Three campuses face £500,000 fines in 'grade inflation' probe

Three campuses face £500,000 fines in ‘grade inflation’ probe amid reports of a sharp increase in top degrees

• The Office for Students has launched the first investigation into grade inflation 
• It found the proportion of graduates achieving a first has more than doubled 
• The regulator has identified ‘potential concerns’ at three unnamed universities

Three higher education institutions could face fines of £500,000 over ‘sharp increases’ in top degrees.

The Office for Students (OfS) has launched the first ever investigation into grade inflation and the ‘credibility’ of awards on England’s campuses.

The regulator has identified ‘potential concerns’ at three unnamed universities and higher education colleges that ‘require further scrutiny’.

It follows an OfS report in May which warned that more than half of first-class degrees cannot be explained when compared with the performance of students a decade ago.

It found the proportion of graduates in England achieving a first has more than doubled from 15.7 per cent in 2010-11 to 37.9 per cent in 2020-21.

An OfS report in May which warned that more than half of first-class degrees cannot be explained when compared with the performance of students a decade ago

In total, 84.4 per cent achieved a first or upper second class (2:1) honours degree compared with 67 per cent ten years ago. The OfS has statutory powers to take enforcement action if it considers there has been a breach of ‘conditions of registration’.

Among other actions, it can restrict access to funding or impose penalties of up to £500,000. In a statement, the OfS said institutions should ‘award qualifications that are credible compared to those granted previously’.

It added: ‘Grades should not be inflated so that the same level of student achievement is rewarded with higher degree classifications.’

The OfS found the rates of first-class awards have risen for all students, regardless of their A-level grades.

Even the average rate of firsts for those entering with three Ds and below has risen more than fivefold, from 5.3 per cent to 28.5 per cent.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, welcomed the OfS investigation.

The Office for Students found the rates of first-class awards have risen for all students, regardless of their A-level grades

He said: ‘It’s a very good thing because so many first-class honours degrees have been awarded in recent years that it’s devalued the qualification considerably.

‘Clearly, it was a deliberate move to attract students because they want to get good degrees, but in doing so, the currency was devalued.’

Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said the probe ‘reflects the wider concern in society about grade inflation, at GCSE, A-level and now degree level’.

Source: Read Full Article