Are University Entry Requirements Too Lenient?
A recent article published by Times Higher Education suggests universities should stick to their course entry requirements, which would culminate in the eradication of unconditional offers. That’s good, right?
When I was at college the entry requirement of the course I wanted to enrol in at my desired university was, as far as I was concerned, written law; if I didn’t get the grades I wasn’t going to uni. But then someone I knew managed to get into one of the most prestigious universities in the UK with grades considerably below the requirement.
I knew for a fact I received higher grades, yet I was going off to a far less superior university, having stuck to the rules and played the game the way I was told we had to play it. I didn’t feel put out per se, but I remember thinking to myself, what’s the point?
And by that I meant, what’s the point of studying hard for grades we’ve been told are absolutely set in stone, only for someone to turn around and say, don’t worry, we’ll let you in anyway.
To say it tarnished my achievements is perhaps slightly strong, but I applied for a university I knew was within my reach, but this person didn’t. They failed to meet the requirements but were accepted nonetheless.
I’m all for giving someone the benefit of the doubt — our university aspirations shouldn’t be extinguished just because a result hasn’t gone our way. But what level of leniency should we expect before it just becomes insolent to those of us who have stayed our line?
An incentive
I did my A-levels six years ago. Five years ago 3,000 unconditional offers were made. A year ago 117,000 were made. Thus, you can understand my bemusement in university acceptance rates, because receiving an unconditional offer when I was a 17-year-old was as rare as hen’s teeth.
But is there much of a difference between my peer’s experience as mentioned above, and unconditional offers?
For all my peer knew they had to achieve the needed grades to get in — they didn’t know they would be accepted come what may. They revised and tried their hardest, but alas, it wasn’t enough. It was music to their ears when they heard they had been accepted, and fair play to them, you make your own luck in life. But unconditional offers are a different breed of leniency.
Would you tell your employee they’re to be given a performance-related bonus no matter what before they’ve submitted their work? No, the bonus is the incentive, and when that’s taken away, what’s there to work for?
Unconditional offers help to breed a degree of entitlement. They’re almost a response to pupils saying, “I’ve spent my whole life in education, I should be allowed to go to university.” The privilege of earning your place is gone.
Tarnishing the degree
Do you know how many times my parents said to me, “you’re so lucky going to university”?
They grew up in a time where going to university was almost unfathomable — it was out of the question for most. Even when I went it felt like an achievement, but now? They’ll give anyone a shot.
It’s got to the point where a degree is a baseline and the foundation upon which you need to build everything else. It gets you a look in, but after that, what else have you got to offer? For a student who’s spent the past three to four years studying, I can’t imagine there’s much else.
Unconditional offers, clearance, leniency on grade attainment, all of it, they make you think, do universities even care about their success rate anymore?
So, what am I suggesting?
Number one, scrap the unconditional for starters, that’s obviously a given if you’ve read this far.
Number two, set realistic expectations. Teacher’s need to guide students on what institutions they should be applying for.
Number three, encourage back-up universities, which is what we were instructed to do. Thus, if requirements aren’t met for the first choice, pupils will have their second, third, or fourth choice to fall back on. If you don’t make it into any, then maybe higher education isn’t for you.
Number four, and perhaps the most important: re-instil the importance of performance. Doing so will sift through those who are dedicated to studying, and those who are hoping to attend just because it’s what’s expected of them. The result? More valued degrees and higher attainment rates.
My stance on the matter is fairly clear, and I certainly don’t think it’s unreasonable. I want to see the degree celebrated again, because the way I see it, it’s underappreciated, and the unconditional offer is draining the life from it.
Originally published at https://www.kortext.com by Matthew Maynard
