Jenni Reid reports for Cambridge University’s Cambridge Student on the moves some institutions are taking to fill undergraduate courses:

Entry requirements for higher education courses across the country are being lowered in response to a fall in the number of applicants this year. This includes Anglia Ruskin University, where courses such as Accounting and Finance will now ask for just 160 UCAS points, the equivalent of two Ds and an E at A-Level. They previously asked for 240 points.

Nationwide, applications to higher education have dropped by 8.9%, likely due to the new tuition fee policy which allows universities to charge students up to £9,000 a year. Alongside this, the government has given universities the power to accept an unlimited number of students with at least AAB at A-Level. This means that whilst more students are getting in to higher-ranked institutions, universities which are considered outside this elite bracket are facing a challenge in filling their undergraduate courses, especially with highly qualified students.

Even following the UCAS ‘clearing’ system, which aims to find places for students who miss their offers, around 27,000 places are still available on UK courses. This year is the first fall in applications since 2006, which was the last time tuition fees were raised.

Full story here.