Net gain for students using the Web

The internet is revolutionising the way the Clearing system works, says Emma Rubach

So you've opened the envelope and (as often happens in life) things haven't quite gone to plan. Uh oh. What next? The Net is fast becoming the first port of call for university applicants anxious to determine their destinies without resorting to the undignified telephone scramble for a place.

Kay McArdle, director of sixth form at St John's School, Marlborough, says she has noticed a gradual trend towards electronic applications. "This is the first time I've seen universities actively push online Clearing facilities. I've had five or six leaflets from universities directing students to go to the internet for Clearing," she says. "By next year I think facilities of this kind will take off as more and more pupils automatically go to the Web for information." Around 50 per cent of St John's 300-strong sixth form applied electronically this year.

It should be pointed out that, while using the web to check for course vacancies will save you from spending August as a "call waiting" in an over-stretched admissions office, you can't technically apply for a course over the internet. Clearing is a nationwide system that can only be entered by sending off your UCAS Clearing Entry Form (CEF) to the institution of your choice. If a university asks for your CEF you are effectively being offered a place.

"Although you can investigate as many courses as you like, in order to prevent confusion you can only apply for one," explains UCAS chief executive Tony Higgins.

The UCAS website (www.ucas.ac.uk/Clearing) is a place almost everyone (and probably their parents too – but they won't be able to get in without a password) involved in the applications process will check at some point. Registering 73 million page impressions in the last ABC Electronic audit, it is one of the most popular websites in the UK. Each applicant is given a personal identification number which allows them to log on securely and check whether they have got a place; some check as often as every 10 minutes! The site lists every vacancy in the UK and is trialling a cheap-rate Wap phone service.

"The Web has great advantages," explains Higgins. "UCAS takes over 10,000 calls on A-level day, but if people get on the Web they discover a lot of these calls aren't necessary."

Unofficial websites may be less than efficient, he says. "There are a few around but most of them have incomplete listings. You should avoid them like the plague."

Last year Kingston University received more than 1,000 hits to www.kingston.ac.uk, (six per cent of total enquiries) and has plans to further enhance the service in the near future. At the moment, students fill out an online form designed to match them to the relevant course and then receive a call from the admissions tutor for their chosen subject, but in the future new database capabilities will let students know immediately whether they fit the bill.

Now in the second year of a business and sociology degree at Kingston, Amanda Collins used the website to secure her place. "I was apprehensive about speaking to someone on the phone, so I filled out the online form and submitted it," she says. "It was really straightforward. I thought it would take longer over the Net but I was surprised when they got back to me the next day."

Some universities, including Kingston and Sheffield Hallam, have gone live already to advertise their vacancies. But despite the advantages of changing technology, its unlikely the Net will take over totally, says Rachel Hewitt, head of marketing at Kingston. "A lot of people are panicky and distressed, and want to speak directly to someone. The website complements our service by allowing people to browse at their leisure, make an application out-of-hours, or sort themselves out with back-up options before the results come out: it's not supposed to replace telephone contact altogether."