First-class honours degrees double since 1997

THE percentage of university students getting first-class honours has almost doubled since 1997.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe yesterday confirmed to the Dáil that a review by his department had found significant “grade inflation” in both third and second-level.

The analysis found the percentage of university students getting first-class honours degrees rose from 8.3% in 1997 to 16.2% in 2008.

Similarly, the number of first-class awards given out by institutes of technology (excluding the Dublin Institute of Technology) increased from 11.2% in 1998 to 16.6% in 2008.

At second-level, the analysis of Leaving Certificate grades between 1992 and 2009 again showed significant grade inflation.

The proportion of students obtaining As or Bs in higher-level papers rose from 27% in 1992 to 43% last year. The proportion obtaining As, Bs or Cs in higher-level papers rose from 64% to 76%.

But Mr O’Keeffe said most of the Leaving Cert grade inflation took place during the 1990s, adding that grades had “largely stabilised” since the establishment of the State Examination Commission in 2003, and, therefore, was no longer a problem.

On grade inflation at third-level, Mr O’Keeffe said this was “an international phenomenon”. He said the proportion of third-level students obtaining first-class honours in Britain had risen from 8.4% in 1999 to 13.3% in 2008.

Fine Gael education spokesman, Brian Hayes, said the analysis was “very worrying”, and confirmed the suspicions of many people in the education sector. He claimed the Department of Education had been “in denial” about the issue for years, and said the minister only took action when US multinationals in Ireland raised their concerns about the quality of graduates.

The minister said there were “differing views” on whether grade increases were of concern. “Some would argue that it is indicative of a wider relaxation of standards and points to a dilution of quality in the system. On the other hand, it can be argued that it indicates improvements in teaching, developments of assessment procedures or better-motivated and better-prepared students.”

The Union of Students in Ireland has welcomed the grade inflation report.

“It is in the interests of the students of Ireland that we ensure Irish qualifications are recognised and respected at an international level. However, it is also important that Irish Institutes of Technology and universities do not become mere ‘degree factories’ for the benefit of big business,” said USI deputy president Dan O’Neill.