Offer-making and equality in admissions at universities and colleges

Today (31 Jan), UCAS publishes new analysis addressing the following:

Extended insight about unconditional offers made to 18 year old students from England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, who are yet to complete their qualifications. Unconditional offers accounted for more than 10 per cent of offers made to this age group, at over a third of the 140 largest universities and colleges. This includes offers that are initially made by the university as conditional, then updated to unconditional if the offer is accepted as the student’s first (firm) choice.

The number and percentage of unconditional offers made by individual universities and colleges, to 18 year old students from England, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

An analysis of applicants’ backgrounds using UCAS’ multiple equality measure (MEM), which combines several dimensions of equality. This shows progress
continues to slow in closing the gap between the most and least advantaged students accepted to start a degree.

University-level application data for the 2018 cycle, showing the recruitment of students by age, sex, and domicile, as well as equalities data on offer rates and entry rates for 132 of the largest providers. This data helps universities benchmark their progress in widening participation and access, as well as being significant to UCAS’ commitment to transparency in admissions.

An update on UCAS’ verification service, following a report published in May 2018. This concludes our statistical reporting for the 2018 undergraduate admissions cycle.

Clare Marchant, UCAS’ Chief Executive, said:

‘UCAS’ commitment to transparency for students, teachers, universities, and colleges has seen our most comprehensive analysis of the current trends in undergraduate admissions, during the 2018 cycle.

‘Our independence means we can present a balanced view on the different ways unconditional offers are used, and their impact on attainment, and share students’
opinions on them to enable an informed and nuanced debate.

‘It’s crucial that students can make well-informed choices. UCAS is here to provide step-by-step support, to help them make the right decisions for their future,
including advice on unconditional offers. We’ve also issued good practice guides to support universities and colleges to make unconditional offers responsibly.’