Vice-chancellors back new system of post qualification admissions

University vice-chancellors have backed major reforms to the university admissions system, which will mean that UK students will only be offered places at university once they have received their A-level results.

The changes, which have been on the cards for years, are intended to make the system fairer by abandoning the use of — often unreliable — predicted grades. The new system could be introduced for students entering university in 2023–24.

The proposed changes come after an 18-month Fair Admissions Review by Universities UK (UUK). The “post qualifications admissions” (PQA) will give students more time to consider their degree and university options, and offers will only be made once the university has received an applicant’s grades. Providers will then have a window of a week before offers are made, with a seven-day period for students to respond. Unplaced applicants will go through a clearing process.

UUK said the changes would result in “greater transparency and confidence in the admissions system” and would be “less distracting” in the run up to exams.

The UUK proposals come days after the admissions service Ucas proposed its options, in which applications are made after results day with courses starting in January, rather than in the autumn.

However, critics warned that the current drawn-out process would be concentrated into a frantic fortnight putting pressure on schools and university admissions departments, and could create challenges for highly selective courses, such as medicine, which require interviews.

Professor Quintin McKellar, chair of UUK’s Fair Admissions Review and vice-chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire, said: “Any change to PQA must be taken forward carefully by universities, with further consultation with students, government, and those working across the education sector.”

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, said the new system would be fairer. “The current system is based on inaccurately predicted results and leads to those from less affluent backgrounds losing out,” she said. “Allowing students to apply after they receive their results will help level the playing field and put a stop to the chaotic clearing scramble.”

The UUK report also calls for the scrapping of “conditional unconditional offers” through which students are offered places regardless of their exam results as long as they make an institution their firm choice. It also proposes a new code of practice to maintain standards.