That is fair that there changing that truly humiliating. For some a pass is a huge achievement, everyone is different and so to is the life they’ve lived. Also, people who come from privilege would have had additional help from the moment they were born.
For the reasons given, I don’t doubt their sincerity that they don’t want to call out the handful of students left who are getting a third. But ultimately this is a consequence of grade inflation and signals a longer term problem.
In fairness, they all put in the work and achieved their degrees. There’s no reason to put one over the other at the ceremony. When they are applying for jobs, that’s when they will be judged.
If you get a degree, fair F’s to you.
I can’t believe it wasn’t a unanimous decision
I was at the DCU graduation this year. It was all alphabetical, starting with the bachelors degrees and working up to the masters. It never even occurred to me that it would be any other way.
And surely, at the end of the day, the important thing for the thirds is they can still say they went to Trinity with a smug air of superiority.
I graduated from trinity in 2017. Two things I distinctly remember, our friend getting called up for getting a 2:2 when he had told us he got a 2:1 and *one* girl showing up to get her third. There were about 8-10 names or so that got thirds in my group, but only that girl showed up. In fairness, she got a bigger clap than everyone else and fair play to her for heading up.
Jesus christ. Students these days are really wimpy
Honestly as someone who did shit in college, give the people who got a first, their time in the sun. They deserve it. Then the rest should just be random.
For goodness sake! That you have survived college in Ireland! Well done you! You are fantastic!
For the students that had work harder , you give me hope, xx
I skipped my graduation from trinity because of the embarrassment. I’m older and wiser now but it’s a real problem. Glad they are doing something about it.
Is this only for undergrads? I graduated with a first class masters in January this year and I got called up towards the end. It was also one of the covid graduations and there was only 2 of us there (of about 100 or so) from my course so maybe that had something to do with it.
What do you call the guy who graduated bottom of his class in medicine?
Doctor.
I’d agree that calling students out in order of grade could easily be humiliating. Especially in a hall full of your peers and their families.
Alphabetical by course is how my university did it and it’s absolutely a better way of doing it.
Let the people who did well toot their own horn if they want but the university shouldn’t be doing it for them.
Makes sense to me, a friend of mine is in trinity and told me this is how they do it and I was really surprised.
Maybe call out the 1sts then everyone else together?
At Cambridge the entire grading is skewed so a certain % always get a third, 2:1 and 1st. No matter what the actual grade is.
I saw this at my graduation. Some people refused to go and then when the pharmacy class graduated 1 person got a third and we all watched in silence (only other noise was the clack of her heels) as she walked up head down on shame as she was singled out for getting the bottom of her class
They should do it by degree: STEM degrees, such as BS in nuclear physics, would be listed first. Less demanding programs, such as BA in education, would be listed last.
Glad to hear this is changing, in my graduation ceremony only 1 or 2 people got a third and it’s just really awkward calling them up on their own. Alphabetical makes more sense, nobody’s business what grade you got.
You got what you got. A 1.1 is not equal to a 2.2.
Why should the person who graduated top of their class not be recognised on the day?
There will always be exceptions, but typically someone who got a third deserved it.
If you were to believe some of the comments here, no employers care what you got, so why bother grading at all, might as well just do it all pass/fail.
Fair enough. Call them alphabetically, no need to shame people like that
22 comments
That is fair that there changing that truly humiliating. For some a pass is a huge achievement, everyone is different and so to is the life they’ve lived. Also, people who come from privilege would have had additional help from the moment they were born.
Makes sense, a far bigger concern though is grade inflation. [https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/grade-inflation-lowering-standards-in-higher-education-1.4716099](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/grade-inflation-lowering-standards-in-higher-education-1.4716099) Especially after covid: [https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/the-only-way-is-up-one-in-four-graduates-get-a-first-due-to-grade-inflation-as-pandemic-continues-to-make-its-mark-41980905.html](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/the-only-way-is-up-one-in-four-graduates-get-a-first-due-to-grade-inflation-as-pandemic-continues-to-make-its-mark-41980905.html)
For the reasons given, I don’t doubt their sincerity that they don’t want to call out the handful of students left who are getting a third. But ultimately this is a consequence of grade inflation and signals a longer term problem.
In fairness, they all put in the work and achieved their degrees. There’s no reason to put one over the other at the ceremony. When they are applying for jobs, that’s when they will be judged.
If you get a degree, fair F’s to you.
I can’t believe it wasn’t a unanimous decision
I was at the DCU graduation this year. It was all alphabetical, starting with the bachelors degrees and working up to the masters. It never even occurred to me that it would be any other way.
And surely, at the end of the day, the important thing for the thirds is they can still say they went to Trinity with a smug air of superiority.
I graduated from trinity in 2017. Two things I distinctly remember, our friend getting called up for getting a 2:2 when he had told us he got a 2:1 and *one* girl showing up to get her third. There were about 8-10 names or so that got thirds in my group, but only that girl showed up. In fairness, she got a bigger clap than everyone else and fair play to her for heading up.
Jesus christ. Students these days are really wimpy
Honestly as someone who did shit in college, give the people who got a first, their time in the sun. They deserve it. Then the rest should just be random.
For goodness sake! That you have survived college in Ireland! Well done you! You are fantastic!
For the students that had work harder , you give me hope, xx
I skipped my graduation from trinity because of the embarrassment. I’m older and wiser now but it’s a real problem. Glad they are doing something about it.
Is this only for undergrads? I graduated with a first class masters in January this year and I got called up towards the end. It was also one of the covid graduations and there was only 2 of us there (of about 100 or so) from my course so maybe that had something to do with it.
What do you call the guy who graduated bottom of his class in medicine?
Doctor.
I’d agree that calling students out in order of grade could easily be humiliating. Especially in a hall full of your peers and their families.
Alphabetical by course is how my university did it and it’s absolutely a better way of doing it.
Let the people who did well toot their own horn if they want but the university shouldn’t be doing it for them.
Makes sense to me, a friend of mine is in trinity and told me this is how they do it and I was really surprised.
Maybe call out the 1sts then everyone else together?
At Cambridge the entire grading is skewed so a certain % always get a third, 2:1 and 1st. No matter what the actual grade is.
I saw this at my graduation. Some people refused to go and then when the pharmacy class graduated 1 person got a third and we all watched in silence (only other noise was the clack of her heels) as she walked up head down on shame as she was singled out for getting the bottom of her class
They should do it by degree: STEM degrees, such as BS in nuclear physics, would be listed first. Less demanding programs, such as BA in education, would be listed last.
Glad to hear this is changing, in my graduation ceremony only 1 or 2 people got a third and it’s just really awkward calling them up on their own. Alphabetical makes more sense, nobody’s business what grade you got.
You got what you got. A 1.1 is not equal to a 2.2.
Why should the person who graduated top of their class not be recognised on the day?
There will always be exceptions, but typically someone who got a third deserved it.
If you were to believe some of the comments here, no employers care what you got, so why bother grading at all, might as well just do it all pass/fail.
Fair enough. Call them alphabetically, no need to shame people like that
Getting a third should be humiliating