Analysis: Good news as government investment pays off for Scottish university applications

By Simon Jennings
Published on Tuesday 31 January 2012 00:00

THIS year’s final Ucas figures for applicants looking to start university at the end of the summer make for interesting reading.

At the UK level, there’s been a significant drop in the total number of applicants. The fall has been sharpest among the English, with a 9.9 per cent drop-off in English applicants – the largest across the four UK nations.

The figures also tell us where people are choosing to apply and there’s good news for Scotland. The fact that Scottish applicants to Scottish universities have held up better than elsewhere in the UK indicates the benefit of the government’s investment is well recognised by those leaving schools and colleges.

Successful applicants to Scottish universities will be educated in what’s internationally recognised as a high-performing, innovative and effective university sector. With five universities ranked in the world’s top 200 institutions and employment statistics for graduates of Scotland’s universities the strongest in the UK, the benefits of a Scottish university education are clear.

Unsurprisingly, the strength of the sector isn’t just recognised at home. Despite the overall drop in English applicants and changes to the fee regime, Scotland’s share of the total number of English applicants has held steady.

Clearly, reputation plays a part, but the generous bursaries for such students and the flexibility of the four-year degree are also part of the draw. These figures are not just about students looking to avoid fees; the “pull-factor” is there for international students too, with applicant numbers to Scotland up 25 per cent on last year.

What does this mean for Scotland? In short, it’s good news. We still need to move from applications to admissions, but things look positive. Taken together, the Scottish Government’s positive funding settlement, the difficult but necessary approach on fees for students from the rest of the UK and universities’ generous bursaries for rest of UK students have set us on course to maintain a strong university sector.

We have the makings of a sector that can deliver the high-quality education necessary to support future economic growth, where institutions have some certainty in planning for the future and, based on the Ucas applications data, where the diverse and cosmopolitan nature of our universities – a significant asset in an ever more globally-connected world – will be maintained.

• Simon Jennings is the deputy director of Universities Scotland, the body representing Scotland’s higher education institutions

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The Answer

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 06:06 PM

#1, a drop from 5,683 new undergraduates to 4,173 at edinburgh university is nothing to be proud about!

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flyinngscott

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 12:41 AM

Well b#gger me, the hootsman publishing a story bigging up our governments policies. Cant last...

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