Why does it matter how students get their place in university?

Analysis: As institutions race to recruit, Eleanor Busby looks at how tactics affect school leavers

Universities are competing for students at a time when the overall number of applications is falling (PA)

Universities have increasingly come under fire for the tactics they use to recruit school leavers.

First it was for unconditional offers – where students are offered a place on a degree course regardless of their exam grades – and now the spotlight is on "strings attached" unconditional offers, in which students are told they are guaranteed a place on the course but only if they make it their first choice.

The latest data from Ucas shows that there were seven universities last year where more than half of the offers made to students were “conditional unconditional” despite a government crackdown.

So why are ministers, policymakers and school leaders so concerned about these recruitment tactics?

The number-one worry is that sixth-formers, if they are not required to achieve any grades to secure a university place, will take their foot off the pedal, become demotivated and receive worse A-level grades.

Recent research by Ucas has backed up school leaders’ claims that teenagers who accept these unconditional offers are more likely to miss their predicted A-level grades.

In 2019, 57 per cent of these applicants failed to meet their predicted results by three or more grades, compared with 43 per cent of those holding a conditional firm offer.

Another key concern is that students feel pressured into choosing courses or universities that are not in their best interests as a result of conditional unconditional offers, potentially damaging their future employment prospects.

Some school leavers are also receiving university offers with an incentive, such as cash payments, bursaries and scholarships, to make them select it as their firm choice.

Making the right decision about what and where to study is even more vital now that tuition fees are up to £9,250 a year in England, and students are graduating with tens of thousands of pounds of debt.

Students who accept unconditional offers are also more likely to drop out of university once they get there.

The Office for Students (OfS) has warned that hundreds of students a year who would be expected to continue their degree studies could drop out if the number of these offers continues to rise.

There are signs that more universities are moving away from conditional unconditional offers, but institutions could continue to use other tactics in a race to boost numbers.

Financial offers and inducements are offered to prospective students in clearing as an encouragement to take up a degree place, and the regulator has warned that disadvantaged students are disproportionately being recruited “inappropriately” on to “poor-quality courses”.

Universities are competing to attract students at a time when the number of applications is falling amid a decline in the UK’s 18-year-old population and uncapped student numbers.

A review into admissions at universities is currently under way, but greater action is needed from the sector to address the wide range of concerns about student recruitment.