The axe may fall on Desmond

The death knell may be within earshot for the gentleman's Third, not to mention the "Desmond" (as in Desmond Tutu, or 2:2, in student-speak).

A report based on a three-year study by degree standards watchdogs has suggested that the replacement of traditional honours degree classifications with a pass/fail system is "desirable", at least as a long-term goal.

Academics, employers, students and professional bodies all found the idea of "threshold standards" attractive, according to the final report of the Graduate Standards Programme, run by the Higher Education Quality Council.

Students facing increased bills for higher education wanted a guarantee of minimum course quality, employers wanted to be sure the letters BA after a job applicant's name could be trusted as a mark of ability, and academics were drawn to the idea as a means of re-establishing comparable degree standards, the HEQC found.

But introducing a pass/fail system that itself passes the rigour test in universities from Cambridge to Luton cannot be achieved overnight, the report admits. Before institutions can consider exchanging Firsts, Seconds and Thirds for passes and fails, there must be more assurance that the qualifications on offer are comparable.

HEQC rejected the ultimate guarantee of comparability - a national curriculum and national assessment for higher education - but came down firmly in favour of a range of other steps, including stronger external examining, more emphasis on standards when programmes are designed and approved and more training for examiners.

The report's authors insist the exercise is possible, despite the wide variety of courses and institutions in the British higher education system. Though universities, like cars, vary widely in type and purpose, they could all be obliged to pass common quality standards in the same way that a racing car and a family saloon both had to pass an MOT, the watchdogs say.

The HEQC's action plan also includes a recommendation that universities agree to abide by a national awards framework, under which terms such as "diploma" would have the same meaning from Manchester to De Montfort. Simply introducing common terminology would go a long way to increasing clarity in higher education, the report says.

Critics might argue that the Graduate Standards Programme has taken three years to come up with a report which has dared go no further than recommend a review of the degree classification system - a revolutionary step contemplated at the outset.

HEQC chief executive Roger Brown defends the progress made. The study proposed changes to the "academic heartland" of higher education, which had traditionally been a "secret garden", he saysn

Lucy Ward