The Higher Education Academy (HEA) have today released a report recommending that UK institutions adopt an ‘internationally recognisable’ grade point average (GPA) system.
“The latest Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) figures indicate that 70% of honours degree awards now fall into the upper second or first class category. GPA offers an important opportunity to tackle this situation and provide students with a more internationally recognisable measure” says the report.
The report draws on the outcomes of a pilot study facilitated by the HEA in which 21 diverse providers performed a retrospective data modelling exercise on 2012-13 student achievement outcomes using a common GPA scale.
Four providers (from different mission groups and UK nations) were selected to undertake additional testing on each of three modified scales. Following this the GPA scale in table 1 is recommended by the report for adoption by UK higher education.
The proposed GPA scale aligns with UK marking patterns and will be competitive in an international context, the report says. It is similar to the core North American model and was adopted for the pilot because “it has a long track record and is better-known globally than other GPAs”.
The report finds several limitations of the current HDC system; difficulty in representing the breadth of student achievement; insufficient differentiation between student performance; limited transparency in how the HDC is calculated; lack of international recognition.
The benefits of GPA listed in the report include;
- increased granularity in a students award – “particularly beneficial to employers in the fair and effective selection of students for graduate jobs”
- greater student motivation and engagement – “strong marks in final modules can increase [a students] ultimate GPA score”
- international recognition and student mobility
- increased transparency
During the pilot the potential for ‘dual running’ was debated. Students would be given two measures of achievement, a GPA and an HDC. The Advisory Group judged that, “on balance, the strength of the perceived benefits of GPA alongside the continuity provided by retaining HDC for the immediate future outweigh possible disadvantages.”
The traditional North American GPA system calculates marks from all years of study, when asked, the majority (eleven to four) of pilot providers were in favour of excluding first year marks in GPA calculation. Similarly, according to the report, over two thirds of pilot providers would like to retain exit velocity (weighting the final levels of study).
The report states a general consensus among pilot providers that to adopt a GPA method, there would need to be change to institutional regulations. “In general, dual running was seen as offering less need to alter regulations than the adoption of GPA in place of HDC. Those who anticipated major change mentioned the need for a full review of regulations, or a significant proportion.”
In terms of resit arrangements, the report said that “The pilot providers’ comments on these matters were variable. Seven providers anticipated little or no change to their arrangements for progression and resits whereas a number did consider that significant changes would be needed. These were less about the practice of resits and more about the rules for marking recouped fails (e.g. awarding ‘capped marks’), and progression and award rules, including condonement and compensation.”
The report also stated that “decisions would be required regarding the treatment of study abroad credit. This would be at the discretion of providers.”
According to the report, consultation with students provides a mixed picture of views on GPA, while some are in favour, there are concerns regarding the operation, implementation and extent of use in the sector. “In general students did not want their institution to be out of step with the rest of the sector and particular concern was expressed about the possibility of their institution moving to GPA alone without such a move being made in at least a significant number of other institutions.”
There are early indications that large employers would welcome the transparency of GPA and “GPA as a cumulative measure could be particularly helpful to them because graduate recruitment processes can begin well before a student graduates” says the report.
“The next steps in taking forward the GPA work will require widespread dissemination and consultation across the sector and with interested parties such as employers and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies, and the development of guidance for key stakeholder groups.”
