Daily Diamond - University application process to be upgraded

Fifty years ago a system was devised and launched into action by the “University and College Admission Service” to accommodate the then small number of students who wished to proceed from secondary school into higher education.

The application process imposed, required students to enter personal details, a short explanation as to why they wanted to study the course they were applying for and the grades that they were predicted to achieve when they finished school.

Institutions would receive these applications and then conditionally offer the applicant a place at their university.

The same system in place to this very day, however the number of applicants using this system couldn’t be more different.

With the number of people applying to university almost ten times greater than when the system was first introduced, professors, vice-chancellors and chancellors all over the country are calling for an overhaul in the arguably outdated system.

The reason the current application process has lasted as long as it has is because it has not been until very recently that the number of students pursuing higher education has increased. These new students heading on to campus range from A-level graduates to retraining professionals. This has a hugely positive impact, not just on the universities themselves but also the employability of the postgraduates coming out the other side of university life.

This surge in university interest has led authority figures to reach the conclusion that amendments to the application system need to be made.

Amendments to the application process could be made as early as September 2016. This will leave students from eighteen to eighty-eight with a less intimidating, stress free and clear-cut challenge ahead of them, when applying for university.

The main change being called for in the system revamp is the timing, currently, university hopefuls apply on campus, several months before they even sit their entry examinations resulting in universities offering places to candidates solely based on the predictions of their teachers.

This as with any prediction can be incorrect and could be due to the complacency of the teacher or doesn’t account for students achieving better than expected at the end of the year.

Moving the application deadline to until after exams have been completed will provide a more accurate and definitive result for the student after they have submitted their application.

Another significant change is the ‘UCAS points’ system, at present universities will set a required total of UCAS points which are needed in order to participate in the course.

These points are achieved by obtaining grades at A-level or equivalent, Professor Alan Smithers of Buckingham University stated “some aspects of the tariff are concerning, particularly the imbalance between A-levels in difficult subjects and some vocational qualifications”. His concerns can be found in examples such as holding a new style diploma in hair and beauty, which can grant a candidate up to the equivalent of three and a half top A-level grades in UCAS points.

The overhaul of the application process will look to address these sorts of imbalances while also making the application process as a whole, a lot smoother for both universities and students to undergo.

University application process to be upgraded