained aggregate marks around 70, they are now achieving marks in the 90's. When selecting for higher degrees, these are the students we now seek. One solution is to do away with degree classifications and instead provide employers with the transcript of achievement. Where once the degree classification formed a useful universal précis and interpretation of this aggregate, universities have nowadays perturbed its meaning.