Number of first-class degrees falls for first time since records began
In 2021/22, 32% of undergraduate degrees were awarded a first class honours classification, a fall of four percentage points.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has recorded a fall in the number of first-class degrees awarded for the first time.
In 2021/22, 32% of undergraduate degrees were awarded a first-class honours classification, a fall of four percentage points from 36% from the year before, the HESA said.
However, 46% of students were awarded upper second-class degrees in 2021/22, the same proportion as in 2020/21.
It marks the first time that the HESA has recorded a fall in the number of first-class degrees awarded since it was founded in 1993 and comes after universities in England pledged last July to reverse degree inflation.
Universities UK and GuildHE promised that by 2023 they would bring the proportion of upper second and first-class degrees back in line with pre-pandemic levels.
The pandemic saw a rise in grade inflation following the introduction of policies to mitigate the impact of disruption from Covid, including open-book exams.
HESA statistics released on Thursday also show a significant change in where foreign students are coming from.
The number of non-EU domicile first year entrants rose by 32% compared with 2020/21, with the number of students from India rising by 50%.
Altogether there were 350,325 non-EU domicile first year entrants, with 126,535 of them coming from India.
In contrast, the number of EU domicile entrants fell by 53%.