Higher education in England has expanded in most years since the Second World War, moving from an elite system to a mass one where half of school leavers now progress to university. A lasting funding settlement, however, has proved elusive as the generosity of the post-war decades became unviable as the sector expanded. Eventually this led to the…

This paper examines the introduction at Oxford Brookes University of a Grade Point Average (GPA) scheme alongside the traditional honours degree classification. It considers the reasons for the introduction of GPA, the way in which the scheme was implemented, and offers an insight into the impact of GPA at Brookes. Finally, the paper considers…