Source: Getty

Moving target: sector told to focus on launching one new system, not two

The introduction in the UK of a US-style grade point average will baffle employers and bog the sector down in ¡°fruitless and divisive debates¡±, according to the vice-president for union development at the National Union of Students.

Vicki Baars¡¯ comments are among the latest high-profile criticisms of the proposed overhaul of the UK¡¯s traditional degree class system, led by a group of universities mainly from the Russell Group.

Speaking at a conference in London on 8 May, she said the sector should get on with introducing the Higher Education Achievement Report (Hear) before embarking on something new.

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The Hear, which is backed by Universities UK but not universally supported by institutions, is intended to give employers a more rounded view of a graduate by detailing extracurricular activities and specific exam results, and could include either a degree class or a GPA score.

Employers, who were ¡°just getting used¡± to the Hear, would think universities were ¡°obsessed with constant turbulence¡± if they also moved to a GPA system, Ms Baars told the event, Higher Education Achievement Reports (HEAR): Implementation, Employer Engagement and the Future of Degree Classification.

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Ms Baars said: ¡°If we keep moving the goalposts, how can we expect our students to score a goal? Let¡¯s focus on promoting the system we¡¯ve got.¡±

Her comments follow a resolution at the NUS¡¯ national conference in April to oppose the introduction of a GPA system unless it was done by the majority of universities in the UK and across a broad range of institutions.

Because the universities looking to introduce the GPA system are mostly from the Russell Group, the move ¡°risks creating a divide between Russell Group graduates and those from other institutions¡±, the NUS concluded.

Anthony Smith, vice-provost for education at University College London, responded at the conference to the NUS objections. ¡°I suspect if they had just been awarded a 2:2 they might have a slightly different view,¡± he said.

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¡°I imagine there will be a lengthy period of transition,¡± he continued, adding, ¡°I think ultimately the use of the GPA¡­will win the day.¡±

GPA advocates say that its introduction would encourage students to work harder because it takes into account all their marks and eliminates the ¡°cliff edge¡± effect whereby all graduates with a 2:2 are ruled out by some employers.

UCL had hoped to pilot a GPA system this academic year, but last month it emerged that this was unlikely to happen before 2014-15. David Willetts, the universities and science minister, has asked the Higher Education Academy to broker a ¡°national debate¡± on whether the GPA could be rolled out nationwide.

Oxford Brookes University has already announced that it will bring in a GPA model alongside the traditional degree classification system from September.

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The conference also heard from Lynn Martin, president of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, who said that the use of both the Hear and a GPA system could confuse small firms.

Based on feedback on the Hear from her institute¡¯s 600 members, ¡°a lot of them are deeply depressed by its complexity, and its lack of accessibility to them as small-firm owners¡±, Professor Martin said.

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david.matthews@tsleducation.com