Advice and guidance for referees for independent applicants

If you have been asked to write a reference for an independent applicant who is not currently at school or college, please read through the advice below before starting.

The UCAS reference is the only part of the application not written by the applicant. References are intended to provide universities and colleges with an informed academic assessment of an applicant's suitability for higher education study. Universities and colleges are looking for the following key facts about a student.

The student's academic performance in their post-16 education

Their potential for academic success in higher education

Why the course they have chosen is suited to them

Any personal qualities which will benefit them at university, such as skills, aptitude, enthusiasm

What they can bring to the university, such as extra-curricular activities and interests.You will not be able to read the whole application and you should contact the applicant to check which courses they have applied to, if you do not already know. Please note that you should not include a direct reference to any particular university or college, because at this stage we do not allow them to see the identity of any other institutions to which an applicant has applied and they will all read your reference.

If you are writing a reference for an international applicant, please write in English. If the applicant's first language is not English, please comment on their ability to write and speak in English, and indicate whether any of their studies were taught in English.

If you taught them before they started their break from education, please give details and describe how they compared with others in their class.

If the applicant is on an access course, foundation course or other one-year course, you may not have known them long enough to write a full reference. In this case, please explain that you are providing a temporary reference (including as much detail as you can) and will provide a complete reference next spring. All supplementary references should be sent directly to all the chosen institutions and should quote the applicant's name and Personal ID, which you should obtain from the applicant.

Describe their suitability for their chosen courses---- international relations and politicsThe most important part of your reference is your assessment of the applicant's suitability for the higher education courses they have chosen. We recommend that you consider including:

their proposed career ambitions, attitude, motivation and commitment. If relevant, your opinion of their suitability for this

career path

their past achievement and current activities, with particular reference to subjects relating to the courses for which they

are applying

any supplementary information about their qualifications and study

any relevant related skills such as employment, work experience, voluntary work

any commitments of which you are aware that might prevent the applicant from attending an interview on a particular

day

any factors, such as personal circumstances, that may have affected, or might affect their performance. Information

about any special needs and other requirements. Do not give information about an applicant's health or disability

without their agreement.

Students are asked to state any disabilities or special needs in a separate section of the application. Students are not obliged to disclose such information on their application; however, early disclosure gives the universities and colleges more time to prepare and arrange the support that a student may need. Some referees may wish to mention the student's learning difference or disability in an academic context, such as how they currently cope in employment or otherwise.

Many universities and colleges provide details of the selection criteria and attributes they are looking for in their prospectuses, websites, or specific entry requirements for particular courses. If you know the courses for which they are applying, this will be a helpful starting point, particularly if you are writing a reference for a course in a subject area with which you are unfamiliar.

When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, please remember that, under the Data Protection Act, the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information that we have about them.

Predicted grades---- I will get Robbo to do this, so don’t worry about this part Each pending qualification that the applicant has entered on their application will be listed in the reference section.Please select / enter a predicted grade for each pending qualification.If you are unable to provide predicted grades, please tick the box 'I am unable to provide any predicted grades'. An email will be sent to the applicant to inform them of this.If the applicant does not have any pending qualifications you will not be asked for predicted grades.

How to provide the referenceThe reference should be written using a standard word-processing package and should not exceed 4,000 characters (this includes spaces) or 47 lines (this includes blank lines), whichever is the shorter. You cannot use bold, italics or underlining in the reference; if these types of formatting are used, they will be removed from the text when your reference is pasted into the application and saved.

When you are entering the reference into the application system, we recommend that you work without taking substantial breaks because the system will time-out after 35 minutes of inactivity. The countdown on screen displays how much time you have left before it times out and closes. For this reason we recommend that you prepare your reference in a word-processing package and then copy and paste it into the box. You cannot save your reference in draft form and then return to it for amendment later.

Once you have submitted your reference, your password will be marked as expired and will no longer give you access to the site.