The proportion of UK undergraduates achieving a first-class degree fell for the first time on record last year, new figures show.

The ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Statistics Agency (Hesa) said the fall was likely caused by a return to in-person exams after the Covid-19 pandemic and by pressure on English providers applied by the Office for Students (OfS), the sector regulator.

A decrease towards pre-pandemic levels was welcomed by the OfS, which said unchecked grade inflation could ¡°erode public trust¡±.

The new??that 32.1 per cent of first-degree students were awarded a first-class honours classification in 2021-22 ¨C down from the peak of 36.4 per cent the year before and the first ever fall on record.

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The proportion getting firsts was still well above the 28.2 per cent who were awarded them in 2018-19, before the pandemic.

The share receiving a 2:1 increased slightly over the past year, to 46.5 per cent.

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¡°No detriment¡± policies?designed to keep students from being disadvantaged by the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had previously led to a sharp increase in the proportion of first-class degrees awarded.

Although most of these policies were discontinued in 2020-21, online examinations continued, and many providers instituted policies to mitigate the ongoing difficulties faced by students.

The OfS raised concerns about pandemic-era grade inflation becoming ¡°baked in¡± and in September initiated regulatory investigations of three providers over ¡°sharp increases¡± in the number of first-class and upper second-class degrees they have awarded.

UK universities have pledged to bring the proportion of students achieving ¡°upper¡± degrees back to 2019 levels by 2023.

Lucy Van Essen-Fishman, lead policy and research analyst at Hesa, said many exams returned to in-person format last year, and as a result, some students ¡°may have struggled to achieve the marks which they might have achieved in an online examination¡±.

She said that guidance from the OfS may also have had an impact. ¡°Providers were under pressure to ensure that the high grades awarded during the first years of the pandemic did not become a permanent fixture of UK higher education,¡± she said.

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The share of bachelor¡¯s students being awarded a 2:2 rose from 14.5 per cent in 2020-21 to 17.3 per cent last year.

And 4 per cent of undergraduates received a third-class honours last year ¨C up from 3 per cent the year before.

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Both these rises were the largest percentage-point increases on record.

Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS, said the figures showed a ¡°welcome decrease back towards pre-pandemic levels¡± in the proportion of firsts awarded.

¡°Left unchecked, grade inflation can erode public trust, and it is important that the OfS can and does intervene where it has concerns about the credibility of degrees,¡± she added.

¡°Universities and colleges understand that they must ensure that the degrees they award are credible and properly represent students¡¯ achievement.

¡°This is the way to maintain the confidence of students, employers and the wider public in higher education qualifications.¡±

The figures show that a total of 2.3 million students enrolled in UK higher education in 2021-22 ¨C up 4 per cent year-on-year, though the number of undergraduates fell by 2 per cent.

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Meanwhile, the number of students starting a postgraduate course rose 9 per cent from 2020-21.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com