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Recovery from university grade inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic varies by faculty.

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Title: Recovery from university grade inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic varies by faculty.
Authors: Kuperman, Victor (AUTHOR), Geva, Esther (AUTHOR), Taler, Vanessa (AUTHOR), Thériault, Kim (AUTHOR)
Source: Studies in Higher Education. Feb2026, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p406-421. 16p.
Subjects: COVID-19 pandemic, Grade point average, Higher education, Grading of students, Educational standards, Academic achievement, Universities & colleges
Abstract: Recovery from university grade inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic varies by faculty Higher education institutions worldwide report a drastic increase in grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it was not paralleled by an increase in student achievements, the consensus is that the pandemic came with grade inflation, which exceeded the systematic multiannual trends of grade inflation. The present paper adds two novel aspects to this body of research. First, unlike most existing reports, this study covers the post-pandemic timespan and quantifies the degree of return to pre-pandemic grading patterns. We examine changes in grade point average (GPA) values in undergraduate students from two Canadian universities (N = 32,753 and N = 15,101) in the circum-pandemic period from 2018–2019 through 2022–2023. Second, we consider changes in grading by university faculty. The central finding in both universities is that post-pandemic GPAs returned fully to pre-pandemic levels only in some faculties (e.g. Business, Engineering, Health Sciences) but are still inflated in others (e.g. Humanities, Social Sciences) compared to pre-pandemic levels. Thus, post-pandemic grades stemming from some faculties are more trustworthy, i.e. exhibit less inflation and are more closely aligned with student achievement, than in other faculties. We provide correlational evidence that the faculties that have curbed grade inflation more successfully are the more selective ones and arguably have more incentives to maintain higher educational standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Recovery from university grade inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic varies by faculty.
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  Data: Recovery from university grade inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic varies by faculty Higher education institutions worldwide report a drastic increase in grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since it was not paralleled by an increase in student achievements, the consensus is that the pandemic came with grade inflation, which exceeded the systematic multiannual trends of grade inflation. The present paper adds two novel aspects to this body of research. First, unlike most existing reports, this study covers the post-pandemic timespan and quantifies the degree of return to pre-pandemic grading patterns. We examine changes in grade point average (GPA) values in undergraduate students from two Canadian universities (N = 32,753 and N = 15,101) in the circum-pandemic period from 2018–2019 through 2022–2023. Second, we consider changes in grading by university faculty. The central finding in both universities is that post-pandemic GPAs returned fully to pre-pandemic levels only in some faculties (e.g. Business, Engineering, Health Sciences) but are still inflated in others (e.g. Humanities, Social Sciences) compared to pre-pandemic levels. Thus, post-pandemic grades stemming from some faculties are more trustworthy, i.e. exhibit less inflation and are more closely aligned with student achievement, than in other faculties. We provide correlational evidence that the faculties that have curbed grade inflation more successfully are the more selective ones and arguably have more incentives to maintain higher educational standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/03075079.2025.2470297
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Higher education
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      – SubjectFull: Grading of students
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      – SubjectFull: Educational standards
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              Text: Feb2026
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              Y: 2026
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