Introducing a new band of top marks in UK universities to address grade inflation is a ¡°necessary¡± step but can only be a short-term fix for a system that is now ¡°fundamentally flawed¡±, an academic said.

A report by Universities UK, the Quality Assurance Agency and GuildHE?that calls for a consultation to look at ways to tackle apparent grade inflation in the sector, suggests that ¡°starred firsts¡± could be one possible way to address growing difficulties with the country¡¯s degree classification structure.

The share of students achieving firsts has now reached more than a quarter.

The report says that its main recommendations ¨C which include universities being more transparent about how they calculate degree marks ¨C ¡°may not provide a long-term resolution to the sustainability of the degree classification system¡±.

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As a result, it suggests that a sector-wide ¡°task and finish group¡± be set up to look at wider reform of the grading system including ¡°reviewing the merits of a new classification structure, such as a new top classification, potentially referred to as a starred first, or alternative grading structures¡±.

Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, who has advocated such a move, said he was ¡°pleased¡± that starred firsts were now being considered but said deeper issues also had to be addressed.

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¡°It is necessary, but can only be a palliative,¡±?said Professor Smithers. ¡°In the short term it would identify ¡®the best of the best¡¯ in the wake of the rampant grade inflation. But it would be a temporary solution to a process which has become fundamentally flawed.¡±

He said that, unlike nationally assessed school exams like A levels, where a starred category has been used, universities were all individual awarding bodies?that had ¡°been trying to outdo each other in giving more and more top degrees for at least the past 15 years¡±.

This had been exacerbated by the rise in tuition fees and view of students as customers, he added, and institutions¡¯ ¡°irresponsible behaviour¡± now risked harming their autonomy from government unless they worked together on major reform.

¡°Fundamentally, they must find ways of upholding standards,¡± he said.

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Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said he had ¡°always been a little wary of the idea of starred firsts¡± and A*s were no longer used at GCSE level, ¡°so it would seem a little perverse to adopt it in HE now¡±.

He argued that more attention should be given to considering?a major overhaul?such as moving to a grade point average-type system like that used in the US and elsewhere.

¡°[Grade point average] is definitely worth giving more time to. As the university sector has grown more diverse, with a wider range of institutions and more diverse students, and as the number of employers who employ graduates has grown, the old grading system has come to look a little rough and unsophisticated,¡± Mr Hillman said.

Some universities already offer starred firsts or distinctions for the top-scoring students, but the methodology for awarding these varies across the sector.

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simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com