Student intake falls at university
STUDENT intake at the University of Gloucestershire has fallen.
The university has seen an 11 per cent drop in acceptances this year.
But it is still above the national average, of a 14 per cent drop.
The fall has been attributed to higher tuition fees, but Government ministers have also said it was because fewer students were going on to higher education after failing to achieve top grades.
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Penny Eccles, head of recruitment and guidance at the university, said 2,100 full-time undergraduate students had joined the university for the academic year.
"The university has performed well this year in a very competitive market," she said.
"Across the higher education sector, there has been a 14 per cent fall in the number of students accepting university places, reflecting the increase in student fees introduced this year.
"The University of Gloucestershire has achieved recruitment levels slightly better than that national average.
"We are particularly pleased that, under the new Government rules applying to the most highly qualified applicants, we have recruited 230 students with the highest grades of AAB+ at A level or equivalent, making up about 12 per cent of our overall intake."
She added that the university was now focussed on helping its students make Cheltenham their home.
Challenging
"This recruitment cycle has been a challenging one for all universities, but demand for places on our programmes has remained fairly consistent," she said.
"The entry qualifications achieved by our new students has held up well, and we have expanded the number of places available on a number of courses including sports therapy, journalism and biology.
"We are now focussed on helping our new students settle in well, ensuring we provide the best possible experience of a successful and rewarding higher education."
The situation has been fuelled by fewer students than expected achieving top grades.
Speaking at the Universities UK conference, higher education minister David Willetts said fewer teenagers than expected scored at least two A grades and a B at A-level this year, although more scored highly in vocational qualifications.
He said: "Different institutions will have been affected differently; that is inevitable when making significant changes, which are intended to take greater account of student choice. I recognise this comes at a time when there have been other pressures too."
Comments
by NibNobs
Saturday, October 06 2012, 5:42PM
“An engineering apprenticeship is the new degree. With the new government backed apprenticeship you do one year at a local college followed by a 3 year placement at a local company like Delphi, Renishaw, Dowty etc. You get paid (ok,not much) whilst you do it and have a useful qualification like an HNC/HND/NVQ and more importantly a skill at the end with a guarantee of a job. No need to rent an expensive room share/bedsit/hovvel near uni, still see your mates/girlfriend/boyfriend on weekdays and no expensive train journeys or petrol from home to uni at weekends. Unless this recession suddenly ends i'd say an apprenticeship is far better than being just another out of work graduate.”
by thomas1996
Saturday, October 06 2012, 5:27PM
“Tell that to all the graduates that were conned into going to 'euni' by the last Labour govt who said they'd get a top job, hinted at a £50k+ a year starting salary wanted 50% of school leavers to get a degree. Many of those degree undergraduates from the last 3 -5 years are now trapped in low paid supermarket/retail/NHS jobs or no job at all wondering where the £50k salaries are locally and why they did a 'sports science' or 'business studies' degree now.”
by Douglasknows
Saturday, October 06 2012, 4:16PM
“Not everyone is going to be a top earner. The kids should know their limits and apply for jobs where they can earn money and have a career, not waste their and their families time/money choosing a university with the best bars/nightlife.”
by IsitJimKerr
Saturday, October 06 2012, 3:22PM
“Dave_t10................agree with everything you say. It's not a 'jolly' any more, with thick kids have a three year p!ss up, with the taxpayer paying the tuition fees, and bank of Mum and Dad paying the booze bill.
Loved it when some Labour tvvat said they would re-introduce the 50p income tax rate, and reduce tuition fees to £6k......WOW!!!!!!!!......so Liebour were going to raise the fees as well, jeeeeeeeez the lying sh!ts!”
by Dave_t10
Saturday, October 06 2012, 1:45PM
“Not surprising really, potential students now must consider if their chosen course and University actually offer good value.
As a result, pointless courses and lesser ranked Universities are going to struggle to attract student's when they are charging very similar fees to much more prestigious institutions.
And its about time!
We have long heard how graduates have far more earning potential than non-graduates, so they will have no problem paying back their loans. The new loan system is actually pretty good, no repayments until they are earning the national average wage or more.
However, the truth is really that graduates of many pointless courses don't actually increase their job or pay prospects by studying useless courses. At just over £1,000 a year, 3 years doing very little whilst studying for a Mickey Mouse qualification may have been seen like a good option, now the stakes are raised to more like £9,000 they must think twice.”