Universities should honour all offers and ignore flawed A-level grades

[Notusuallyshocked]

Worcester College, Oxford, are treating this year's A-level results with the scepticism they deserve...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-53780498?intlink_from_url=&link_location=live-reporting-story

They've said they will honour all offers regardless of A level grades.

AIBU to think all universities should do the same?

Especially now the algorithm determining A-level grades has been shown to be unfair:

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/14/do-the-maths-why-englands-a-level-grading-system-is-unfair

Since the results have only a tenuous link with an individual student's ability/performance, no individual student should miss out on their university place due to this complete mess.

Absolutely.

But I thought unis over-offered, and don't have enough places to give them to everyone they make an offer to?
If they have the space then great, I just didn't think they did.

Absolutely.
There will always be a few who don't get on with their degree, drop out or change their minds but children wouldn't be taking the A levels and applying for the degrees if they were totally beyond their capabilities. Give them a fair chance.

They can't honour all offers. Afaik they offer more spaces than they have because they know some wouldn't get it?
It's really fucked up situation

They risk being fined b the government for over recruiting plus smaller / less popular universities Won’t get enough students and many will go bankrupt. It’s pretty serious for many of them right now. The whole industry is on the limit.

The capacity/over offering issue is a problem... But likely to be less international students/more students deferring this year which may help things...

Honestly, this is why we need to work out a new system which happens after the grades are known. The current system was made for a pre-digital age, where there were postal delays etc, and forms were filled out by hand. Obviously it wouldn’t be straightforward but one could imagine a system where students have a good idea of where they want to go/what they want to do and make their applications when grades are known. It would safe so much uncertainty, be better for universities and fairer for students

Less international students = less money - that’s not helping the capacity issues for many institutions it makes the whole situation more dire

It's really not that simple.

Universities will be fined for over recruitment and could have next years fees capped which would be a financial death penalty.

International students aren't included in the student number controls.

@Flamingolingo

Honestly, this is why we need to work out a new system which happens after the grades are known. The current system was made for a pre-digital age, where there were postal delays etc, and forms were filled out by hand. Obviously it wouldn’t be straightforward but one could imagine a system where students have a good idea of where they want to go/what they want to do and make their applications when grades are known. It would safe so much uncertainty, be better for universities and fairer for students

This gets discussed every few years. It would require a complete overhaul of the education system. Nobody has managed to find a workable solution

Oxford entrance is not based purely on A level results. They run their own admissions tests early in year 13 for a lot of subjects. They also don’t have the problem of people refusing their offers (it happens, but it’s rare) so they know that those students who have been given offers will take them up and so Oxford colleges don’t need to over-offer. Plus, they may have a smaller number of international students this year.

Not possible. The government has introduced a student number control this year, so basically a cap. Universities will be fined significantly if they go over the SNC.

@SueEllenMishke

It's really not that simple.

Universities will be fined for over recruitment and could have next years fees capped which would be a financial death penalty.

International students aren't included in the student number controls.

Interesting stance. I wonder what the central university will make of it and whether that means they will exceed their SNC...? Interesting....

To be fair Oxford and Cambridge probably don't over offer as much as others. Possibly not fair on the other college's applicants though.

Where I am from we do entry tests for each uni. Imho better than all of that resting solely on alevels

Interesting stance. I wonder what the central university will make of it and whether that means they will exceed their SNC...? Interesting....

I pretty much just said this exact thing to DH - we both work at universities and have spent the last couple of days supporting our nephew through the clearing process.

I used to manage the whole clearing process for my uni - I'm so pleased that it's no longer in my remit!

They can’t do that op, they need to work to capacity. They don’t have rhe places to blanket say they will honour all offers. They need to work it in terms of capacity.

In addition they seriously need to delve deeper into capability. Getting a place is only the first step, being able to do the course is the next.

So no, they can’t and shouldn’t all do the same. It would be an almighty cluster fuck if they did.

If oversubscribed, why not allocate available places by lottery to those who were made offers? Better than pretending that these 'grades' are fair on an individual level.

If oversubscribed, why not allocate available places by lottery to those who were made offers? Better than pretending that these 'grades' are fair on an individual level.

If you awarded them based on the grades given, that's basically the same as awarding them by lottery it seems

@Notusuallyshocked

If oversubscribed, why not allocate available places by lottery to those who were made offers? Better than pretending that these 'grades' are fair on an individual level.

Why would they do that? When they can look at mocks, personal statements, extra curricular activities etc and make a judgement on whom is most able to complete the course?

It’s not a game. It’s three years of work. They need to pick the students most capable.

I don’t think YABU OP. I just wish it was that simple. It’s such an unfair situation.

Oxbridge need to prioritise U.K. students this year. They are rich enough to do without international students for this cohort. My ds was rejected by an Oxford college after missing one grade In his A levels whereas other pupils have been admitted on different courses after missing several grades. There is no rhyme or reason to anything this year

@Frazzled13. Almost but not exactly. By doing a pure lottery (and ignoring assigned grades), you give an equal chance to:

• Outliers (exceptionally talented students in poorly performing schools).
• Strong cohorts (students in a strong cohort who would have outperformed previous years at the school in question).
• Students from large schools with large subject groups (who are subject to the flawed algorithm).

It's not true that everyone with an offer has the same chance of achieving their grades under the present system.

Slightly off topic but wondering whether universities will hold open their offers for a year. If I was doing my A levels and didn’t get the grades I would be looking at taking them next year and going to university when hopefully there won’t be as many restrictions in place. Can you imagine freshers week in masks.

@Bluntness100. If that's the case, A-level grades should be completely disregarded and universities should allocate places based on the other information they have at their disposal. Unlikely to be popular since students who have made their grades (due to the algorithm working in their favour) will miss out.