Many reports this morning of news that the university admissions system is facing a radical overhaul amid fears it fails to properly differentiate between different qualifications taken in the sixth-form. This is from the Telegraph.
A points-based tariff used to award places on degree courses is likely to be axed following claims the existing system is outdated.
The move – outlined in a document published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) – could give institutions greater freedom to prioritise candidates taking the toughest courses at school and sixth-form college.
It may also lead to some academic subjects such as maths, science and foreign languages being given higher ratings than more vocational qualifications.
The expected change comes after David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said last year that the existing system sent out a “very bad message to young people” because it currently ranked all A-levels as the same.
Indications that the tariff system could be axed come just weeks before hundreds of thousands of students across the country receive their A-level results and confirmation of university places for this autumn.Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents head teachers, said: “Doing away with the tariff means that universities will have to look more closely at the content, knowledge and skills that students gain with each qualification, rather than relying on a somewhat crude points score.”
Under the current system, qualifications such as A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, BTECs and diplomas are assigned a points score.
Large numbers of admissions tutors use points, which vary according to the course and grade achieved, to award undergraduate places.
The system was originally designed when A-levels were the main entry standard for university but now it is thought that around half of UK students apply with other qualifications.
UCAS have recommended that universities consider the “gradual withdrawal” of the tariff system and replace it with the “greater use of qualifications and grades”.
Instead, all universities will ask would-be students for specific qualifications and grades when offering places on degree courses.
The move would give students a clearer indication which qualifications in the sixth-form were more relevant when applying to different universities, UCAS said.
In total, almost two-thirds of those who responded to the UCAS consultation were in favour of the plan, the latest document shows. Universities, schools, exam boards and funding bodies all submitted replies.
Only 16 per cent were against the proposal.
The UCAS report said: “It was widely felt that qualification and grade-based entry requirements and offers are clearer and more transparent for learners and offer those higher education providers who actively select applicants for their courses greater control over admissions.”
But there were also fears that scrapping the tariff system could narrow students’ choices at A-level and lead to schools focusing on exams that will win students places.
This could mean putting academic qualifications over vocational ones.
More at: UCAS: outdated A-level points system ‘set to be axed’
