Do not force students to defer their places, says watchdog chief

Lord Wharton says offers made to students should be honoured amid stiffer competition for places

UNIVERSITIES must not put pressure on students to defer their places, the higher education watchdog chief has warned.

While universities may offer incentives for students to delay the start of their degree by a year, any attempt to “mislead” them is “simply unacceptable”, Lord Wharton, chair of the Office for Students, said.

He made the intervention as thousands of students prepare to receive their A-level results on Tuesday. Admissions tutors are understood to be panicking about the number of students with top grades, especially for courses where numbers are limited.

Several universities and all the UK’s medical schools made offers last autumn before the Government announced that exams would be cancelled.

This meant that they made more offers than they had places on the basis that some students would not get high enough grades.

But after ministers announced on Jan 4 that schools would close for a second time and exams would be cancelled in favour of teachers’ predicted grades, it became clear that universities which had over-offered would be in trouble particularly if there are strict limits on the number of places.

Experts believe that exam grade inflation could be even higher this year than last when 38 per cent of A-levels were awarded A or A*, a sharp increase on the 25 per cent awarded in 2019.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Lord Wharton said that universities needed to honour the offers they have made to students, adding: “If a student has kept up their end of the bargain and earned the grades they need to start their course this year, they should be certain there is a place waiting for them.” He said there have been examples of universities offering students incentives to defer their studies until next year.

Last month, Exeter University said anyone who had a place at their medical school for this autumn would be given £10,000 and free accommodation if they agreed to delay the start of their studies until next academic year.

“This is legitimate – as long as students are presented with a genuine choice, given full information about their options and treated fairly,” Lord Wharton said.

“But any type of practice where students are misled or unfairly pressurised into a decision which is not in their best interests is simply unacceptable.”

This year a record number of students applied to university, with 44 per cent of all school-leavers in England seeking places, a 10 per cent increase on last year.

The appetite for degrees, combined with a demographic bulge in the population of 18-year-olds and a surge in the number of top grades, has led to stiff competition for places this year.

Last night the Labour leader warned that students’ futures are being risked by “chaos and incompetence” of the Government and that unfairness has been “baked in” to the grading system.

Sir Keir Starmer said that a second year of results chaos which fails to protect young people’s futures is “not an option” and that appeals must be dealt with swiftly so that young people do not miss out on university places.

He added that by failing to announce the replacement for exams at an earlier stage, the “dither and delay” by the Department for Education put a huge amount of pressure on students.

This week the Government announced that it was increasing the number of places at medical and dental schools after it became clear that more students would meet their offers than the cap on numbers that had been set by the Government.

Universities and colleges play a vital role in our country. They help people expand their minds, develop skills they need for their futures and provide the graduate workforce that is essential for our economic prosperity. They are the envy of much of the world, which is why so many students aim to get undergraduate places here in the UK.

This week many young people, up and down the country, will be waiting for their A-level results, and hoping to join our fantastic learning communities.

And despite the disruption caused by coronavirus, those young people are about to demonstrate that they have the resilience and determination to achieve their best. We should all applaud their efforts and those of their teachers during what has been such a difficult time.

As thoughts turn to the admissions process, universities must honour the offers they have made to students. If a student has kept up their end of the bargain and earned the grades they need to start their course this year, they should be certain there is a place waiting for them.

We have seen isolated examples of universities offering students incentives to defer their studies until next year. This is legitimate – as long as students are presented with a genuine choice, given full information about their options and treated fairly. But any type of practice where students are misled or pressurised into a decision which is not in their best interests is simply unacceptable.

Students embarking on new courses this year should also expect a high-quality course, properly resourced and taught well. All courses should be academically stretching and open minds to new ideas. Universities should bear this in mind as they confirm offers over the coming days, ensuring that decisions made now do not inadvertently risk the quality of students’ academic experience once they have enrolled.

All English universities and colleges have rightly set themselves ambitious goals for widening access to our great institutions. The past year has been difficult but that cannot be an excuse for these goals to be relaxed or ignored. Furthermore, students should expect to receive excellent pastoral support, and access to good mental health services if they are struggling. University is an exciting time but it can be challenging too, and institutions will want to make sure they are ready to support students as they head to campuses this autumn.

Many students will receive or exceed the grades they had expected. But there will also be options open to those who do not get the grades they were hoping for. Students should speak to their school or college about their options, or they can call the Exam Results Helpline run by the National Careers Service. The Office for Students’ Discover Uni website helps students to compare courses and make well-informed decisions. Many universities will also have places available through the Ucas clearing system, which can help to match students to the right course.

Getting results is a nerve-racking rite of passage in any year but this year, especially, I wish students the best of luck.