Dozens of institutions outside the academic elite are making
lucrative offers to applicants with the best A-level grades, irrespective of
their household income, it emerged.
The awards – for students starting degrees in 2013 –
normally include substantial discounts on tuition fees or cash contributions
towards living costs.
Some universities are offering applicants guaranteed places
in halls of residence and even free laptops or membership of sports clubs.
Institutions offering deals include Aston, Bournemouth,
Brunel, Coventry, De Montfort, Edge Hill, Essex, Gloucestershire, Kent,
Leicester, Northumbria, Roehampton, the Royal Agricultural College, Salford,
Surrey and Wolverhampton.
City University London is offering awards of between £3,000
and £9,000 over three years depending on students’ A-level grades and chosen
undergraduate course.
Newman University College in Birmingham said it was offering
£10,000 for all students who achieve three B grades or better in their
A-levels.
Newcastle University’s school of electrical and electronic
engineering offers scholarships of up to £2,000-a-year plus a laptop, while
Surrey University promises a £3,000 cash award alongside free sports club
membership to students with straight As.
In most cases, these scholarships are not means-tested but
depend on students naming particular universities as their “firm choice” on
UCAS application forms.
The disclosure appears to underline the lengths universities
are being forced to go to in an attempt to fill places following a backlash
over the near tripling of tuition fees to a maximum of £9,000-a-year.
Earlier this month, England’s Higher Education Funding
Council found that university finances were under pressure after an “unexpected
fall” in admissions rates.
Overall numbers were an average of 2.1 per cent lower than
universities’ own forecasts, it emerged. Some 57,000 fewer undergraduates
started courses across the country this year.
In a report, the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies said
“lower-ranked” universities were now increasingly likely to use cash incentives
to attract students.
“Support for high-achieving students has become more generous
across all types of institutions, particularly lower-ranked ones,” it said.
“This may be at least partly a response to the new admissions system... It may
result in high-achieving students being attracted to lower-ranked universities
by the promise of more financial support in the short-term.”
Previously, the number of students recruited by each
university was subject to strict Government caps.
But the Coalition has partially lifted controls to allow
institutions to take unlimited numbers of students with the best A-level
grades. In 2012, they could recruit more undergraduates with AAB grades, while
next year the measures extend to those with at least ABB.
The move has triggered intense competition to sign up these
students to prevent them being tempted to rival universities.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, which
represents vice-chancellors, said high-achieving students were “in demand by
universities and there are a wide variety of scholarships and other financial
inducements being offered to them.”
“Universities have offered merit-based scholarships for many
years, so the concept is not new,” she said, adding that UUK was currently
undertaking research into the impact of bursary and scholarship packages on
university application trends.
But Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and
College Union, said cash for bright students may come at the expense of
means-tested support for the poorest.
“Some universities are now pulling out all the stops to
secure students with the highest grades,” she added.
“Students considering university next year should be
attracted to the courses that best suit their talents, not by financial
incentives.”
But Deborah Streatfield, a London-based careers adviser,
doubted that scholarships acted as a significant draw, adding that applicants
“intensively study league tables of university rankings and subject ranking and
never look at the financial incentives on offer”.
Source: 11 November 2012, The Telegraph by Graeme Paton and
Alex Binley
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