University Degree Class Passes (SA vs UK)

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Not sure if anyone has ever looked into this before, but I'm currently trying to do it now as I'm contemplating finding work in the UK soon.

Many jobs want a "2.1 degree" - which from what I can gather is a degree with upper second weighted average, which looks like 60-69%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_undergraduate_degree_classification

Now I'm trying to equate SA degrees to this, and apparently SA uses the same method, however it doesn't quite work out.

From wiki:
Most universities follow a model based on the British system. Thus, at the University of Cape Town and the University of South Africa (UNISA), the percentages are calibrated as follows: a 1st class pass is given for 75% and above, a second (division one) for 70 - 74%, a second (division two) for 60%-69%, and a third for 50 - 59%. Any lower than 50% is a fail. The University of the Witwatersrand considers an A to be 75% and above.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_South_Africa

Looking at that, an upper second here is actually 70-74%, and a lower second is 60-69%.

By the way I have a lower second class pass (60-69%) for my degree here, which is why I'm looking into this in the first place. Wondering if its equivalent to their upper second in the UK. Does anyone know how it really equates?
 
2-1 is an upper 2nd (70-74%)
2-2 is a lower 2nd (60-69%).

This has been the case in all African/British transcripts I've come across.
 
kefrens said:
Yep I was satisfied with my 65% till I found that out. The even more scary thing is the percentage of people who get 2.1 and higher.
If you get 2.2 or less you are way way in the bottom! Like bottom quarter or something.

So our 60% is their 50%.
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Haha, crap! I did a BSc engineering, think I came 14th or something with 66% avg.
 
Thats one mighty dodgy approach. The vast majority of my class barely scrapped 50% & spent the vast majority of the year <50% (only making it above 50% via exams). Not because that year was weak...that course is simply a bloodbath every year.

Comparing percentages 1:1 is mindbogglingly ludicrous.
 
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kefrens said:
They are just smarter than us. There was an article not too long ago (on mybb I think?) about how poor our top math people do in math olympiads compared to the first world.
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Not really. I know for a fact that our private school systems are on par with international standards (I spent time in overseas schools). Its the public schools that sink the stats.
 
markface said:
Not sure if anyone has ever looked into this before, but I'm currently trying to do it now as I'm contemplating finding work in the UK soon.

Many jobs want a "2.1 degree" - which from what I can gather is a degree with upper second weighted average, which looks like 60-69%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_undergraduate_degree_classification

Now I'm trying to equate SA degrees to this, and apparently SA uses the same method, however it doesn't quite work out.

From wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_South_Africa

Looking at that, an upper second here is actually 70-74%, and a lower second is 60-69%.

By the way I have a lower second class pass (60-69%) for my degree here, which is why I'm looking into this in the first place. Wondering if its equivalent to their upper second in the UK. Does anyone know how it really equates?
Click to expand...
You can't equate marks in a UK degree to marks in a SA one.

The standards for degrees themselves are lower in SA. You would have to check against the award froma particular university, not for individual scores. I recall that some countries stopped accepting UNISA degrees some time ago (Eastern area I think) because of standards.
 
HavocXphere said:
Not really. I know for a fact that our private school systems are on par with international standards (I spent time in overseas schools). Its the public schools that sink the stats.
Click to expand...
lol, No, the matric is not equivalent to A-levels. No matter what school it comes from. You can do British exams here or French etc.
 
markface said:
Many jobs want a "2.1 degree" - which from what I can gather is a degree with upper second weighted average, which looks like 60-69%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_undergraduate_degree_classification

Now I'm trying to equate SA degrees to this, and apparently SA uses the same method, however it doesn't quite work out.

From wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_South_Africa

Looking at that, an upper second here is actually 70-74%, and a lower second is 60-69%.

By the way I have a lower second class pass (60-69%) for my degree here, which is why I'm looking into this in the first place. Wondering if its equivalent to their upper second in the UK. Does anyone know how it really equates?
Click to expand...
UCT uses essentially the same system - Credit Transfer. You should also remember that for most employers the mark is not an absolute requirement, although if all you have is your degree, no experience, it is all they can look at.

HavocXphere said:
Not really. I know for a fact that our private school systems are on par with international standards (I spent time in overseas schools). Its the public schools that sink the stats.
Click to expand...
The better public schools are as good as the private ones as well. It's the poor people who get stuck with the bad schools. The middle class get good schools whether they go private or public.

kefrens said:
They are just smarter than us.
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Only the less intelligent think so.

View attachment 151112
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And?

kefrens said:
So our 60% is their 50%.
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No it isn't. The marks translate laterally.

AntiGanda said:
lol, No, the matric is not equivalent to A-levels. No matter what school it comes from. You can do British exams here or French etc.
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A-levels are supposed to be a different thing, but anyone who has being paying attention knows that they've been dumbing these down for years in the UK. It's reached the point where you have to have them because anyone above dunce should be able to pass them. The universities also have percentages of students they expect to fall into each grade band, so like educational institutions everywhere they make adjustments to keep them as expected.
 
UCT aligns with British universities last I checked, >75% a 1st, 70-74.99% a 2nd +, 60-69.99% a 2nd - , 50-59.99% a 3rd etc
 
krycor said:
UCT aligns with British universities last I checked, >75% a 1st, 70-74.99% a 2nd +, 60-69.99% a 2nd - , 50-59.99% a 3rd etc
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Yes, that is correct.

Although UK universities hand out a lot more upper seconds than SA universities do. My experience is most people graduate with a lower second in South Africa (out of those who graduate).
 
noxibox said:
If it were correct that 60-69% is an upper second, and 74% or more was a first, then what is 70-73%?
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Yeah, haha, hence the confusion. Anyway, I'm not gonna lie or anything on my CV. I have 7+yrs experience regardless, so hopefully that counts in my favour lol.

Thanks for your help and thoughts everyone.
 
I missed my "1st class pass" by under 1% :cry:
But it doesn't make a difference in my paygrade or what I know, so I'm not concerned.
Would have looked nice on my Degree though :D
 
AntiGanda said:
You can't equate marks in a UK degree to marks in a SA one.

The standards for degrees themselves are lower in SA. You would have to check against the award froma particular university, not for individual scores. I recall that some countries stopped accepting UNISA degrees some time ago (Eastern area I think) because of standards.
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Where are you getting this from?
 
I got a job at Accenture London with 3 weeks of arriving in the UK. And I have a Unisa degree. And the marks aren't the greatest. All between 60 and 65%. However, I did have over 5 years experience in the field for what I was applying, Software Developer. And my degree was an accounting degree. With no IT whatsoever.

Yes, that was 6 years ago. I also survived 2 redundancy waves. In fact on the 2nd I applied for voluntary, but they wouldn't let me go. I had to resign. Why did I resign? The job wasn't IT enough for me. I left for a lower salary away from London.
 
zippy said:
I got a job at Accenture London with 3 weeks of arriving in the UK. And I have a Unisa degree. And the marks aren't the greatest. All between 60 and 65%. However, I did have over 5 years experience in the field for what I was applying, Software Developer. And my degree was an accounting degree. With no IT whatsoever.

Yes, that was 6 years ago. I also survived 2 redundancy waves. In fact on the 2nd I applied for voluntary, but they wouldn't let me go. I had to resign. Why did I resign? The job wasn't IT enough for me. I left for a lower salary away from London.
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Good to know mate. Hopefully electronic eng is a similar deal with me.
 
As a few people have pointed out, an undergraduate 2.1 British degree is roughly equivalent to 70-74% in South Africa (although I have seen it being equivalent to 70-79%) with a 1st being > 80% in South Africa. I did my degree in the UK so if you need any further info just shout.
 
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