In The Summertime

Summer time is traditionally a quiet time for education. Schools are on holiday, with pupils and teachers enjoying a well earned rest. However, for universities, there is growing activity as they build towards A Level results day.

Behind the scenes, a phenomenal amount of administrators, managers and indeed academics are involved in laying the groundwork for the feverish few days that lie in wait. University admissions processes are becoming more and more frenetic as the years progress. The climate has changed hugely in the last few years; not very long ago, universities at least issued their offers and waited to see if candidates made them. If they did, they were in; if they didn’t, they were placed into the maelstrom of clearing or forced to take a gap year and possibly even resit their A Levels. Nowadays, the boot is very much on the other foot, with the expansion of universities and the removal of the funding cap on places meaning that universities are competing more and more with each other to fill more and more places.

This expansion is not without controversy. Indeed, it has been a very difficult year for universities, constantly in the news for the size of Vice Chancellor salaries, a more businesslike approach to education and allegations of dumbing down as record numbers of first class degrees are awarded.

It is hard not to be cynical. As with schools, increased numbers of students means increased income for universities to spend. Top class facilities, state-ofthe-art sport centres, award-winning architectural extravaganzas are being seen with increasing frequency in our most prestigious institutions. The inevitable question arises: is it possible to expand university places so significantly without a concurrent lowering of academic standards?

Many Universities will refute the latter claim. They will point to the number of people they reject who nonetheless have the grades to access the course. They will also, quite rightly, point out that interest and applications from international students is growing every year. An education at a British university is one which is sought-after throughout the world and therefore it is possible to increase significantly student intake without diluting the ability profile of the students.

No doubt this is true. However, the expansion of UK universities has posed teachers and pupils in school with an interesting ethical dilemma. Almost uniquely throughout the world, undergraduate admissions to UK universities are based on predicted grades rather than achieved grades for most youngsters. Teachers are required to make informed “best guesses” of what pupils will achieve at A Level and conditional offers are issued on the basis of those. So far, so reasonable.

In recent years, however, the dynamic has changed. Put yourself in the place of an A-level physics teacher. One of your pupils wants to study a science degree at a good Russell group University; she has been desperate to read this subject since a work experience project two years ago. The University specifies ABB as the entry requirement; your pupil is a solid, hardworking C grade candidate who, on the evidence from a year of A Level study, is unlikely to get a B. However, you remember that last year a similar student got a place at the same university to read the same course with BBC. On results day, the University dropped its requirements and took him. What is the ethical thing to do? Hold fast to the likely grade or bump the prediction so the pupil’s application at least will be processed?

Small wonder that, given this scenario, predicted grades issued by schools are being criticised for being unreliable. Teachers and schools want to do right by their pupils, but it takes honesty on both sides of the university application process for the system to work. Increased access to university is no doubt a good thing, but a grown-up and civilised debate needs to happen if universities aren’t going to be seen as saying one thing whilst doing another.