Five Reforms to the Undergraduate Admissions in the UK

UCAS has published a report entitled “Future of Undergraduate Admissions”[1] in January 2023 that spotlights five key reforms to the undergraduate admissions process in the UK. The reforms aim to make the UCAS system more transparent, accessible, and personalized for the applicants.

1. References

UCAS is replacing the free text approach in academic references with three structured questions for all undergraduate applications starting with the 2024 entry cycle. The referees will be expected to write about these following points:

1.     A general statement about the school/college

2.     Any information about extenuating circumstances which may affect the applicant’s performance in examinations or other assessments (optional)

3.     Any other circumstances specific to the applicant that the referee thinks universities/colleges should be aware of (optional)

2. Grades on Entry

UCAS launched “Entry Grade Reports” in 2023, which are now available through the search tool on ucas.com. These reports show the range of grade profiles that have been accepted for entry to courses over a five-year period. This will help eliminate the discrepancies between the advertised entry requirements and the grades that are ultimately accepted by the universities. Students can see a personalised view – for example, if a student indicates that they are taking BTECs or SQA qualifications, the tool switches from A-level data to data more appropriate for their qualifications.

3. Personal Statement

Similar to the changes in the References, the free text approach in the Personal Statement is being replaced by structured questions. However, it is not yet certain when this change will be implemented. It can potentially impact students applying in the 2025 application cycle for 2026 entry. Six key areas have been identified that will be included in the reformed Personal Statement:

1. Motivation for Course – Why do you want to study these courses?

2. Preparedness for Course – How has your learning so far helped you to be ready to succeed on these courses?

3. Preparation through other experiences – What else have you done to help you prepare, and why are these experiences useful?

4. Extenuating circumstances – Is there anything that the universities and colleges need to know about, to help them put your achievements and experiences so far into context?

5. Preparedness for study – What have you done to prepare yourself for student life?

6. Preferred Learning Styles – Which learning and assessment styles best suit you – how do your courses choices match that?

4. Personalisation

UCAS is using their data to create personalised recommendations for students during their application process. In September 2021, UCAS launched the Career Quiz, which shows students the relationship between careers, higher education courses and graduate outcomes. Now they are building on this to create a prototype for a personalised course recommendation tool. The tool will look at the students’ areas of interest, career goals, grade profile, willingness to travel and other attributes to make recommendation on courses. The tool is designed to expand choice by introducing them to alternative pathways while informing the students about which subjects traditionally lead to which career pathways.

5. Widening Access and Participation

UCAS has launched the Fair Access Programme, which aims to support universities and employers in their efforts to widen access and participation. Through this program, they are delivering a range of initiatives to assist the most disadvantaged students progressing to higher education or apprenticeships. In 2023, they also launched the Outreach Connection Service, which helps schools and students navigate and connect to the opportunities offered by higher education providers and third-sector organisations. This service allows the tracking of the progression of student engagement with such opportunities while also informing sector-wide evaluation and impact measurement.

These reforms are the outcomes of insights gathered through engagement with over 180 universities and colleges, over 700 teachers and their representative bodies, and nearly 15,000 students to better serve applicants and expand participation. Students reported that the free-text approach causes them stress due to a lack of guidance. Also, it leads to too much variation in terms of content, partly due to the inequality of opportunities associated with the writing process. Therefore, we believe that a more structured system will make the application process clearer and easier for the students and the referees. Most of the reforms have been put in place, but HBA will follow closely when the changes to the Personal Statements will be implemented.

[1] https://www.ucas.com/file/672901/download?token=VccObZXZ

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