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Research showing that degree classifications are inconsistent hardly breaks revolutionary ground (News, THES , September ). Prospective students never ask: "What are the rules that determine how I get my degree?"

As a former Quality Assurance Agency subject assessor, I was amazed to find differences in the award regulations between universities. The differences were not just about weightings that count towards classification, but included regulations in relation to condonement, compensation, progression, resit/reassessment entitlements and requirements to pass mandatory modules. These influence not just classification boundaries but also whether a student is awarded a degree or not.

If the playing field is to be levelled, then research into the consequences of such widely varying regulations is needed.

Ray Hulse
Associate dean
School of Science and the Environment
Coventry University