Crackdown on universities using bribes to lure students
UNIVERSITIES are facing a crackdown over misleading advertising and pressure-selling of degree courses to students.
Many tutors are enticing youngsters with false claims or cash bribes in a desperate attempt to fill places, the Office for Students has found.
Examples include failing to be honest about hidden costs and contact hours on course websites, or exaggerating how good teaching or career options will be.
Many universities are also offering thousands of pounds in so-called ‘bursaries’ in Clearing to students who choose their courses – regardless of whether they are the best fit.
In its first annual review, the new watchdog said the trend has got worse in the last few years because of increased competition due to a surplus of places.
The regulator has launched an investigation into dodgy marketing practices and will start taking action next year – with the power to issue fines if all other measures fail.
Launching the review, OFS chief executive Nicola Dandridge said she had seen examples of universities’ marketing ploys having a ‘negative effect’ on students.
She explained: ‘Providers registered with the OFS must demonstrate that the information on their websites and marketing materials is accurate and accessible. There can be no place for false and misleading advertising in how universities sell themselves to prospective students, or a lack of clarity about their rights.
‘We cannot have a situation where students’ expectations are raised unrealistically before they go to university, only to be dashed when they get there.’
Miss Dandridge said the OFS will be working with the advertising Standards authority (ASA) to identify offenders.
She said students should not be subjected to ‘sales pitches’ with questionable objectives when they are deciding their futures. Experts fear disadvantaged students in particular are vulnerable as they have less access to good careers advice, meaning they are more likely to be enticed on to a low-quality ‘Mickey Mouse’ course.
Universities have in the past been accused of resorting to desperate measures to get ‘bums on seats’ so that they can make more money through tuition fee income.
The Asa has already upheld complaints against universities, including the University of West London, which misleadingly claimed to be ‘London’s top modern university – and one of the top ten in the Uk’.
It also censured Falmouth for claiming to be ‘The Uk’s No 1 arts University’ and Teesside for claiming to be ‘Top university in England for long-term graduate prospects’ – both on questionable grounds.
The OFS is today also warning universities that they are risking their worldwide reputation for excellence by tolerating ‘pockets of poor provision’.
Its wide-ranging review has identified problems at hundreds of universities, including in financial oversight, teaching quality and help for disadvantaged students. The watchdog was set up by the Tories to replace previous regulators, who were criticised as ‘toothless’.
Universities Uk said it was ‘already engaging with the OFS’, including working on ‘ensuring the fairness of the admissions process, being more transparent in how students’ university fees are spent and committing to ending “grade inflation”’.
Tutors may be under pressure to give students higher marks than they deserve because of pressure to deliver ‘ value for money’, the OFS warns.
The percentage of firsts and 2:1 degrees awarded rose from 67 per cent in 2010-11 to 78 per cent in 2016-17, while firsts alone leapt from 16 to 27 per cent.
‘No place for false advertising’