Deloitte, claiming to be UK’s biggest private sector graduate employer, says the recommendations by the Burgess Group to phase out degree classifications would make assessing graduate candidates more difficult but it sees merit in a higher education achievement report (HEAR) as the key vehicle for measuring and recording student achievement.

‘The current grade classification system does make it easier to differentiate between prospective employees,’ Sarah Shillingford, Deloitte graduate recruitment partner said. ‘At Deloitte we receive in excess of 15,000 applications for 1,400 graduate and undergraduate positions which are assessed across a range of criteria.

‘One of these criteria is for students to achieve a 2:1 degree. This provides students with clear and transparent information about our selection process.

‘Whilst we are not in favour of the removal of the degree classification system, the Higher Education Achievement Report may be useful when assessing students who narrowly miss out on achieving a higher degree.’

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