Is there a 'standard' for grading an undergraduate degree?

[SlightlySeethrough]

I didn't go to Uni so don't fully understand how things are graded, and this has been on my mind....

If you are at mid tier Uni (say: Manchester Met / NTU / Oxford Brooks ) rather than a RG or higher ranking Uni, are your assignments being marked against your peers or a wider/more general benchmark?

DS picked his Uni as it had a very modern approach to a more traditional humanities subject that he enjoys. He does have to write essays and will have to write a final dissertation, but equally there are more modern assignments - podcasts/short films etc that count towards his final grade. When we spoke to head of department at a couple of RG Unis the same subject was much more essay and exam heavy.

We didn't think about it at the time, but does that mean he could (in theory) get a First or a 2:1 in the same subject, doing less 'academic' work than those in higher ranked Universities? Is he being marked against his University peers who are probably less academic that someone doing the same subject at Cambridge or Durham? How does it work?

Universities do have "external examiners" to help try to standardise things. But basically it's true that it's easier to get a first or 2:1 from a lower ranked uni than from Cambridge, Durham etc. However, most employers realise this and allow for it in their selection process.

Yes it’s easier to get a first at a lower ranked university as dd regularly reminds her dp (she has a 2:1 from a top ranked university, he has a first from a post 92) she coached him to get him through much of the academic side

Grades have been inflated enormously in recent years in all universities. If you end up with £60k of debt, you don’t want a 2:2.

First class degrees are unreliable. I employed someone with a first from a nonRG uni and she was an truly and idiot, worse I believe she was fraudulent - reading between the lines of what she later told me she got her Aunt to write all her essays and dissertation for her.

I know that employers look at where the degree was earned and of course a degree from a RG or highly regarded Uni is going to be looked at favourably, I was really just asking whether - in theory - it's easier to get an equivalent grade at a mid-tier Uni?

It seems such a leap from the rigidity of A Level grading - a bit like Covid when teachers awarded grades - I just wanted to be sure i understood the system really.

My daughter goes to a RG uni and much to her dismay (she prefers essays) this term she has had to produce a digital book and a podcast. And she's not doing english or communications. My son also goes to a RG uni and this week was handing in a poster (also not doing english, communications or art!).

I think its just a more modern day approach to education.

Posters summarising research are a common way for students and academics to get their findings out there at conferences, I believe. He won't be doing the kind of thing many kids do at primary school urging people not to drop litter.

I don't think this applies to all subjects though.

There are external examiners who will be asked to comment on how the work compares to similar courses they are familiar with. There are also subject benchmarks which outlines they type of things that should be taught in a subject.
However, students are not being assessed against nationally agreed standards. They’re being marked against assessment criteria which had been written for that specific module. The criteria will be available to students.

With regards types of assessments, we’re being encouraged to use a range of assessments methods and not just rely on a lengthy written assessment for every module.

Posters aren’t modern! They are a standard medium in academia for communicating your work to your peers. In all disciplines and at all levels, from undergrad to professor.

No.

there isn’t a standard.

it varies from uni to uni and from degree to degree.

In theory external examiners apply some level of standardisation but that only goes so far (not very).

@thanks2 My DD did MFLs at university. What point would a poster have been in learning two languages? Some degrees are just more academic than others. Some degrees suit dc who can barely write an essay. Employers have to sort out what type of grad they want. Usually it’s by tests and interview.

What's modern is their use as an assessment.

DC1 studied a science subject at a top RG uni and had to create posters. They are now working full time as a scientist and create posters at work too.

Define modern. I’ve been asking my students to create a poster for an assessment for 15 years.

It seems the universities awarding the most firsts are not post 92, but the favoured Russell Group. Imperial awarded the most in 2024. Revealed: These are the top 10 UK unis where the most students get firsts

The short answer is that no it is not standardised between universities. It’s certainly not like a levels - at A level everyone sits the same exam having followed the same curriculum but an English degree is not a homogenous concept. Some degrees that allow entry to certain professions probably will be to an extent - I imagine for example all medical students have to follow a prescribed course / meet a minimum standard in order to be allowed to qualify as doctors for example.

Otherwise, I don’t even think it’s standard as between different degrees at the same university.

I’ve just done a degree with NTU, I think it was a general benchmark.

I work at a RG uni, there are going to be a lot more podcast style assessments as we 're all trying lots of different things to make the assessments AI proof whilst also accounting for the huge number of student who suffer anxiety at the idea of an exam.

I suspect that, like public schools, the top universities cream off the top students. Courses are over subscribed with high achieving candidates, so they choose the ones most likely to get a first, it is also fair to say that the top universities can have a high wastage rate, students who are at risk of failing are encouraged to leave before their exams so they don't feature in the grade statistics.

Exam-related anxiety is likely because students haven't learnt what they ought to have. One only needs to look at the empty lecture theatres compared to the packed party venues. This generation is spoiled; university is no longer a place for true education, but rather a place to collect a certificate or a pass for the sake of finding a job.

@Soma Imperial awards the highest proportion of First-class degrees, while Cambridge STEM course strictly limits its Firsts to 30%. Is it the reason why QS rank Imperial to the top?

My foster son is doing a Sports degree and he does do some lengthy essays, and exams which he prefers but he also has to do posters, lesson cards which he has to present to large group which he hates and many practical sessions which get video recorded which he doesn't mind. He says some people love the posters and lesson cards and struggle with essays so they have to have a mix of both in the first year. He's hoping for more essays in second year. I've told him to look carefully at the courses he chooses to see how they will be assessed.

Late 1980s for me, and I wasn’t the first!

God, there’s no way I’d have got a degree now. If anyone had asked me to produce a poster or a jeffing podcast …

I read Pt 1A History at Cambridge in the 80’s - one essay, (maybe around 5000 words, can’t recall) and one 1/1 supervision to discuss it per week. Optional lectures, though stupid not to attend. Then Pt 1B and Pt2 Law - 2 or three 1/1 or small group supervisions per week covering the essays or other written work one prepared for the week. Immense amount of reading. And you’d have been a fool to swerve the lectures.

But all that seemed entirely natural to me. The only stress came from leaving work to the last minute.

And that purely written work was all the academic preparation I needed for the profession I progressed to.

By contrast, in this current century I’ve wept countless tears of frustration over the preparation of PowerPoint presentations. But the YA in the family told of his post-lockdown fellow uni students (RG) having conniptions over one short essay per term. Hard to get my head around.

In Engineering the accreditation process makes some attempt to ensure that standards are similar across different universities. I believe even Cambridge has a proper level of assessment in their chemical engineering design project now 😂 (Chem Eng in joke).

This is what a research poster looks like. I just did a Google image search. Is it so very different from writing a journal article? Never done either, so I don't know.