The admission service, Ucas, is going to review the university admissions system and adapt it to the contemporary range of qualifications as employers often use this “point-based” system wrongly and will publish this as essay. Nowadays it is difficult to get a place at university as the competition is too high and universities do not give enough information on the admission process to admission tutors. However, the overhauling of admission system is to take place during the coming two years and will not influence the record number of applicants this year. According to the latest estimation, the number of candidates who are going to receive a university place this year is 100,000 while there are only 10,000 extra places.
Sir Robert Burgess, who is a chair of the Ucas board and vice-chancellor at the University of Leicester, considers that this review and tariff are very useful for higher education, because they will help to support admission process and help applicants to understand better all qualifications that are appearing. As the number of applicants has greatly increased in recent years, admission tutors paid attention simply to the scored points. The tariff scores were set up after students have taken A-levels and then applied for university place. Still, many students apply with other qualifications and the tariff does not show how appropriate a school was for getting a certain degree in university.
According to the findings of Ucas, there were some internships and graduate recruitment schemes that are asking for tariff scores during the application process. The main purpose of the review is to help applicants understand the relevance of certain qualifications to particular courses. The review also aims at making the application process accommodated to increasingly diverse range of skills and experience of students. Students should be aware whether their qualifications suit the course at the university they are going to enter.