22 per cent of master's theses are excellent

"This spring's grades provide a more accurate picture of the students' abilities," says Rector Frøystein Gjesdal.

08.09.2015 - Astri Kamsvåg

Spring 2015 saw 22 per cent of the economics and business administration students receive an A for their master's theses. This is significantly fewer than in 2014 and 2013, when over 40 per cent of the students were awarded the highest grade. The reason for this change is that NHH has followed the recommendations that the National Council for Economic and Administrative Education, published in 2014.

"If more than 30 per cent of the master's theses had been awarded the highest grade, we would have reacted. We are very pleased with this spring's result of 22 per cent. Fewer students were given an A, while more received a B or C. The number of students who got lower grades remains small," says Frøystein Gjesdal.

"C is actually a good grade," he continues. "It is natural to expect that the vast majority of our students receive an A, B or C, often with a predominance of A's and B's, as was the case in the spring semester, where 77 per cent of the students received an A or a B for their thesis. Remember that the master's thesis is written under supervision, and many students work very hard on their thesis. If we include the students who received a C, the share rises to roughly 95 per cent," says Gjesdal.

More precise

The new descriptions of grades for master's theses in economics and business administration in Norway are more precise. They enable NHH and other educational institutions in Norway to distinguish more clearly between an excellent performance (A), a very good performance (B), a good performance (C), satisfactory (D), sufficient (E) and fail (F).

In the past, we did not manage to distinguish excellent theses (A) from very good ones (B). The new system makes this possible," explains Gjesdal.

Full support of the students

"We informed the students about the reasons for the change in grading before the new system was introduced, and it is a priority to make sure they will not suffer adverse consequences. This year's candidates cannot be compared directly with people who graduated last year. The new distribution of grades and proportion of students who receive an A is now included in the transcript of grades, and an attachment has been developed explaining the change to potential employers. We are very pleased with the whole process," says Frøystein Gjesdal.

Description of grades (abbreviated version)

A: Excellent - An excellent performance that clearly stands out at a national level
B: Very good - A very good performance that clearly stands out
C: Good - A generally good performance
D: Satisfactory - A clearly satisfactory performance
E: Sufficient - A performance that is sufficient in that it satisfies the minimum requirements
F: Fail - A performance that does not satisfy the minimum requirements

As was previously the case, the grades are criteria-based, and there is no pre-defined distribution of grades that has to be achieved. The new descriptions will result in a broader (less top-heavy) distribution of grades, starting from spring 2015 at NHH.

Read about the new and more detailed descriptions of grades at nhh.no