The will overhaul university
admissions so students apply to university after they get their
results, it has announced today (Wednesday).
The University and College Union (UCU), which
has long campaigned for reform of university admissions, welcomed
the move and said it was time the UK caught up with the rest of
the world by basing offers on actual achievement rather than
guesswork.
The union said that shifting to a
post-qualifications admissions (PQA) system - where people apply
to university after they get their results - would deal with the
problem of inaccurate grade predications, put an end to the
chaotic clearing system and level the playing field for
students.
UCU said the change would also make
unconditional offers and “conditional unconditional offers” –
where a student is only guaranteed a place if
they list the university as their first choice -
redundant.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘We have
long called for an overhaul of university admissions and welcome
Labour’s commitment to reform the system.Allowing
people to apply after they receive their results would help level
the playing field for students, remove the problems associated
with unconditional offers and end the chaotic clearing
scramble.
‘The current system, based on inaccurately predicted
results, is failing students. It is time we adopted the type of
system used around the rest of the world where university offers
are based on actual achievements instead of guesswork.’
Almost two in five students (38%)
received at least one conditional offer this year,
compared to a third (34%) last year and just 1% six years
ago. Yet only one in six (16%)
students’ A-level grades are predicted
correctly.
No other countries use
predicted grades to award university
places, and seven in ten staff
involved in university admissions back the move to a PQA
system.
