NIACE concerned over UCAS End of Cycle report 2012 Monday, December 17, 2012 - 14:21

Despite some welcome trends captured in last week’s UCAS End of Cycle report 2012, the overall picture is of a worrying fall in full-time student admissions for this academic cycle, says NIACE.

Paul Stanistreet, NIACE’s policy lead on higher education, said:

"There are some welcome trends captured in last week’s UCAS report – notably the 10% rise in 18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds going to elite universities and the increase in students going to their first-choice institution – but the overall picture is of a worrying fall in full-time student admissions for this academic cycle.

As demand for higher education seems to have been broadly maintained among 18 year olds the signs are that there has been a substantial decline in numbers from other groups, particularly mature students, starting HE courses. Early indicators are that figures for part-time admissions (which are not processed by UCAS) are also likely to show a sharp drop. All in all, these indications do not bode well for the government’s ambitions to open higher education up to a broader range of students and should set alarm bells ringing in government.

It is critical that government and institutions think hard about how they communicate their offer, particularly to mature and part-time students who often apply direct to institutions and frequently do not have access to the kind of institutional support and guidance available to 18-year-old applicants in schools and colleges. More needs to be done to promote the benefits of higher education to mature applicants, to explain the new tuition fee and loan regime, and to communicate the kinds of support that are on offer – as well as to ensure the level of choice and support available is both adequate and appropriate. Failure to do this will hold us back in the long term, not only as an economy, but also as a society with genuine ambitions to offer educational opportunity to all, however and whenever it is needed."