UK: University to scrap first-class degrees

University College London will stop telling students whether they have received a first, second or third, and instead give them an American-style 'grade point average', writes Julie Henry for The Telegraph. The new system gives students a score based on all the courses they have taken as undergraduates.

The move comes after 'award inflation', which has undermined the traditional undergraduate degree classification. Official figures showed almost two-thirds of students gained a first or upper-second class degree in 2010. Some 46,825 students - one in seven - were awarded first-class degrees by UK universities, double the number a decade ago.

Malcolm Grant, the provost of UCL, said that the honours degree classification was no longer capable of providing the information that students deserve and employers require. "There is clearly award inflation," he said.
Full report on The Telegraph site