The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) warned that reforms to so-called gold standard qualifications could create “last damage” to certain disciplines.
In a report, officials suggested that changes could lead to a long-term decline in the number of students taking courses such as the arts.
The comments were made in an official response to a consultation being run by Ofqual, the exams watchdog, into plans to overhaul A-levels in England.
Under plans, exam boards will be expected to revamp courses in “priority subjects” such as chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, English literature, geography, history and modern languages for teaching in 2014.
Examiners will be expected to work alongside leading universities to create new-style syllabuses and test papers to provide a more demanding course for sixth-formers.
Other courses would then be brought in between 2015 and 2018.
But UCAS warned that there was a risk that these "early phase subjects" may be preferred by universities.
This could create "a two-tier situation where some subjects lose value, and students may be discriminated against because of subject choice”, it said.
"Were this to be the case, or thought to be so, there may be lasting damage to the popularity of some subjects in these later phases and a potential for negative impact on social mobility," UCAS said.
Conversely, UCAS also warned that the upgrading of A-levels may drive some students away from tougher subjects. This happened to maths after a previous overhaul by Labour a decade ago, it suggested.
"There is also a risk that if new specifications were perceived to be more ‘difficult’ students would shift subject preferences away from key subjects and demand would fall in important subject areas,” the watchdog said.
The Government wants to revise A-levels amid concerns that existing courses fail to prepare teenagers for the demands of higher education.
Under plans, all new courses will be drawn up between exam boards and individual universities.
Last week, it emerged that Cambridge was intervening to help create A-level maths syllabuses.
Ofqual said it would be a "good option" to start the process with more traditional academic subjects.
In response, UCAS said these were all subjects preferred by leading Russell Group universities, but added: "We would like to understand more about the rationale behind this list which excludes a number of significantly more popular A-level subjects taken by UK candidates."
Mrs Curnock Cook also said that the timetable for reform was "highly risky".
"We have history to tell us that if you're doing radical reform and you do it very quickly and you do it without piloting you might well bump up against some unintended consequences," she said.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Academics in our best universities have been clear that there are serious problems with A-levels and they are not preparing pupils properly for rigorous degrees.
"Ofqual have recently consulted on A-level reform. We will await the outcomes of their consultation and set out our reforms in due course.”
Source: 30th October 2012, The Telegraph by Grame Paton
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9643854/UCAS-warns-over-creation-of-two-tier-A-level-system.html
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