Students leaving university will be issued with school-style report cards for the first time..
The move, which will affect those starting courses this autumn, paves the way for the traditional degree classification system to be abolished.
More than half of universities will issue the new “Higher Education Achievement Reports” which will list a student’s exam results, academic achievements, extra-curricular activities and work placements.
The degree classification would also be included, but some experts hope this will be phased out.
Professor Sir Robert Burgess, vice-chancellor of Leicester University and chairman of a working group set up to drive the reforms, said: “The UK honours degree is a robust and highly valued qualification. But universities have recognised for some time that a single degree classification cannot do justice to the range of skills, knowledge and experience students gain during their time in higher education.
“The HEAR is designed to encourage a more sophisticated approach to recording students’ achievements in the 21st century.”
University College London and the universities of Greenwich and Keele are among those that have been testing the new report card since 2008.
Universities Minister David Willetts said: “Giving students a full record of what they’ve achieved in higher education recognises them as partners in their education.
“As importantly, the achievement records give employers much richer information about the skills and expertise of students.”
