What now for universities?
Chaos as 55,000 students could try to get back into institutions that rejected them
UNIVERSITIES were frantically trying to unravel the Government’s exams U-turn last night as experts warned that 55,000 students might now try to switch back to institutions that rejected them.
The industry’s main umbrella body said universities were seeking ‘urgent clarification’ on how to accommodate students they had earlier refused because of A-level results downgrades.
Ministers last night lifted a temporary recruitment cap designed to prevent the most popular universities from hoovering up students at the expense of less popular institutions.
However, universities suggested they might not have space for all the students they had earlier turned down due to space constraints and the new demands of social distancing.
Gavin Williamson last night said the Government would expect universities to try to ‘build as much capacity’ as possible so students could make their first- choice offers – although detailed plans do not yet exist.
The Education Secretary said: ‘ We expect universities to be flexible and to go above and beyond to be able to honour those commitments… that’s why today we’ve lifted student numbers caps in order for universities to be able to expand put extra capacity into the system.’ In a statement, Ucas – the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service – did not offer a guarantee for youngsters to get a place at their first choice destination.
It means the U-turn threatens to throw struggling admissions departments into disarray over the coming days as they try to resolve the crisis. Mary Curnock Cook, former head of Ucas, last night predicted ‘chaos’ due to the ‘extra volume’ of students, which she estimated at 55,000, now trying to switch to their firstchoice destinations.
Those with offers for some of the most competitive universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, are expected to be the most likely to be told to defer for a year if they want to go to their original first
‘Political incompetence’
choice. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said universities will ‘only be able to fit a certain number of people before social distancing becomes impossible’. He also flagged concerns around ‘physical capacity’ and the number of teaching staff universities would need to accommodate all students.
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, warned that the sector needed ‘urgent clarification’ on a ‘number of crucial issues’ immediately. He said: ‘The events and confusion of recent days have added further uncertainty and distress to students who have already faced many difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Universities will do everything they can to work through these issues in the days ahead. The Government will need to step up and support universities through the challenges created by this late policy change.’
The prestigious Russell Group of universities also demanded answers on how they should deal with the surfeit of new students. Dr Tim
Bradshaw, the group’s chief executive said: ‘We know the changing situation is creating uncertainty for students and universities.
‘However there are limits to what can be done by the university sector alone... We now need urgent clarification from Government on the additional support it will provide to help universities with the expected increases in student numbers, particularly for high cost subjects such as chemistry, medicine and engineering.’
Ucas pointed out that at present, 69 per cent of 18-year- old applicants had been placed with their first- choice university – a higher percentage than last year.
It advised students who had been rejected from their first choice university because of the A- level downgrades not to rush into a decision about what to do next, and said it would issue further advice to students and schools.
The Government introduced a one-year student numbers cap to limit the number of domestic undergraduates each university could take, preventing less popular universities from losing out in a smaller student market during the pandemic. This cap has since been ditched. Some universities, including Buckingham, had already pledged to take applicants who missed their grades before yesterday’s U-turn, with a few Oxford colleges taking the same decision.
Professor Alan Smithers of Buckingham University agreed the decision will ‘create major difficulties’. He said: ‘Many will have already filled their places, as they make more offers than they expect to admit.’
And the University and College Union said admissions staff were already facing ‘unbearable workloads’, with general secretary Jo Grady saying the ‘political incompetence is unforgivable ’. Paul White man, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: ‘The big question remains as to why this decision has taken so long to come, as it may already be too late for some... who have already missed out on their first choice of university and course.’
Dr Simon Hyde, the incoming general secretary of the Headmasters’ and Headmistress’ Conference said the U- turn is ‘not perfect, but it will do’, but called for ‘urgent clarity’ on university admissions.