Universities in England have made a first-of-its-kind commitment to reversing grade inflation after admitting that the spiralling number of first-class degrees risks undermining confidence in the sector.

After coming under pressure from the regulator, members of Universities UK (UUK) and GuildHE have given themselves until 2023 to bring the number of “upper” degrees awarded back in line with what they were in 2019.

A statement published by the two bodies acknowledged that measures including “no detriment” policies brought in to ensure students were not disadvantaged by the Covid-19 crisis – though “appropriate and proportionate” at the time – contributed to an increase in the number of students receiving the top grades.

More than a third of undergraduates (37.9 per cent) received a first-class degree in 2020-21 – up from 15.7 per cent in 2010-2011 – while 47 per cent achieved a 2.1, according to an analysis released earlier this year by the Office for Students.

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While improved teaching and assessment methods and student hard work have contributed to better results, the OfS found that 59 per cent of first-class degrees cannot be explained when compared with performance a decade ago.

UUK and GuildHE’s statement said “meaningful action” needed to be taken to address the increases that are not the result of better practices.

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“Students, employers and the public need to feel confident that degree classification is a reliable measure of students’ performances,” it added.

Steve West, president of Universities UK and vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England, said that while students who have graduated over the past three years should continue to have confidence in the qualifications they achieved, the country’s emergence from the pandemic was a chance to look to the future and “strengthen our commitment to fair, transparent and reliable degree classification”.

UUK and GuildHE’s statement pointed to universities’ work to protect the value of degrees before the pandemic hit, which they said was having an impact. In 2018-19, the proportion of firsts rose from 29 to 30 per cent before shooting up to 36 per cent in 2019-20, when lockdowns and other measures severely disrupted the end of the academic year.

In attempting to return to this benchmark, members will publish “degree outcome statements” by the end of 2022, which will include actions on how they intend to achieve the goal.

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Higher education minister Michelle Donelan, who has previously said grade inflation “has to stop”, said she was “delighted” with the “landmark statement”, which she described as the “first time ever” that universities have made such a commitment.

“Hard-working students deserve to know that earning a first or upper second really counts, and that it carries weight with employers – who in turn should be able to trust in the high value and rigorous assessment of university courses,” she added.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com