Report says country’s universities may face challenges in recruiting students in future

It suggests that in the coming years, institutions expect to have to compete more with each other, and new colleges, to attract students.

The report, by vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK, looks at recent trends in the numbers of undergraduates studying for a degree at England’s universities.

In the last four years – a period which covers the move to almost treble tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000 in autumn 2012 – the number of young people recruited on to full-time degree courses has risen by 3.2 per cent, with participation rates at record levels, it found.

The study says changes in the UK’s young population could have an impact on the numbers of youngsters going to university.

Between 2010 and 2012 the 18 to 20-year-old UK population fell by 1.4 per cent, and it is expected that this decline will continue until 2021. At the same time, vice-chancellors highlighted a “shifting balance” between teenagers taking traditional courses for going to university, such as A-levels, and other qualifications.

In 2012/13 more than half of young undergraduate university entrants had A-levels as their highest qualification.

But the report also shows between 2011 and 2013 the number of A-level exams taken by UK students declined by 1.9 per cent. Between 2008 and 2013, the university entry rate for students holding BTECs – the second most widely held qualification – rose from three per cent to 5.8 per cent.

This could mean some universities will need to adapt, if the students applying for their courses are taking different entry qualifications. “Vice-chancellors identified the changing profile of entry qualifications for young undergraduate and weakening demand at aggregate level as key challenges facing recruitment of young undergraduates in the medium term,” the report says.

It adds: “Continuing decline in the UK’s young population, which is projected to decrease by 12.3 per cent between 2012 and 2021, changes to policy relating to level three qualifications, and the slow recovery of demand from students in the EU have been identified as ongoing challenges for institutions in the recruitment of young undergraduates.”