First Class Clowns

This term is going to be a nightmare for hundreds of panicking third years trying to juggle LCR jaegerbombs with a final push for that elusive first.

But we may be in luck after a sneaky UEA professor sent a MEMO asking his colleagues to dish us out higher grades.

Academic Director for Taught Programmes Adam Longcroft told lecturers ‘To put it bluntly, too few students are being awarded 2:1s and firsts’. He slammed academics, saying that some believed that students had to be on the ‘verge of genius’ to receive a first.

Professor Longcroft wants us to get higher marks.

According to Professor Longcroft, the reason students are slogging away only to receive 2:2s is because UEA’s marking culture is marked with ‘conservatism’ and ‘timidity’.

And there’s good news too for those of us who still don’t know how to use a semi-colon. Longcroft also suggests that ‘If a student performs very strongly in most of the criteria, but their work contains grammatical errors, a first mark can and should be awarded.’

The memo, distributed in 2012, was obtained by the Mail on Sunday via a Freedom of Information request.

Just 16% of UEA students were awarded a first in 2012- and students are now asking if this memo could affect their final grades.

Could you walk away with a First from the University of Easy Access?

Third year History student Abby Tempest trusts our lecturers. ‘I personally don’t think my chances [of getting a better grade] are higher based on this idea of ‘dumbing-down’ I work with the intention of getting a 2:1 or 1st and trust the marking to be done fairly.’

Joe Murphy, a final year English student, hopes our degrees are not being dumbed down. ‘Giving everyone a top grade kind of defeats the point, but it is true that sometimes the smallest thing can drag your grade down and it’s difficult not to feel hard done-by.’

Soon to be History graduate Jon Gifford echoed, however, the relief we’re all feeling. ‘I’m just glad UEA is called “A top university” in the first line of the Mail’s story.’

Could the walk up these stairs now seem a little less nerve-wracking?

In a statement tonight, UEA said ‘We totally refute any accusation of deliberate dumbing down and the claim that students are being awarded degrees they do not deserve is utterly incorrect and totally unfounded.

‘UEA has moved up in the league tables in recent years because of the outstanding quality of our student experience, and especially the quality of our teaching, and because we have improved staffing levels.

We maintain the highest academic standards and there is no pressure on academics to mark more leniently.’

It is believed the plan was dropped after lecturers raised concerns that it would compromise their ability to mark fairly.

Meanwhile, the friendly bunch on the Mail Online comments board have been using the memo as an excuse to bash UEA. ‘The UEA (University of Easy Access) is not a top university. It was and still is a lower grade university. It even lost its physics department a few years ago. These lower grade universities will do what ever they can to improve their image (remember UEA’s promimnent [sic] role in the Climategate scandal)’ said Phillip of Sheffield.

Sin Nick from Hong Kong commented ‘Well, a first-class degree from the University of East Anglia is equal to a third-class degree from any reputable university, so it makes sense.’

Do you think your chances of scoring a First are now higher? Or do you worry that you’re now going to receive a dumbed-down degree? Let us know in the comments section!