Students want more feedback

University entry should be a more open system, say students

Students want to have more feedback about their university applications.

As a government-backed task force looks for ways to improve the fairness of the university admissions system, students say that they want a process that is more open and easily understood.

Dan Ashley of the National Union of Students says that too often students are never really given an explanation as to why they have been accepted or rejected.

For rejected students, who are considering re-applying the following year, it can mean that they are not certain where they need to improve.

As such, Mr Ashley says there should be a simpler process for applicants to be given feedback on their previous, unsuccessful attempts.

Interviews

Many applications to university are either accepted or refused without any interviews - which can add to the sense of distance from the decision making.

In theory, he says that interviews should help all candidates show a more rounded picture of their abilities - and should help the type of students from poorer backgrounds which the government wants to encourage.

But in practice, he says that interviewing can become a way for the well-rehearsed pupils from high-flying schools to get an advantage.

The admissions task force, led by Professor Steven Schwartz, has raised the prospect that universities could look at social factors beyond the likely A-level results of students.

But Mr Ashley says that there would need to be an awareness that too much "probing" into students' lives could prove a deterrent, rather than an encouragement for young people to apply.