Are degrees getting easier?

[davieG]

Considering how easy it's supposed to be to get A levels and the subsequent increase in the number of Uni students presumably on the back of these easy A levels coupled with the rise in degrees awarded and the availability of 'easy' subjects then surely Degrees must be getting easier to obtain?

Note, I have no axe to grind on this having not had the opportunity to take either A levels or a degree although I do have a post graduate diploma in Management for what it's worth.

[Webbo]

Apprenticeships are getting easier. When I did mine it was 3 years. 13 weeks block placement and 2 hours, 2 nights a week all year.

Now they are only 2 years and according to 1 of my old tutors they don't learn half what we had to learn in my day.

[davieG]

Apprenticeships are getting easier. When I did mine it was 3 years. 13 weeks block placement and 2 hours, 2 nights a week all year.

Now they are only 2 years and according to 1 of my old tutors they don't learn half what we had to learn in my day.

I can beat that mine was 4 years on a 44 hour week including Saturday mornings. Along with 3 nights at college 6 to 9.

[Craig]

I'm not sure how difficult they used to be, but mine was pretty hard work, ridiculously hard at times.

[davieG]

I'm not sure how difficult they used to be, but mine was pretty hard work, ridiculously hard at times.

But that's what the current A levelers say about A levels and are laughed at.

[Guest]

Degrees are hard to get, and the range of results reflects a more normal distribution (statistically speaking). It is very hard to get a first, certainly in my subject!

[Vacamion]

At Universtity in the early 1990s,

Hairy beardy tutor, discuusing Germany in the Middle ages : Can someone explain what I mean by 'a Fief'???

Fellah with cockney twang : Well... It's a bloke what nicks fings, innit?

He got an upper second with honours.

Case closed.

[Legend_in_blue]

The difficulty of the degree depends on a range of factors - but there are two main ones. These are:

1) The subject you are studying - Maths and Physics will be a lot harder than some wishy-washy degree course.

2) The university you go to. Going to a top 16 university has a lot more credibility than going to an old polytechnic. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, (I'm thinking DMU fashion), but on the whole, you want a recognisable degree, you go to a good university. It will be harder to get a 1st or 2.1 from a credible university.

As for A Levels, content is not easier than 10 years ago, but the way in which these A Levels are examined are. Modules and coursework make it much easier to get higher grades as you end up doing it all in chunks, rather than one big exam on the day type effort.

[Zingari]

it's much easier in Celsius tha Fahrenheit except for when you are talking about heatwaves etc

[Bryn]

It's easier to get degrees in that there appears to now be more Universities offering a wider range of courses at varying difficulty levels, I'd say.

[l444ry]

Exams are Getting Easier due to Massacres

A four year report today concluded that exams are in fact getting easier. Today, students with lower IQs can expect to get higher grades in GCSEs, AS levels and A levels than 40 years ago.

However, in direct contradiction to the common explanation offered by the elderly in pubs and clubs around Great Britain the reason isn't simply that "things were harder in my day".

In fact, the main contributing factor to the lower IQs of today's students is the lack of intelligent pupils taking them. The main reason for this decline is the huge percentage of students being knifed or shot while going about their day to day business.

One student, who didn't wish to be named stated: "It's hard to concentrate on Homer when you are worried that the person sitting next to you might suddenly leap up and massacre your classmates."

In fact, the study concludes that more intelligent students are in fact being killed off, leaving their mentally ill or schizophrenic counterparts to take the exams. Another significant contributory factor is the undermining of intelligent children by their grandparents who are constantly telling them that it was harder in their day, whilst blowing Woodbine smoke into their faces.

[Part Of The Crowd]

That study took four years and the only thing they can say is that students are really frightened that the person next to them is going to kill everyone. Pathetic really.

Edit - finished reading it, it has to be a joke, it must be, I know it...

[Katy]

My degree isn't easy, I am dreading going back

[lcfc_jme]

My degree isn't easy, I am dreading going back

Amen to that, sister!

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

[Lillehamring]

some of mine was really hard, some was dead easy...

american cinema, that was dead easy - watching 'pretty woman' and 'point break' - i wrote my essay on the subject of the film E.T.

...and i aslo got a 99 grade for one audio technology class, god knows what i needed to do to get 100, or maybe 99 is just the top grade

[Daggers]

Considering how easy it's supposed to be to get A levels and the subsequent increase in the number of Uni students presumably on the back of these easy A levels coupled with the rise in degrees awarded and the availability of 'easy' subjects then surely Degrees must be getting easier to obtain?

Note, I have no axe to grind on this having not had the opportunity to take either A levels or a degree although I do have a post graduate diploma in Management for what it's worth.

Of course degrees are easier, they have to be: they let any dimwit with a "modern" 4 A*s onto a program these days.

[Katy]

Of course degrees are easier, they have to be: they let any dimwit with a "modern" 4 A*s onto a program these days.

Or 'mature' students, you don't need any academic certificate to get into Uni then.

[Babylon]

All I know is the people walking through the door at work with degrees seem to be getting more idiotic as the years go by.

[ozleicester]

hmm tricky question.

Is it possible for you give me a multiple choice answer please

[Guest]

...and i aslo got a 99 grade for one audio technology class, god knows what i needed to do to get 100, or maybe 99 is just the top grade

Some courses have capped grades; whilst it was possible to get 100% on Q&A papers, the overall module mark couldn't be higher than 80%!

[James.]

Think it depends on the subject and the university doesn't it really. Not quite as easily comparable as GCSE's or A-Levels, which are far more standardised qualifications.

On my course (at the ICMA Centre at Reading Uni) a lot of us got firsts. It WAS a tough course but at the same time I think the centre wanted to promote itself within the finance industry and giving firsts out was quite an effective way of doing that. I've no problem admitting that, at the end of the day I got a top mark and a decent job as a result.

[Alan Johnson]

ICMA Centre at Reading Uni

Your having a fooking laugh my friend. My dog could pass with flying colours from that shithole. I would know as I use to lecture finance there.

If you haven't got a job at JLB you have failed in finance.

A.Johnson

[James.]

ICMA Centre at Reading Uni

Your having a fooking laugh my friend. My dog could pass with flying colours from that shithole. I would know as I use to lecture finance there.

If you haven't got a job at JLB you have failed in finance.

A.Johnson

Sorry Alan.

[Lillehamring]

Some courses have capped grades; whilst it was possible to get 100% on Q&A papers, the overall module mark couldn't be higher than 80%!

these go to 99.