Universities have vowed to crack down on grade inflation in the first joint pledge to stop runaway numbers of first-class degrees.
The collective action against dumbing down comes after the Department for Education and the student watchdog, the Office for Students, put pressure on institutions to tackle the issue.
The announcement from Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, means that universities have agreed to protect the value of degree qualifications, be more transparent about how top degrees are awarded, and tackle perceptions of first-class degrees becoming easier to attain.
The proportion of students awarded a first-class degree was 27 per cent last year, up from 18 per cent six years ago.
Universities UK said that higher education institutions had agreed to take action to protect the