Universities still recruiting students a month after A-levels

The vast majority of universities – including many leading institutions – are still recruiting students more than a month after the publication of A-level results. Universities are advertising clearing vacancies on almost 22,000 degree courses even though the academic year has already started for large numbers of undergraduates, write Graeme Paton and Zachary Spiro for The Telegraph.

Figures show that a quarter of members of the elite Russell Group had availability for British and European students at the end of last week. Some institutions were advertising places through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service on large numbers degree courses, with Keele, Sunderland and Hertfordshire making more than 700 available. Courses with vacancies include economics, law, history, chemistry, biology, engineering and history.

It underlines the scale of the competition between institutions to recruit students following the introduction of government reforms giving them powers to expand this year. But the sheer scale of late recruitment will prompt concerns that some students may be admitted despite being unfit for the academic demands of their course.
Full report on The Telegraph site