2019-08-24 The Economist - Continental Europe edition

(Tuis.) #1
TheEconomistAugust 24th 2019 23

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t is a-levelresults day and the phones
are ringing at the University of Exeter.
The university is much bigger than it was
half a decade ago, so there is lots to do.
Some 120 staff and students advise appli-
cants making a late bid, as well as ones who
have missed the grades they need to get in.
Scribbled posters count the remaining
spots, and remind those on the phones to
check for an English-language qualifica-
tion. Most important, one concludes, is to
“have fun...we are making (some) dreams
come true! :)”
At Exeter, the mood is calm. But at other
universities, it will be closer to panic. Each
institution’s future depends on securing
enough students. This reflects a change in
government policy. Admissions used to be
managed, with limits set on the number of
students each university could take. But
beginning in 2012 restrictions began to be
lifted, before disappearing entirely in 2015,
since when universities have been free to
take as many as they want. The result, says
Sir Steve Smith, vice-chancellor at Exeter,
is “the market, red in tooth and claw”.
There is lots of variation, but in general

elite institutions have been the biggest
growers. Some, including Oxford and Cam-
bridge, have chosen not to expand. But
most prestigious universities have sucked
up students, grateful for their fees, which
subsidise research. The intake of British

students at members of the Russell Group
of older, research-focused universities has
grown by 16% since restrictions were lifted.
Some have ballooned. Bristol’s intake has
shot up by 62%, Exeter’s by 61% and New-
castle’s by 43%.
Universities lower down the pecking
order have fared less well. The intake of
British students at institutions in the
post-1992 group of universities, former
polytechnics which offered vocational
qualifications, is flat. London Metropoli-
tan’s intake is down by 42%, Kingston’s by
33% and Southampton Solent’s by 28%.
Some have diversified by offering more
qualifications sponsored by companies,
postgraduate degrees or apprenticeships.
Others are getting into financial difficulty.
Universities are keenly aware that they
are mostly competing with a handful of ri-
vals for students, and that geography plays
a big role in determining who those rivals
are. Exeter, in south-west England, has
commissioned research which shows it at-
tracts students who live near the m5 motor-
way that runs into town, and struggles to
recruit from anywhere north of Birming-
ham, in the Midlands. The university
therefore keeps a close eye on Bath and
Bristol, nearby institutions held in similar
regard. Mark Corver of datahe, a consul-
tancy, notes that many larger London uni-
versities, which take students with weaker
grades, have struggled as the capital’s sec-
ondary schools have got better, providing
youngsters with the qualifications to aim
higher. So too have universities in remote

Higher education

Searching for students


COVENTRY AND EXETER
Who are the winners and losers of the great university free-for-all?

Top and bottom of the class

Sources: UCAS; dataHE

Britain, five fastest-growing
and -shrinking universities
2018 compared with 2009-11 average, %
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Aston,Birmingham
Bristol
Essex
Exeter
YorkStJohn

Aston, Birmingham
Bristol
Essex
Exeter
York St John

TrinitySaintDavid,Wales
Aberystwyth
SouthWales
LondonMetropolitan
Cumbria

Trinity Saint David, Wales
Aberystwyth
South Wales
London Metropolitan
Cumbria

Intake
201 8, ’000

2.8
4.9
3.2
5.3
2.2

1.5
1.5
3.0
2.4
1.3

Britain


24 ForeignpolicyafterBrexit
26 Bagehot: Boris’s brain

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