Scots universities close doors to new students

PUPILS who failed to get their expected grades are facing an "unprecedented scramble" to enter higher education with more than half of Scotland's universities already full and the rest reporting far fewer spare places than usual.

• For many young people gaining a place at university opens up an exciting new chapter in their lives, but today's news of limited availability of places and greater competition will mean thousands will have their dreams shattered

A Scotsman investigation has found eight of the country's 15 universities have made no offers this year through clearing, the system which matches up remaining places with those without the necessary grades for their first-choice course.

All of the remaining institutions have reported far fewer places than in previous years with most expecting to be full by early next week. Higher education chiefs said those who did not get their required grades would find it one of the "toughest years ever" to get into university, while student leaders warned those who were denied a place could be left on the scrapheap.

Last year 2,462 Scottish students found a place through clearing; barely hundreds will find a university place through the same system this year.

• What to do if you didn't get your grades

The situation has followed two years of soaring applications to universities due to job opportunities drying up in the economic downturn.

There are also fewer places this year after some universities, including Edinburgh, cut places to avoid a fine for over-subscribing last year.

Record Higher exam passes last week were the final element in what has become a perfect storm for school-leavers.

Last year only the elite "ancients" Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews did not have places available through clearing. This year Aberdeen, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh, Queen Margaret in Musselburgh and Glasgow's Strathclyde universities had no places remaining for clearing for the first time. Last year they were able to offer hundreds of places.

A spokesman for Universities Scotland said: "Those who applied in advance and achieved their entry qualifications have nothing to worry about. But those who didn't get their results are going to find it one of the toughest years ever.

"Universities do not like to turn away qualified candidates but once full there is nothing they can do."

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland, said: "There is an unprecedented scramble for places at university this summer and a real concern that people from the poorest or most vulnerable backgrounds are losing out.

"Scotland needs more university graduates over the coming years to provide the skills we need to grow our economy.

"Unless action is taken soon, those denied a place will lose the opportunity to make the most of their talents. Surely it makes absolutely no sense to deny talented people a place at university, only for them to cost the public purse in benefits payments."

Caledonian had 390 places available through clearing last year; this is the first year it was unable to offer any. Queen Margaret had 100 and Strathclyde had 25 last year and are both full this year.

Heriot-Watt had 250 clearing places last year but could offer none this year - the first time in a decade it has not taken part in clearing.

Dundee had 200 clearing places last year but just dozens this year; Stirling had 150 last year but less than 50 this year.

Edinburgh Napier filled 60 places through clearing last year but had only around ten this year - with most already filled.

Napier claimed to have had one of the biggest surges in applications experienced by any university this year and Robert Gordon in Aberdeen had 300 clearing places last year but just 30 this year - all of them filled within days of the school exam results.

The institution said applications had increased by 50 per cent and the handful of places left had already been filled.

Opposition politicians said the latest figures demonstrated an increased need for a review of how Scotland's university sector is financed.

Liz Smith, Conservative schools spokeswoman, said: "If we want to maintain standards while increasing the number of people going to university we need to have an independent review of the sector. We need to be asking some very difficult questions on how we fund higher education in future."

Des McNulty, Labour education spokesman, accused the education secretary Michael Russell of failing to deal with the surge in demand for places.

He said: "Warm words are no comfort for the thousands of qualified school-leavers that have been frozen out from university this year. The SNP have had plenty of time to implement a workable solution to the recent rise in demand for university places, but they have buried their heads in the sand to the problems universities and students face."

This year nearly 5 per cent more Scottish applications were made to universities than in 2009. By midnight on exam day last week, 20,651 Scots had been accepted onto a course compared to 19,944 the previous year - a 3.5 per cent rise on 2009.

In total, 31,030 Scottish applicants were accepted by universities and colleges, last year 29,244 were accepted at institutions in Scotland. Last week record Highers passes put even more pressure on the system.

A spokesman for Abertay University said: "Applications this year have been extremely strong, which is very positive, but this does mean there are a very limited number of places available for clearing."We are definitely busier taking calls now than at the same time last year, and we anticipate another surge of enquiries when the A-level results are released next week."

Sheila Kay, admissions manager at Robert Gordon, said: "The university has seen an increase in applications this year by nearly 50 per cent alongside a reduction on the number of places available."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have provided record levels of funding to universities this year, nearly 1.1 billion, and supported an additional 7,500 students in recognition of the importance of higher education.

"In the current economic climate, we recognise there are more people considering applying for higher education courses and we will obviously be continuing to work with UCAS, SFC (Scottish Funding Council] and the sector to closely monitor demand for places next year.

"This summer, we have announced a 6.5 million package of support, Step Forward Scotland, for young people leaving school or college as well as graduate support."

As a final blow, it is unlikely those without a university place will be able to turn to a college course as colleges have also experienced record applications.

Linda McTavish, Convener of Scotland's Colleges' Principal Convention, said: "Colleges in Scotland are doing everything the can to meet the rise in demand, and we would advise school-leavers to contact their local college sooner rather than later to find out the range of opportunities available to them."