Record University Applications and Reduced Fees

On the same day that record numbers of students won places at UK universities, new research suggests that the institutions may have to reduce their £9,000 fees to maintain such high attendance figures.

Yesterday was A-Level results day for hundreds of thousands of British teenagers, many of whom were waiting anxiously to find out if they had been accepted on to their first choice university course. Despite record pass levels, and more university places than ever, thousands were left disappointed due to the unprecedented number of Higher Education applications. However, education experts are already warning that universities will begin to struggle to fill their courses if they start charging £9,000 per year from 2012.

A Day of Record Results

A-Levels are the last exams pupils take in the UK whilst still at school, and are used as the main academic measure for university entry. For the 29th year in a row, A-Level passes rose (to 97.8%), though for the first time in 14 years, the proportion of A and A* grades did not improve on the previous year's (27%). However, the record grades alone have not assured students of a place at university, as they have been matched by record university applications.

So far there have been over 673,000 applications for undergraduate places, whilst there were just 487,000 places on courses last year. Indeed, such is the demand for university places this year that the admissions and results website, UCAS, went down for several hours yesterday after it received four times the number of people logging on compared to last year.

Increased Fees Warning

The huge number of applications to university courses is, at least partly, due to the increase in tuition fees planned for 2012, meaning that this year's intake will be the last to enjoy the lower fees. New plans, revealed earlier this year, tripled the maximum that universities can charge for tuition fees, and many universities have since announced that they will be charging the maximum £9,000 per year.

However, experts warned yesterday that if the institutions maintain such a high level of fees, then they may struggle to fill their courses. The Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) released a report, detailing how:

"Most universities will be obliged if not immediately then within a year or two, to reduce their net fees to £7,500. They will become unviable very quickly otherwise, losing 8% or more of their students every year."

The idea that universities are going to have to start fighting harder for students was backed up by Universities Minister David Willetts who added:

"While we expect universities to offer good value for money, students will have the information to decide what course and institution is right for them. Institutions will have to work much harder to attract students and be explicit about the quality of their teaching and the type of experience they offer."

By all accounts, it looks like this year may well be the last to see record applications for UK universities, as the position of power shifts from the institutions to the students themselves.

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