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Following consultations with the higher education sector and employers, the report recommends introducing a single document, to be known as a ‘Higher Education Achievement Report’ (HEAR), which would be the key vehicle for measuring and recording student achievement.

The report recommends:

• introducing the ‘Higher Education Achievement Report’ (HEAR) by academic year 2010/11, running it alongside the existing degree classification system.
• basing the content of the HEAR on the current academic transcript and incorporating the European Diploma Supplement.
• the HEAR having core content common to all institutions, which will be free to add additional information as they see fit.
• a transitional, exploratory stage allowing institutions to develop the HEAR in parallel with the honours degree classification.

The report has been prepared by the Measuring and Recording Student Achievement Steering Group – the ‘Burgess Group’ – for the UK higher education sector. This is the group's third and final report on measuring and recording student achievement.  

Professor Bob Burgess, Chair of the Burgess Group, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, said: “The report presents a strong case for change. The UK honours degree is a robust and highly-valued qualification, but the degree classification system needs updating. The continued use of overall judgements such as upper second and lower second actively inhibits the use of wider information about students. Graduates deserve more than simply a single number to sum up their academic work when they leave university."

“During the consultation we listened carefully to the views of a range of stakeholders. As a result, the report recommends a four-year development and testing phase for a new transcript system as part of a ‘Higher Education Achievement Report’."

Thorough consultation 

“Such a system will contain a wider range of information than the current academic transcript and will capture more fully than now the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s performance. As we explore and develop a new system, it is anticipated that alternatives to the existing honours degree classification will be explored.”

Professor Rick Trainor, President, Universities UK, said: “This has been a thorough consultation and I welcome the report’s recommendations. The higher education sector is now changed beyond all recognition from that which gave rise to the traditional honours degree classification system over 200 years ago. I urge the sector to take on this challenge to develop a system for recording achievement that meets the demands of the 21st century.”

Pamela Taylor, Chair of GuildHE and Principal of Newman College of Higher Education, said: "Students in our universities and colleges work tremendously hard over a period of years to achieve excellent results, often in the face of financial and other pressures. It is right that we take time to consider how best to present those results so that employers and others can recognise the full range of student achievement.  I welcome the Burgess report and am grateful to those who have taken such care in considering how to proceed."

Positive step 

Commenting on the publication of the report, Mike Harris, Head of Education and Skills Policy at the Institute of Directors (IoD), said: "Many employers will welcome the prospect of receiving greater detail on students’ academic achievements, as the increasing proportion gaining top grades can make it difficult to differentiate between the best candidates."

“It is also a positive step to introduce this additional information alongside – rather than in place of – the current classification system which gives overall grades such as Firsts, 2:1s and 2:2s. However, the determination ultimately to replace the current system remains clear. This would be a mistake. Whilst not flawless, it is well understood by employers and is an important recruiting aid."

“A move to a more simplistic Pass/Fail system would risk placing a considerable extra burden on employers, particularly those with multiple graduate applicants. It would be especially burdensome for small businesses, the majority of whom simply do not have a dedicated human resources department or manager to handle the recruitment process.” 

Related links

• Universities UK
• Beyond the honours degree classification: The Burgess Group final report