How UCAS is improving its products for

applicants and teachers

Higher education in context – 2011 year of entry

▪ Total applicants 700,161 0.4%

▪ Total accepted applicants 492,030 1.0%

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

Adjustment

Clearing

Extra

Main scheme

430,772 9,537

51,169

Source: UCAS final end of year figures for 2011 (15/12/2011)

552

2012 entry – to AAB or not to AAB?

▪ The Government (HEFCE) has freed up the

restrictions to student number controls

▪ For 2012, English universities no longer place number

controls on the recruitment of students who have

achieved grades of AAB or above, at A level or

equivalent

▪ Intended to increase competition between institutions,

and to maximise the aspirational choices available to

students

Core

(Home / EU)

International

Core

(Home / EU)

Identified AAB+ or equivalent

plus additional 8%

AAB+ or equivalent

Understanding the change

How will this affect your students?

Through the application cycle

▪ Institutions may choose to recruit as many AAB+ students

as they wish

▫ Subject to resources and competitive selection

▫ AAB+ does not equal entitlement / guarantee a place

▪ More / earlier offers for AAB+ predicted applicants?

How will this affect your students?

At confirmation this summer

AAB

AAB

The current (UCAS) admissions system

▪ Does it put the applicant at the heart of the process?

▪ Does it support different types of applicant?

▪ Does it support different types of courses?

▪ Does it support the best match of applicant to course?

▪ Is it a fair admissions process?

▪ Does it support the best admissions decisions?

▪ Is it efficient?

▪ Does it provide excellent service?

The APR Consultation

▪ The APR Consultation proposed

changes to the admissions process for

undergraduate courses in the UK

▪ It was launched 31 October 2011 and

closed 20 January 2012

▪ Diverse, thoughtful and insightful

responses received from across the

education sector

The Admissions Process Review (APR)

2014: Implement streamlined and improved processes

2016: Move to a post-results system (or PQA)

Proposals that received strong support

▪ ‘myUCAS’ web portal

▪ More mandatory fields and data validation

▫ Improved information capture and data quality

▫ Central data capture for third parties – UKBA, SLC

▪ Document upload, including portfolios

▪ Better guidance for referees

▪ Improved terminology

▪ Insurance HEI visibility of the Firm HEI’s conditions

▪ Improved facility to provide feedback

Proposals that have subsequently been refined

▪ Pop-ups and wizards during the online application

▫ Rather than flags and warnings

▫ E.g. to support rather than enforce the correct

selection of an insurance choice

▪ Tailorable sections of the personal statement in Apply

▫ Rather than tailoring the full personal statement

▪ Option for a new personal statement in Extra /

Clearing

▫ Rather than for all choices

Deliver phased implementation of both

sets of proposals from 2014 year of entry

Post-results system

▪ In principle, a logical and desirable goal

▪ However, strong and well articulated concerns about:

▫ The practicalities of implementation

▫ Risks to certain applicant groups

UCAS is not recommending a move to post-results applications

Remaining challenges

▪ Accuracy of predicted grades

▪ Effectiveness of Insurance choice

▪ Availability of high quality contextual data

▪ Tailored process for international applicants

▪ Provision of intelligent IAG resources

UCAS information tools

UCAS’ IA strategy – Course Finder

▪ UCAS Course Search has not had any significant

development in the last decade

▫ Users expect more intelligent results

▪ Data has become richer, users need intuitive:

▫ Filtering

▫ Comparisons

▫ Bookmarking

▪ Course Finder is initially a standalone product, but will

subsequently be seamlessly integrated into a ‘single

sign’ portal

▪ Usability central to development of Course Finder

Preparing the Professionals

▪ Summer 2011 – 6 events

held across the UK

▪ Over 300 HE professionals

attended or received packs of

UCAS materials

▫ Over 90% of our member

universities involved

▪ Phase 2 – The ‘Professionals

Portal’ is in final stage of

development!

PtP Pack

UCAS

materials

UCAS PPT

Presentations

Apply & Track

Basics

Basics plus

Personal Statements

Research

Statistics

Additional

resources

PS resources

Guides, flowcharts &

tables

Example applicant

letters

UCAS PPT

Presentations

UCAS

PPT PDFs

UCAS

PPT Activities

Additional

resources

Forms

Further developments in IA – ‘My Future’

Quals

gained or

taking

Career

aspirations

Psycho-

metric

testing

Interests

My Future

My Future results

Course suggestions

Career profile

Pathway within

HE

Pathway outside

HE

User registers /

signs in

IA tools for the future

How do you deliver IAG at your

schools and colleges?

Use of online resources

– how do you choose what to use?

What would / is on your UCAS

‘wishlist’ of future developments?