Prospective students not told which universities are struggling

**The university admissions service, UCAS, has decided to withhold information on universities’ financial situations from prospective students for the first time.**

Students applying to universities are usually given information upon applying to higher education institutions, ranging from student satisfaction ratings, contact hours and average teaching scores.

However this year, students will not be told whether the institutions they are applying to are struggling with applications. In some universities, applications are thought to have declined by as much as 15 percent.

Last year’s enrolment figures released by UCAS surprisingly highlighted severe declines in some institutions. Experts feel this could lead to some universities struggling or even failing. London Metropolitan suffered the greatest hit, with a drop of 43 percent of applications from the previous year.

Bolton, Greenwich, Leeds Metropolitan universities and the University of East London all saw a drop of over 20 percent. Even the Russell Group has seen above-average losses at universities including Southampton, Liverpool and Sheffield, all of which are ranked lower than others in the group. Warwick saw applications to some subjects [fall by as much as 21 percent last year](https://theboar.org/news/2012/feb/8/warwick-applications-down-21/), though the University attributed this to increased entry requirements.

Ivanka Stojanovic, a Maths finalist at Greenwich commented on her university’s drop: “It’s a shame because the experience I’ve had has been one I won’t forget and it’s a shame others won’t be able to get that chance”

She added: “There may be reasons why [universities] are failing but it shouldn’t because overall it’s worth it and it pays off”.

However Roehampton University, witnessed a 27 percent increase in home-student applications this year after a dip in 2012. Olivia Brett, an English and History student at Roehampton speculated on the University’s success, suggesting Roehampton’s £7,500 fees compared favourably with universities that charged £9,000.

She also commented on UCAS’s decision to withhold universities’ application figures: “I think students should be aware of financial issues because it might affect the quality of their education there”.

Warwick has not yet revealed its application figures for this year.

One sixth former at a London school, Kyle Lacy-Andrews, commented on the lack of information on which universities are struggling: “The stress of not knowing whether the financial issues will affect me mid-way through my course is worrying”.

By contrast, third-year Warwick student Callum Calvert thought the decision was sensible. ‘This policy seems reasonable. The alternative may well lower overall education standards for the same students’, he said.

UCAS’s decision to delay this year’s figures may be for fear of struggling universities attracting even fewer students and going into further decline.

Some have argued, however, that the government’s duty is to ensure students and parents are not in the dark when a university may face scaling down or even closure if in serious trouble.

UCAS may be responding to pressure from universities. Chief executive Mary Curnock Cook, commented that the decision “reflects [UCAS’s] concerns that such information (in the middle of the live cycle) could be over-interpreted both by institutions and applicants and give rise to unintended market effects.

“The January-deadline data doesn’t take account of institutions that may typically recruit a greater proportion of applicants later in the cycle – from mature and international markets, for example. We are also concerned that applicants, who are taking decisions at a course level, could put too much weight on institution-level data.”

This was a concern shared by Warwick. Head of Communications at the University, Peter Dunn, commented: “it gives a much clearer picture if applications data for universities is available at the completion of the applications cycle rather than part way through.”

Warwick Students’ Union education officer, James Entwistle, however, was less supportive of the delay on application figures: “It’s alarming that Universities are reacting to the data on admission in this way.

“For application numbers to pose such a threat to the stability of UK HE is incredibly worrying, and the government has to get a grip, as this could spell catastrophe to such a dynamic and vibrant sector of the UK economy.”

The data will now be released in autumn after the clearing process.

Surprisingly, the figures – broken down by institution – are also being withheld from ministers and the vice-chancellors’ body, Universities UK. However, UCAS reported that with the consent of its members, it shares information with the government, regulators and funding agencies “where appropriate”.

[According to the _Guardian_](http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/mar/11/universities-falling-applications-ucas-protecting), senior figures predict that vice-chancellors of struggling universities may be stepping down in the coming months, as university boards demand answers on plunging numbers.

Some universities have reportedly begun discussing mergers and selling off key assets in order to rescue their finances. It seems that universities may well need to adapt to survive in the competitive market with increased fees of higher education.