The University of the Philippines (UP) is reviewing its Latin honors system after a sharp rise in the number of students graduating with academic distinctions—prompting discussions on whether the honors still carry the same weight as before.
According to PhilSTAR L!fe, 61% of graduates from UP Diliman’s Class of 2025 received Latin honors. Out of 3,876 graduates, 2,369 earned such distinctions—241 as summa cum laude, 1,143 as magna cum laude, and 985 as cum laude.
The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) attributed the spike partly to grading leniencies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is important to consider that most students from this year’s graduating batch started their first year in UP during the pandemic in AY 2021-2022,” the office said in a statement sent to PhilSTAR L!fe.
While pandemic-era adjustments helped students cope, UP noted that other factors might also explain the honors boom. Students under the K-12 system were generally more mature, and the university has ramped up its support services in recent years, according to the OVPAA.
The issue has revived long-standing concerns over grade inflation. In 2022, UP journalism professor Danilo Arao described the rising honors as possible evidence of “grade hyperinflation,” calling for a deeper look into whether grading standards still align with academic rigor.
As debate swirls, UP is considering a more globally aligned method to award honors—such as percentile-based thresholds used by international universities. A technical working group was formed to assess the possible impact of this system but recommended postponing any changes until after analyzing data from the upcoming academic years, when pandemic-related leniencies would no longer be in effect.
“Most of the students who will graduate in these academic years commenced their studies in AY 2022–2023 without pandemic-related grading adjustments and are products of the K-12 system,” the OVPAA explained.
While critics fear the growing list of Latin honor graduates could dilute the prestige associated with academic excellence, others argue that the university’s evolving environment has naturally led to higher performance. Former Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ma. Theresa Payongayong dismissed claims of grade solicitation, emphasizing that such practices are prohibited under UP’s rules.
“UP Diliman also gets the country’s best students; thus, it is not surprising that many of them would get high grades,” Payongayong added in her earlier statements.
Even some UP alumni have weighed in. In a column for The Philippine STAR, former professor Butch Dalisay admitted feeling uneasy that over half of graduates now receive honors—but he rejected the idea that UP has lowered its standards. Instead, he pointed to the extraordinary academic circumstances during the pandemic, such as the “no-fail” policy, deferred grading, and lack of in-person engagement.
The rise in Latin honors isn’t unique to UP. The University of Santo Tomas reported a similar trend, with 45% of its graduates in the same academic year receiving honors, including 93 summa cum laude recipients.
