Irish college students getting more 'firsts'
Irish students are four times more likely to get a first class honours degree than they were seven years ago.
The proportion of higher grades being handed out is increasing, prompting concerns that our colleges are “dumbing down”.
It used to be the elite few who managed to gain the distinction of a first-class honours degree at university.
Now it seems that Irish universities are handing them out more easily than ever before.
In Trinity College, more than one in seven students get a first, that’s compared to one in eleven in 1998.
17% of students in UCC, and 11% of students in University of Limerick get more than 70% in their final grades.
The proportion of graduates leaving UCD with a first has almost doubled, while NUI Galway has had a less pronounced increase.
University representatives say exams are not getting easier, and students are not getting any better.
But they say the shift is down to more consistent and fairer marking of papers.
