More than 100,000 students graduated with top honours from British universities last summer, according to official data which also showed a steep slump in the numbers of part-time and mature students entering higher education.

The percentage graduating from university with first-class degrees rose to 26%, or more than one in four overall, show figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 2016-17, continuing a trend of annual increases in the number getting top honours.

In 2012-13, 18% of undergraduates received firsts, or nearly 70,000 in total. By last summer the total reached 101,000, surpassing the 100,000 level for the first time.

It means that, for the first time, more students graduated with first-class degrees than received lower second-class degrees (2:2) or worse. Around half received upper seconds (2:1), a proportion that has remained stable for several years.

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More than 14,000 more women than men received firsts. Just 4% of women graduating last year were awarded third-class or pass degrees, compared with 6% of men.

The Universities UK lobbying group said it was important the public had confidence in academic standards.

“The sector has changed significantly in recent years, with universities putting more emphasis on the quality of teaching and investing in technology and learning support, alongside the fact that with higher fees, students may be working harder to achieve higher grades,” a spokesperson for UUK said.

The data also showed the continuing rise in school leavers going on to higher education, with overall numbers up by 2%, including the 2016-17 intake. There was particularly strong growth in the numbers taking higher degrees, as the impact of extending tuition fee loans to postgraduates made itself felt.

The headline rise disguised continuing falls in some areas, especially among part-time students, where the UK total fell by 4% in the space of one year.

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Les Ebdon, the outgoing director of the Office For Fair Access, said the drop was of concern following years of steep decline in part-time students since the introduction of £9,000 fees in England in 2012.

“As part-time students are more likely to be from disadvantaged and under-represented groups, this continuing decline should be a profound concern to all those involved in widening participation,” Ebdon said.

“The opportunity to study part-time can open doors and change lives, especially for people who were not able to go straight into higher education after school.”

Ebdon called on his successor at the new Office for Students to do more to arrest the decline in numbers.

“Universities and colleges have been working hard to understand the reasons for this trend, but incremental change is not enough for those potential students whose talent is being wasted by a lack of flexible study options that meet their needs,” he said.

In England, the number of part-time students aged 30 and over entering first degrees in 2016-17 was down by nearly 40% compared to 2012. But in Scotland, where local students pay no fees, the number of older mature students starting their first degree was little changed.

There was further growth in students from the EU and in the number of international students from China, which both rose by 7% annually. Last year more than 66,000 students from China began studying at UK universities.

本文來源：https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jan/11/more-degree-students-graduating-with-firsts-than-22s-or-below