Lecturers face investigations if students’ average grades fall below a 2:1 level

Staff members at the Queen Mary University of London have been told that investigations may be conducted against them if they begin to award average marks that are below a 2:1 level.

In an email shown to the Times Higher Education, lecturers from the University’s School of Business and Management have been asked to keep in mind the “60:60:60 principle”, when marking students’ work.

The principle assesses whether the average mark given for an assessment is below 60% (which is the minimum requirement in most universities for a 2:1 level) and whether, as a whole, at least 60% of students are receiving a mark greater than 60.

The memo advised staff that this principle “is not an aspirational target for marks” but that it is the “minimum threshold for further investigation”.

Only 63% of Queen Mary graduates from the business school took a minimum of a 2:1 in the 2016-17 academic year

Queen Mary, in defence of implementing this principle, has argued that the approach was only being used in its business school where there was a history of underachievement amongst past students compared to similar institutions.

Only 63% of Queen Mary graduates from the business school took a minimum of a 2:1 in the 2016-17 academic year, compared to 80% of business graduates from 10 other Russell Group universities.

A spokesman from the university has stated that they are “looking at why this is” and that the university has “a responsibility to ensure students reach their potential”.

Grade inflation, in which more students are achieving firsts than ever before, is a current worry among those in higher education.

In response to these fears, however, some reports have argued that evidence shows students are merely better prepared and more hardworking compared to previous years.

A degree is one of the most important investments most graduates will make in their lifetimes

Jo Johnson, ex-universities minister, expressed his concern over grade inflation and employment in a speech given in September.

Johnson told an audience at a Universities UK conference: “A degree is one of the most important investments most graduates will make in their lifetimes. Students rightly want hard work at university to be recognised and for their degree to be a currency that carries prestige and holds its value.”

As a result, the minister introduced a new metric into the teaching excellence framework, which will attempt to “recognise providers who are genuinely tackling grade inflation, and hold to account those who are not”.