University giving ‘backdoor unconditional offers’
BIRMINGHAM University has been accused of making “backdoor” unconditional offers after it introduced a new CCC “attainment offer”.
The Russell Group institution pioneered the most controversial kind of unconditional offer, where students were offered a place regardless of their A-level grades, provided they selected it as their first choice.
Now Birmingham has launched a new offer, with students told they will only need to get CCC in their A-levels if they turn down all other approaches.
It comes amid growing pressure on universities to clamp down on “conditional unconditional” offers, which the regulator likened to “pressure selling”.
Ministers have accused universities of acting in a “completely irresponsible” manner by handing out so many.
Students with an unconditional offer are, on average, 11.5 percentage points more likely to miss their predicted grades by three or more grades than if they had received a conditional offer.
Birmingham University said its “attainment offer” rewarded students who made strong applications and had a good academic track record.
A source familiar with university admissions said: “This is like a backdoor unconditional offer. It’s a game they are playing to scoop the punters.
“This is just changing the terminology a bit and saying ‘oh no, we are not upsetting the regulator because now we are calling them attainment offers’.”
A sixth-form student at one of the country’s top private schools told The
“I saw my offer from Birmingham said CCC but the caveat is that this is only if you make it your first, firm choice, and if not it’s AAB.
“When I saw it, the first thing I thought was that it is basically unconditional but just not called that. It did not make Birmingham look good to me. If they are going to offer people CCC, maybe they are a bit desperate.”
A dip in the demographic population of 18-year-olds has led to fierce competition to attract students.
Kevin Gilmartin, from the Association of School and College Leaders, said so-called “conditional conditional” offers were on the rise with plenty of universities adopting similar practices.
“This is the latest phenomenon,” he said. “Universities are getting a bit more creative in what they are doing.”
Universities tell students at open days that if they select it as their first choice, they are happy to “let them in with much lower grades”, he explained.
Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said Birmingham’s “attainment offers” could be the “next big thing” among Russell Group universities.
“When Birmingham first went for unconditional offers in a big way the rest of the sector were very critical. But within a couple of years, most of its competitors had copied it,” he said.
Nicola Dandridge, the Office for Students chief executive, said: “Admissions policies and procedures need to be fair, ensuring that pressure is not put on students to accept offers that may not be their best option. It is in nobody’s interests for offer making to negatively affect attainment.”
A Birmingham University spokesman said its offers “recognise the full range of academic achievement, potential and backgrounds” among students. They added: “Ucas considers the university a ‘high tariff institution’, which recognises the significant academic achievements of incoming students.”