Students given unconditional offers by universities are more likely to drop out

Back when I was studying for my A-Levels and applying for places at universities, I can recall being somewhat disappointed that my list of choices were so curtailed by my rather lacklustre predicted grades. I was fortunate enough to achieve slightly higher marks than these predictions, but there were of course still only a limited number of universities willing to take me on as a degree student.

One of my more academic colleges appeared to have achieved acclaim at his chosen university before he even attended it, having received from it an `unconditional offer.` I had to ask what this meant - all the universities that had been so gracious as to grant me a place to study, did so on the strict proviso that I attain sufficient marks in my A-Levels. I was informed that whatever grades he achieved in his exams, his university would still guarantee him a place on his chosen course. I can recall being filled with envy - here I was fretting and panicking about my upcoming A-Levels, trying to assign enough revision time for each subject, while he didn`t have to worry, having being promised a place however he performed in his exams.

I wondered if a pupil had ever dropped out of school after receiving this offer, not even bothering to do any more studying, and perhaps not even attending their exams, utterly nonchalant in the certainty of their future. Of course unconditional offers were only ever given to pupils of exceptional ability, pupils who were certain to achieve an extremely high mark, and unlikely to lose all academic drive just because they had been guaranteed a university place.

However flattering and encouraging these guarantees may appear, new research suggests that unconditional offers actually have a negative effect on many students. The Office for Students, the regulatory body for universities and all other forms of higher education, conducted a survey which concluded that students who were offered unconditional offers were more likely to drop out of university, compared to their peers who had a requisite set of grades to reach.

The study was conducted in 2015-16, and specifically cited the case of 185 students, who were fully expected to complete their degrees, but somehow ended up dropping out before they completed their courses. All these students had been given unconditional offers for their particular universities.

In the past unconditional offers were rarely given, back when I was a 6th form student only one of my peers was granted this guaranteed invitation. Even as recently as 2013 they were seldom offered, with just 2,985 unconditional places been granted by universities across the whole of the UK. It really is astounding that in 2018, a mere five years later, this figure had risen to 67,915 - more than a 20 fold increase.

There are concerns that since universities have become `fee paying` institutions, they are now less stringent with their admissions procedures. If a particular course doesn`t attract enough pupils it will soon be judged as non lucrative, and may be withdrawn; and if the whole university fails to bring in enough students it can very quickly lapse into bankruptcy.

By granting a student an unconditional offer, universities are increasing their chances of securing payment from this `customer.` Other universities the student has applied to, who have stipulated a grade boundary for admission, are placing barriers between them and the `customer,` running the risk of losing them and their money. It may sound anomalous to term students as customers, but since the introduction of university fees, which now come to an average of £9,250 per year, that is effectively what they are.

Whereas in the past unconditional offers were only be granted to the most academically gifted students, and were likely emblematic gesture from the universities, signifying that they were particularly keen for the student to study with them, they are now largely used to attract students onto courses. The danger here is that some students might be enticed onto degrees that are not right for them, something the study carried out by the Office for Students seems to suggest.

The chief executive of the Ofs, Nicola Dandridge, recently put out the following statement: `We already know that students who receive an unconditional offer are more likely to miss their predicted grades at school.`

`It is a cause of real concern that they are also more likely to drop out of university once they get there.

`This is a couple of hundred students per year who have made a significant investment of time and money in a degree from which they are unlikely to benefit.

`As our regulatory framework sets out, admissions systems must be reliable, fair and inclusive. What we are seeing here are admissions systems that are not fair, and are not working in students` best interests.`