Times Higher Education - February 08, 2018

20 Times Higher Education8 February 2018

NEWS

Ever since the lifting of controls on
undergraduate numbers in England,
the annual Ucas statistics on student
recruitment at UK universities have
been pored over for evidence of who
is winning and losing from the
policy.
And since 2016, it has become
apparent that enrolments – at least
in terms of 18-year-olds – have been
falling at a clutch of institutions,
many of them post-92s.
This has led to speculation that
older pre-92 universities are
expanding at the expense of their
younger cousins and has raised
questions about the sustainability
of some modern institutions.
But is this a fair assessment of
the recruitment picture that has
been unfolding in recent years?
One reason to reject this narra-
tive is to point to the clear evidence

that post-92 universities have been

among those seeing the biggest rises

in recruitment over the past few

years.

Out of universities accepting at

least 1,000 18-year-olds in the most

recent Ucas cycle, 16 have seen

numbers rise by more than 50 per

cent since 2010 and almost a third

of these were post-92s.

Second, some institutions where

18-year-old numbers have been

dropping most sharply have pointed

to a deliberate strategy to move

away from targeting this demo-

graphic.

In a letter toTimes Higher Edu-

cationlast week, Bill Rammell, the

vice-chancellor of the University of

Bedfordshire, where school-leaver

recruitment is down by 61 per cent

compared with 2010, says that the

institution has “expanded routes”

into higher education to encourage

non-traditional students to apply.

So do the Ucas statistics reflect

this approach at some universities?

One way to investigate this is by

delving into the data on mature stu-

dents where, although overall num-

bers have been falling, differing

patterns do occur among institutions.

For instance, although Bedford-

shire’s cohort of 18-year-olds

(including from outside the UK) was

57 per cent smaller in 2017 com-

pared with 2012, it accepted 58 per

cent more students aged 21 or over.

In fact, last year it recruited almost

900 more older students than

18-year-olds.

Looking at the 10 English uni-

versities where school-leaver recruit-

ment has fallen the most since 2012

shows that there is a similar pattern

at some other institutions but,

importantly, not all of them. It sug-

gests that some may have been bet-

ter than others at shifting focus.

Meanwhile, another recruitment

trend in recent years that has often

been highlighted is the rise in the

number of universities accepting

students holding the more vocation-

ally oriented BTEC qualifications

rather than A levels.

A report by the Social Market

Foundation recently used 2016 Ucas

statistics to suggest that some of the

most selective universities might not

be doing enough to support those

applying with such qualifications.

Do the latest Ucas data back this

up, and is it just post-92s that pri-

marily accept students with such

qualifications?

Analysing the statistics by the

proportion of students accepted

with at least one BTEC does show

that the 10 English universities with

the lowest share of such students

were all Russell Group universities.

A few of these universities

• including UCL and the University
  of Exeter – have increased their
  share of places given to BTEC stu-
  dents in the past five years. However,
  these increases are generally lower
  than those seen across the sector.
  This point is further backed up
  by looking at the 10 institutions
  with the biggest percentage point
  rises in the share of BTEC students
  accepted, which is dominated by
  less selective universities.
  However, at the same time they
  are not necessarily the least selective
  universities and also do include
  pre-92 institutions such as the Uni-
  versity of Bradford, the University
  of Surrey and Keele University.
  [email protected]

Analysis of Ucas data suggests new strategies for

mature students and BTECs. Simon Baker writes

Recruitment

focus shifting

at some UK

institutions

GETTY

Off pistelast year Bedfordshire enrolled more older students than 18-year-olds

University of

Bedfordshire

London

Metropolitan

University

University

of Cumbria

Plymouth

Marjon

University

University of

Sunderland

Kingston

University

University of

West London

Canterbury

Christ Church

University

Anglia Ruskin

University

University of

Chichester

Percentage change in acceptances, 18-year-olds and mature students, 2012 to 2017

80

60

40

20

0

−

−

−

−

GO HIGHER:CHANGE IN RECRUITMENT AGE PROFILES

18-year-olds 21 and over

%

Source: Ucas