UCAS calls for university place hunt to follow A-level results

Proposals published by the admissions service UCAS today would mean universities no longer make offers to students based on their predicted grades.

The changes have been put forward after a review found the current application process to be complex, lacking transparency and inefficient. Every year candidates face a scramble for places as those who fail to achieve the grades they needed are placed in the clearing system.

The new process, which is likely to be introduced in 2016 at the earliest, would lead to changes in both the school and university years. Teenagers would sit their A-level exams earlier and apply for university over the summer, with courses starting in mid-October.

The proposals, which are out for consultation until January 20, have been given a cautious welcome by university and school leaders.

In a review and consultation document, published today, UCAS warned the current system asks students to make choices about universities and courses before they are ready, with many needing to make decisions at least six months before they receive their results.

It says: “The cumulative effect of predicted grades, insurance choices and clearing have led to a system that is complex, is thought to lack transparency for many applicants and is inefficient and cumbersome for higher education institutions.”

Under the current system candidates choose a first choice and an insurance option after receiving offers from universities which are usually conditional on them earning certain A-level grades.

The review found fewer than 10 per cent of students are applying to university with three accurate grade predictions and an estimated 20 per cent to 40 per cent of applicants have predicted grades which fail to meet the minimum entry requirements of the course they applied for.

Almost half – 42 per cent of applicants hold a so-called “insurance” or back-up place that require them to get the same or better grades than their first choice course.

The new proposals call for the A-level exam period to last five weeks and end 15 days earlier. Results would be made available by early July and the application process would then be split into three “windows”.

The first stage would be open for students who already have their results – for example those who have taken exams the year before.

The second stage would be the main part of the process, opening at the end of June just before A-level results are announced. All offers and replies would then be completed by the third week in September. Students could apply for two choices for which they have met the requirements.

The final stage would open from the fourth week in July, with all offers completed by the first week in October. This would be for those not holding any offers from universities after the earlier stages.

Professor David Eastwood, chair of the UCAS board and vice-chancellor of Birmingham University said: “We are committed to continuing to provide an outstanding admissions service that is transparent, fair, and meets the needs of applicants and... institutions.”

The plans echo a call made by Huddersfield University’s deputy vice chancellor Prof Peter Slee, who told the Yorkshire Post last year that allowing students to apply after their A-level results were known would reduce the uncertainty for candidates and universities on A-level results day.