Coalition failed to heed admission body’s warnings

The government was warned a year ago by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service that the ‘AAB’ system and changes to student numbers would create problems in admissions, it has emerged, as concern mounts over a dramatic shortfall in the number of undergraduates entering higher education this year, writes John Morgan for Times Higher Education.

Meanwhile, the Universities UK president, Eric Thomas, is said to have caused disquiet among some vice-chancellors who believe he has used worries over admissions to call for the complete deregulation of student numbers. On 14 September, the Universities and Colleges Admissions System took the unprecedented step of publishing a detailed update on the latest in-year acceptances data. The figures show a 14% fall in the number of UK and European Union students taking up places in institutions in England for 2012-13 entry compared with the same point last year (down by 54,200).
Full report on the Times Higher Education site