2019-08-24 The Economist - Continental Europe edition

TheEconomistAugust 24th 2019 23

1

I

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

Also in this section