If there are reasons Latin honors have recently flooded the University of the Philippines (UP), it's due to the shift to virtual education during the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

During its 114th General Commencement Exercises on Sunday, UP Diliman conferred Latin honors on a record number of graduates: 241 summa cum laude, 1,143 magna cum laude, and 985 cum laude, according to the UPD Office of the University Registrar.

Out of 3,876 bachelor’s degree holders, 61 percent — around 2,369 students — finished with honors.

The honor of summa cum laude is traditionally awarded to students with a weighted average grade of at least 1.20, a distinction that has historically been difficult to attain.

The increase has raised eyebrows among past graduates, with some questioning whether UP’s standards have softened.

“Back then, awards were hard-earned. You had to go through the eye of a needle and cry blood. Now, it feels like they’re being handed out like candy. Has UP’s standard dropped?” one graduate said.

Former UP President and current Board of Regents member Alfredo Pascual admitted the high number of Latin honor graduates also surprised him.

“The disproportionate number of Latin honors has caught my attention. Casual inquiries I made highlighted certain explanations. One is the pandemic effect. I was told that during the pandemic, grading tended to be more liberal, and no failing grades were given,” Pascual told Daily Tribune.

In April 2022, the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs issued Memorandum No. 2022-09B, which implemented a no-fail policy during remote learning. Under the policy, no grades of 4.0 or 5.0 were given, and students with failing standing were assigned a DRP (Dropped) grade annotated with “due to COVID-19 pandemic.”

Augmented Intelligence

Pascual added that the rise of AI tools also likely contributed to the surge.

“The other explanation is the AI effect. AI has become Augmented Intelligence. With AI assistance, students have been able to raise the quality of their academic output as seen in written work, class discussion, and exams. There are other views,” he said.

While not drawing conclusions yet, Pascual called for an empirical study to better understand the phenomenon.

“I learned that student evaluations influence faculty performance ratings—a setup that may encourage grade leniency in exchange for favorable feedback,” he noted.

In total, UP conferred degrees on 5,017 graduates, with students from the Colleges of Engineering, Social Sciences and Philosophy, and Science comprising 1,617 or 41 percent of bachelor’s degree holders.