Grade inflation in Irish universities on ITs

simu

Users of this forum might be interested in the following website: http://www.stopgradeinflation.ie/index.html

It is claimed that grade inflation is a real problem in the Irish third level sector and that qualifications will lose value as a result. What do ye think? Is this a reversible trend?

Whoops - title should read "and ITs"!

embraer170

Well we know what lecturers to avoid in the ITT:
http://www.stopgradeinflation.ie/aboutus.html

More seriously (and I haven't read any of the many studies on the topic), is it really a case of grade inflation or is it just becoming easier to research stuff (internet, electronic databases) and more importantly, present your work clearly? I know if I had to hand write essays my grades would suffer.

One thing I have noticed in UCC has been a move towards continious assessment. I know the LSE openly takes the opinion that essays etc. are an unfair measure of student abilities because of being able to get outside help etc. Of course there’s the counter argument (which I'd probably take) that exams are just as unfair… and lead to cramming before exams rather than work throughout the year.

There was an interesting set of documents on the ITT website some months ago aimed at teachers / lecturers discussing the different learning strategies students use and how exam questions can be adapted to counter these.

In my four year of college, I've really noticed two distinct marking trends (business / social science subjects):
A) People who mark between 61 and 68... hand in anything you'll probably get 61 (even if half the essay is off topic), make an effort you'll probably get 65-68 ... write the best essay the lecturer has seen and you'll get 70.
People who mark between the 30s and the 90s. A lot of students in the low 50s, a lot in the high 60s / low 70s and even a willingless to mark in the 80s and 90s if a student has made a real effort.
In both cases the means marks floats around the 60-63 but obviously with quite different results for students.

experiMental

please... be quiet about grade inflation. I want to get at least a 2:2 in product design, so that I could get into Interaction Design in Trinity and then develop user interfaces for mobile phones or GPS's, so you won't have to fiddle around with buttons for hours to send a text message or calculate distance from A to B.

The real education takes place during Master's degree, in some cases.

Most undergraduate courses are not created to suit some students' needs and ambitions, but they are created to suit industry requirements. Most people have to study those courses to get a path to a decent life, am I right?

I like maths, physics, art, design and computing parts of product design course, but I loathe the law, business and marketing parts of it. I have to pass them in order to get my degree. If I'll pass these parts due to grade inflation, I'm in with a chance of getting a degree.

There are loads of people who are in a similar situation - those who want to work in an area that only 30% or so of the course concentrates on, but who are struggling with the other 70% of the syllabus. If they can take an advantage of grade inflation, they could improve our lives and environment in the long term.

In conclusion, do NOT stop grade inflation in Universities and IOT's.

P.S - remember, the founder of Microsoft was a college dropout, and you may actually be sitting in front of a computer that's operated by a Microsoft Operating system.

lukin

I say fair play to the lecturer's behind this site. What they are doing won't make them very popular with their peers but they obviously are of the opinion that grades are being bumped up by lecturer's just to make their college/IT look good and you have to say facts back them up.
It's absolute bull**** that 2:2's are being handed out like candy instead of making people work for them.

Lump

A Desmond is hardly a good degree.... You don't have to work hard to get one.

John

lukin

Lump wrote:

A Desmond is hardly a good degree.... You don't have to work hard to get one.

John

A Desmond?

Lump

Tu Tu

simu

Are we in tcn?

Lump

TCN? No, I was just referencing a comic with my discussion of a degree. I find it odd that lukin seems to think that you need to "Work" for a 2.2. It's an easy degree to get, I'd be suprised if they are being handed out like candy.

John

Tom Dunne

Lump wrote:

Tu Tu

ROFL. I've never heard of it referred to as a Desmond.:D

Very good.

Lump

I'm trying to remember what comic it was, I'm thinking Dara O Briain, but I don't think it was.....