Safeguarding the Future of Access to HE 24 March 2011

Mary Curnock Cook

Cumulative Applicants by month of applicationFees announcement

2010

Position at January Deadline 2011 - Age

2011 % Diff

UKApplicants: 499,451 506,388 + 1.4%

Under 19: 353,557 357,442 + 1.1%

20 - 24: 87,761 90,625 + 3.3%

25 - 29: 23,970 24,040 + 0.3%

30 and over: 34,163 34,281 + 0.3%

Launch of new publication

Applicant journey Choosing courses Applying Offers Next steps Starting university or

college

Timetable for 2012 Cycle

Tuition fees

▪ New arrangements for student finance in England from 2012

▪ Any institution will be able to charge up to £6k per annum, and

in “exceptional cases” higher contributions up to £9k

▪ No eligible student will have to pay up front for their tuition –

the government provides access to loans to cover tuition fees

▪ Students will only start to contribute when they are earning

over £21,000

▪ The National Scholarship Programme will provide additional

assistance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds

Key points to note about tuition fees

▪ Free at the point of entry

▪ Will apply to part-time courses (minimum 25%

intensity)

▪ The deductions from pay are the same

whether you choose a £6000 or a £9000

course

Understanding tuition fees – the story so far....

Domicile of student

Location of institution

England Scotland Wales NI

England Up to £9k Unknown Up to £9k Unknown

Scotland Up to £9k Unknown Up to £9k Unknown

Wales £3,290 Unknown £3,290 Unknown

NI Up to £9k Unknown Up to £9k Unknown

EU Up to £9k Unknown £3,290 Unknown

Other international

Unregulated Unregulated Unregulated Unregulated

New for UCAS in 2012

▪ National Scholarship Programme portal

▪ Contextual data

▪ Part-time course search

▪ Improved IAG web tools

▪ Tracking the 2012 cycle

English and Welsh Accepts 2006 - 2010

Applicants 2009 2010 %Diff

English and Welsh Applicants 2009 and 2010

Total:

21 and over:

21 and overwith Access:

486,368 520,792 +7.1%

134,081 146,903 +9.6%

15,801 24,682 +56.2%

Accepts 2009 2010 %Diff

English and Welsh Accepts 2009 and 2010

Total:

21 and over:

21 and overwith Access:

380,432 378,879 -0.4%

88,194 84,328 -4.4%

11,593 17,19348.3%

Accept Rate 2009 2010 Diff

English and Welsh Acceptance Rate 2009 and 2010

Total:

21 and over:

21 and overwith Access:

78.2% 72.8% -5.5%

65.8% 57.4% -8.4%

73.4% 69.7% -3.7%

Single and multiple choice applicants 2010

Age profile of Accepted applicants 2010

Total is for England and Wales only

Distance travelled UK domiciled Accepted applicants 2010

Top 5 Subjects UK domiciled Accepted applicants 2010

Under 21

1.Design studies

2.Psychology

3.Law

4.Nursing

5.Sports Science

21 & over

1.Nursing

2.Social Work

3.Design studies

4.Others in subjects allied to Medicine

5.Computer Science

21 & over with Access

3. Psychology

5. Training Teachers

Destination of UK domiciled Accepted applicants 2010

Ethnicity of Accepted applicants 2010

IMD of English Accepted applicants 2010

from least deprived areafrom most deprived area

POLAR of English and Welsh age 20 and above accepted applicants 2010

areas of highest adult HEareas of lowest adult HE

Qualifications on UCAS Tariff

Offer making using the UCAS Tariff

The profile of NPAs from the 2009 cycle

Source: UCAS Research Team & Statistics

Issues for the Tariff Review

▪ Needs to cover all regulated Level 3 qualifications

▫ And Access qualifications.....

▪ May need to distinguish between MI and evaluation;

between academic and vocational/applied content

▪ Must be an accessible, defensible and proportionate

process

▪ Should not duplicate or create regulatory process

▫ Relationship with regulatory requirements; with AAT?

▪ Have clear scope and purposes

▫ Offer making? Employers’ needs? Quality mark? Hurdle

for student finance entitlement?

Admissions Process Review

▪ A better business process

▫ More efficient – fewer transactions

▫ Fixing bugs

▫ More intuitive search and apply

▪ Able to deal with complexity

▫ Different intensities of study

▫ Different start dates

▫ Differential fees

▫ UG, PG,

▫ Different admissions procedures (eg medicine)

▪ Or........

Some more radical solutions?

▪ Post qualifications admissions

▪ Sequential applications vs parallel

▪ Institution chooses applicant?

Questions

Mary Curnock Cook

Chief Executive

+44 (0)1242 544 996

m.curnockcook@ucas.ac.uk