Contextual offer from Sussex uni from AAB to BBC for 2021 entry...

[SausageCrush]

Dd has registered for an open day at the University of Sussex later this month and just received an email about how they plan to deal with the COVID situation for students planning to do A levels next year.

They are saying that due to the 'massive disruption' they will be 'generally lowering their typical offers' and suggest this will be for all courses.

For example Dd wants to do psychology which was AAB and they say this be lowered to BBC!

This is good news, right?

Or is it just a way to get around not being able to give unconditionals and get bums on seats?

Where else is she thinking of applying to?

What decorhate said....

Very risky strategy - student number control may well be here to stay and that could mean they inadvertently over recruit massively.

That said, it's a decent uni and I have many fond memories of it

Yes it’s good news for your DD if she really wants to go there. Their rationale for a drop from AAB to BBC is very illogical because I don’t think the grading commission could lower the assigned grades by one grade for all subjects on any student without a public outcry and inquiry. For all their talk on how they will assign grades, they won’t be able to deviate so much from the students predicted/mock grades.

I think it most probably indicates the university is in financial trouble and so is lowering the grade requirements to try and entice more students in.
If this is the case, it may then affect the quality of teaching your DD receives in 2021 due to less capable classmates and university financial issues.

Still everyone needs an insurance school so it might be good for that.

This seems more like the university is in trouble and needs students rather than actually caring about students CV disruption.

Mmm, I knew there would be a catch!

It seems too good to be true 🤔

Dd is planning a visit to Brighton this summer, but I'd be surprised if it's in financial trouble as it's in the top twenty ranking for psychology (www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk)

She's also looking at Cardiff, Loughborough, Kent, Reading & Keele.

I wonder if others will follow suit?

They are saying that due to the 'massive disruption' they will be 'generally lowering their typical offers' and suggest this will be for all courses

I'd bloomin well hope that they'd all be dropping their offers slightly. At least by a grade and then give a grade's leeway on results day. So eg if the offer would normally be AAB they'd offer AAB and allow someone in with BBB.

Oh well we'll see.

This seems more like the university is in trouble and needs students rather than actually caring about students CV disruption

Seems a bit harsh, I have been quite surprised that none of the 2021 typical offers seem to be any lower than 2020 given at least a term's face to face teaching has been lost.

And I don't think that someone who gets BBB instead of AAB is necessarily going to be any "less capable" on a degree course. A degree is not A levels. I got AAA in my A levels, another lady on my course got BBB, we both got 2.1s.

We get this with GCSEs too - "oh you did badly in your GCSEs, you will be rubbish at A level". A levels are different to GCSEs, too. More difficult obviously but when you can choose your subjects and do what you are good at it is very different and that is amplified at degree level.

I think acknowledging the terms' loss of teaching is realistic and fair, not desperation. Sussex isn't a mickey mouse uni.

term's not terms'

I think acknowledging the terms' loss of teaching is realistic and fair, not desperation. Sussex isn't a mickey mouse uni.

It's definitely not a Mickey Mouse uni (whatever one of those is....)

Given that DfE are currently consulting about what next years exams will look like, it's does seem somewhat premature to assume now that everyone's results will be lower...it could backfire spectacularly.

Yes , until the consultation and results of what will be done about the 2021 exams is published we would have to assume that some method to ensure that A*/A students and B students and C students etc still achieve the grades commensurate with their ability.

It must therefore follow that by doing this at this stage it is no more than a marketing ploy.

And I don't think that someone who gets BBB instead of AAB is necessarily going to be any "less capable" on a degree course. A degree is not A levels. I got AAA in my A levels, another lady on my course got BBB, we both got 2.1s

But you’ve proved my point. The teaching of the course can only go as fast as the slowest class mate. So if your BBB class mate had not been there, your professor could have gone through the basic material faster, then taught to a higher level and you’d have done better and got a 1st.

@PlanDeRaccordement

And I don't think that someone who gets BBB instead of AAB is necessarily going to be any "less capable" on a degree course. A degree is not A levels. I got AAA in my A levels, another lady on my course got BBB, we both got 2.1s

But you’ve proved my point. The teaching of the course can only go as fast as the slowest class mate. So if your BBB class mate had not been there, your professor could have gone through the basic material faster, then taught to a higher level and you’d have done better and got a 1st.

If that were the case no-one in her course would have got a 1st - somehow I doubt that's true....

No evidence nationally that A level grade correlated to degree classification btw. other qualification yes, but not A levels

If that were the case no-one in her course would have got a 1st - somehow I doubt that's true....

No that is not the logical or observed outcome. There are always a few students who are very good at self-teaching and will excel even in the worst educational setting.
My point is not controversial in the slightest. It has been well documented and observed at all levels of education that students learn more and faster when taught with their peers in ability. When you have mixed ability classes, it harms the higher ability children the most. It is why most nations do steaming. For example, U.K. school have different sets at GCSE level. If you mixed top set kids with lower set kids, then what happens is that many top set kids do not reach their potential and they achieve lower grades. This is because the teacher has to slow down for the lower set kids.
At university level, the streaming to ensure peer ability classes is by the A level grades set for the course. If the university widens a course to allow lower ability students, then the overall a academic excellence of the course lowers. Why do you think Oxbridge and other elite universities don’t really compromise on the grades?

Unless they're anticipating a lot of spare spaces due to the lack of overseas students, they will need to be very careful about how many offers they make. I wonder whether they will stick to offering mainly to those who are predicted the higher grades, even though the offer is lower. Schools will presumably predict largely on the basis of what they would have expected their students to get without the disruption (hoping that they will catch them up over anything that has been less well studied this term). Making the offer a bit lower means that if that doesn't happen for quite a number of students, they're not having to deal with so many missed offers in August.

I think I'd be asking the uni whether offering BBC means they'll be making offers to those predicted BBC, or whether they'll still be looking for higher predicted grades.

Sussex always advertise really high entry requirements then drop it massively on results day. This has been the case pre COVID.

It seems quite early to be making such decision. No one knows what A level exams will be really next year. If it is curve adjusted, than a lower result will still lead to As. I am tempted to view this as desperation to get bums on seats....