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Tens of thousands of students face a scramble to secure a place at their chosen university despite the government’s A-levels climbdown, as vice-chancellors warned that they would not be able to honour all their original offers.
University admissions were thrown into chaos when the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, announced that last week’s A-level results were being scrapped in favour of centre-assessed grades (CAGs) submitted by schools earlier this year.
Many students whose results were downgraded by the government’s algorithm and as a result lost out on places at their first-choice university will be seeking to retrieve their place now they have grades that meet admissions requirements.
But the decision has piled pressure on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. It has said that just under 70% of 18-year-old applicants across the UK were already placed with their first-choice university, but others who were forced to accept their “insurance” offer or go into clearing would now be entitled to try to improve their options.
The government has lifted the emergency student number cap to try to ease pressure on the system, but universities are warning that not every student will be able to get into their top choice because of limited resources and space, particularly with social-distancing requirements.
Universities UK, the umbrella organisation representing vice-chancellors, called on the government for “urgent clarification”. Its chief executive, Alistair Jarvis, said universities were being as flexible as possible to support students in finding a suitable university place, but he added: “Today’s policy change will mean that more students will have the grades that match the offer of their first-choice university.
“This will cause challenges at this late stage in the admissions process – capacity, staffing, placements and facilities – particularly with the social-distance measures in place. Universities will do everything they can to work through these issues in the days ahead.”
Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, added: “We know the changing situation is creating uncertainty for students and universities.
“However, there are limits to what can be done by the university sector alone to address that uncertainty without stretching resources to the point that it undermines the experience for all, not to mention ensuring students and staff are kept safe as we follow the steps needed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The numbers cap was introduced by the government because of fears of damaging competition among universities, struggling to recruit domestic students to fill gaps left by international students put off from travelling to the UK because of the pandemic.
Universities in England had only been allowed to recruit 5% more UK students than their targets this year to prevent competition and over-recruitment by some institutions at the expense of others.
However, admissions offices have been reporting higher than expected interest from international students, which will mean a further squeeze on places.
While Russell group universities and other popular institutions may struggle to deal with the additional demand, there are fears about the impact on lower-tariff universities, who will lose students they would normally expect to recruit. Because of their improved results, thanks to centre-assessed grades, those students will also now try to trade up.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: “In the cold light of day, there will need to be a careful postmortem to ensure this year’s fiasco never happens again.”
On lifting the cap Williamson said: “We are already working very closely with the university sector to make sure that we do everything we can do to build as much capacity in there.
“We expect universities to be flexible. We expect them to go above and beyond to be able to honour those commitments … That’s why today we’ve lifted the student number caps in order for universities to be able to expand and put extra capacity into the system.”
Almost 40% of all A-level grades were downgraded after the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation used an algorithm based largely on schools’ previous results, penalising pupils in schools in more disadvantaged areas, while benefiting those in private schools.
Ucas said students who had not got into their first-choice institution should seek advice from their teachers and parents before contacting the university. “Once your university has your centre-assessed grades via exam bodies, they can make a decision as to whether there is a place at your preferred choice,” the spokesman added.
The shadow education secretary, Kate Green, has written to Williamson, asking him to address the continuing concerns of young people about university places. She also wants to know how universities will be supported following the government’s decision to scrap student number caps.
“This was a welcome and necessary change in policy, but we should never have been in this position, as the government has had months to get this right. The delay and accompanying chaos means that students, families, and education providers have no answers to essential questions,” she said.
“It is time for this government to get a grip and provide the clarity that we need to move forward.”
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