Welcome and context for professional admissions SPA Seminar in Northern Ireland - 12 April 2011

Janet Graham, Director of SPA

What is SPA?

SPA - the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions Programme

Established in 2006 following the Schwartz Report, Fair Admissions to Higher Education 2004

Small team, with over 70 years strategic, policyand practical experience between us in the HE admissions sector

UK’s independent and objective voice on HE admissions, reporting to the SPA Steering Group

What have we been doing?

A free, impartial, central shared source of expertise and advice on strategy and policy on admissions and student recruitment issues

Good practice statements and check lists - see www.spa.ac.uk

Research and evidence base from: visits to over 130 institutions; events and activities. 207 different institutions have attended SPA events

HEI survey (part of SPA External Evaluation 2011) highlighted:

88% engaged with SPA resources (events, website etc)

66% thought SPA ‘responsive’ or ‘very responsive’ to their needs

SPA was strategically well-placed and proactively anticipated change

What are we doing?

Published good practice on: Admissions policies Admissions tests Criminal convictions Feedback to applicants Interviews Offer-making Planning and managing admissions

Current research: Applicant experience strategy Contextual data Paperless processes Postgraduate admissions Vocational qualifications

All available on our website: www.spa.ac.uk

Professionalism: Context, Challenges, Opportunities

Impact round the UK of Browne Review and government response in England. Package:

Lifting tuition fee cap to maximum ‘exceptional’ tuition fees of £9,000 Charge over £6,000 HEI needs new Access Agreement for OFFA New National Scholarship Programme New student finance system

HE White Paper in England expected June 2011

Comprehensive Spending Review - cuts to the public HE funding

Recession, rise in VAT rate and inflation

Professionalism: Context, Challenges, Opportunities

Demographic down turn in younger applicants

Current buoyancy in applications to FT undergraduate courses

HE funding Green Paper in Scotland - December 2010

Consultations in Northern Ireland: fees, HE and WP strategies

New educations powers, fees and new WP strategy in Wales

A new competitive market/ differentiated system in HE

Efficiency savings - doing more for less - will be imperative

Admissions to HE has irrevocably changed - entering a new era

Professionalism: Context, Challenges, OpportunitiesConsultations, from DEL in NI, on a range of issues impacting admissions and widening participation: Higher Education Strategy Consultation, closing date 15 April

http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/consultation-zone/hestrategy.htm

Higher Education Widening Participation Strategy, closing date 3 June

http://www.delni.gov.uk/index/consultation-zone/wideningparticipation.htm

HE tuition fees, closing date 10 Junehttp://www.delni.gov.uk/index/consultation-zone/tuition-fees.htm

Elections on 5 May to NI Assembly (and round UK)

Professionalism: Context, Challenges, OpportunitiesQAA Code of practice on admissions 2006 –HEIs should be working to its preceptshttp://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/codeOfPractice/section10/default.asp

New QAA Institutional review process for academic quality and standards in HEIs in England and Northern Ireland. The process replaces institutional audit, from September 2011. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/institutionalreview

Admissions within core element of ‘quality of students' learning opportunities’ It will consider what is provided, not how appropriate, which is up to the HEI

The ‘quality of public information, including that produced for students and applicants’ the Key Information Set, KIS, will be included in any review from 2012/13 onwards, judged through ‘a desk-based analysis of the institution's public information set’

Professionalism: Context, Challenges, Opportunities

More qualifications - and curriculum change throughout the UK More routes in to HE - articulation, vocational progression More flexible HE provision - part-time, HE in FE, on-line, blended and

Work Based learning. Wolf review. More public information about HE for potential students, transparency More widening participation/ fair access HE working with schools and

colleges More applications and more selection - support from SPA share good

practice More on social mobility and fair access to the professions

Professionalism - What is Fair Admissions & Recruitment?

Getting more disadvantaged students into top universities? Supporting the most able but least likely to apply?

Yes, but that’s only part of the issue

Raising aspirations, encouraging, supporting and advising all students with potential to aim higher for an HE course that is right for them at a institution that can provide what they need, when they need it - full-time, part-time, flexible or distance learning etc

Schwartz Report: “Equal opportunity for all individuals, regardless of background, to gain admission to a course suited to their ability and aspirations.”

What is Fair Admissions?

Schwartz recommended 5 principles for fair admissions:1. be transparent2. enable institutions to select students who are able to complete the

course as judged by their achievements and their potential3. strive to use assessment methods that are reliable and valid ◊4. seek to minimise barriers to applicants5. be professional in every respect and underpinned by appropriate

institutional structures and processes

◊ Some of these maybe ‘hard’ quantifiable measures, while others rely on qualitative judgements. In Schwartz both legal and lay opinion placed value on the use of discretion and the assessment of applicants as individuals.

The changing profile of accepted applicants

Source: UCAS Statistics

67.6%

0.6%

4.9%

27.0%

1999 Accepts(UK domiciled)

A Level no BTECA Level & BTECBTEC no A LevelOther quals

49.8%

1.7%11.4%

37.1%

2009 Accepts(UK domiciled)

Applicants and Acceptance rates

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Applicants PCAS Applicants Accepts PCAS Accepts Acceptance rate excl. PCAS Acceptance rate

Professionalism: Developments at UCAS

Admissions Process Review (APR)- Rama Thirunamachandran, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Keele University, leading this.

Timescale: Just started in March until autumn 2011 It will consider

How UCAS can be flexible to meet the needs of full time and part-time providers

The benefits of integrating the front end of the student loan application

Test the extent to which a post qualifications admissions (PQA) system could deliver benefits as one of a number of options

Then consult sector and applicants on options to decide what processes best support fair and efficient admissions

Professionalism: Developments at UCAS 2 University of Ulster has agreed to be visited by APR staff to discuss

admissions processes - information from Alan Scott. Qualifications Information Review – the UCAS Tariff is also under

review Structural changes within UCAS – new organisation design under new

Chief Executive Mary Curnock Cook. Paperless admissions – no paper copy forms to HEIs from UCAS after

2013 for 2014 entry SPA initiated provision by UCAS of contextual data for 2012 entry for

those who decide to take it New IT platform from 2014

Professionalism: Challenges for all HE providers

Is there commitment by senior management at both a strategic and practical management level to fair recruitment and admissions?

Will this be maintained in the new environment? Are there more data and statistics available to inform recruitment and

admissions policy and practice? Are these monitored and acted on if its not fair?

Information - is it clear, accurate, timely, well presented and disseminated?

Are policies in place and used, are practices understood? Do admissions staff have opportunities for professional development? Is smarter, more integrated working a way forward - with internal

colleagues, external partners and other agencies?

Thank you SPA staff welcome the opportunity to visit HE providers and

discuss issues with colleagues in HE

enquiries@spa.ac.uk or 01242 544891 www.spa.ac.uk