UK government takes action to discourage university 'grade inflation'

So-called 'grade inflation' has been added to the criteria on which universities are assessed under the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF). TEF panellists will be required to assess whether universities are taking a responsible approach to grading and are not awarding excessive numbers of first class and 2:1 honours degrees when deciding whether to award a 'gold', 'silver' or 'bronze' TEF rating.

The proportion of graduates attaining a first class degree in England has increased from 18% in 2012-13 to 26% in 2016-17, meaning that over a quarter of graduates are now securing the top grade, according to figures from the Higher Education Stats Authority. Universities minister Sam Gyimah said that action was needed to "protect our globally recognised higher education system by discouraging universities from undermining the reverence a degree qualification from the UK commands".

TEF rankings were introduced in 2017 as a means of measuring learning and teaching standards across the higher education sector. Providers are assessed on a range of different aspects of teaching including student satisfaction, retention and the future job prospects of graduates. The assessment is based on data and not actual inspections of teaching.

Last year, the government began piloting subject-specific TEF rankings at a number of universities. The pilot will now run for a second year, at 50 higher education institutions, and the scheme is expected to take full effect from academic year 2019-20.

In a statement, the government said that a university's approach to tackling grade inflation would be "an important feature of the criteria considered alongside how a university is stretching its students through course design and assessment, and through their ability to develop independence, knowledge and skills that reflect their full potential".

Grade inflation will also be targeted by university regulator the Office for Students, the government said in its response to a consultation on the subject-level TEF.

"We believe this joint approach of tackling grade inflation through both the TEF and regulatory action is the most effective approach to address grade inflation," it said.

Universities expert Julian Sladdin of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, noted that the government would be testing "refinements" to the grade inflation metric during the second year of the subject-level pilot.

"Academic integrity is key to the value we all place in the UK higher education system," he said. "However, while it is important to have robust measures to ensure that rigorous teaching and assessment processes are in place to avoid the dilution of the value of UK degrees through irresponsible grade inflation, there remains an understandable concern in the sector about the lack of precision in the metrics suggested."

"There is also a perception in some quarters that government interest in grade inflation is related to concerns about the value of tuition fees rather than maintaining student confidence that their course will be academically stretching, so it will be key that the proposed pilot includes meaningful steps to refine the measures applied so that they give a meaningful assessment of attainment which properly addresses inappropriate inflation against legitimate improvements in student performance from year to year," he said.