Education officials address uni students and applicants’ concerns

Leading education officials have addressed a number of concerns raised by students and applicants due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Minister of State for Universities, Michelle Donelan, appeared alongside key representatives from UCAS and Ofqual, to answer questions from prospective university students on April 7.

Donelan consistently reiterated that those applying for entry to university for the 2020-21 academic year will not be disadvantaged due to the new standardised system of grading this year.

Students applying to get into university no longer have to sit exams this summer, but the Minister said students will not be negatively affected as a result.

In a live video on Facebook, she said: “I really want to reassure students that we plan for this year to be just like any other.

“So when those grades are released, if they’ve got the grades that they needed for the institution they applied to, they should be able to get into that just like they would any other year.

“If they don’t, they can go through Clearing just like any other year.

“Institutions have been working really hard to make sure that the next academic year is normalised as much as possible – obviously, within the parameters of the unknown which is of course the virus and the impact that’s going to have on the next academic year.

“I think it’s really important that students are reassured that those opportunities are there just like any other year. We will be ensuring that that is the case, working with UCAS and other organisations within the sector.”

How grades will be predicted

The cancellation of exams this summer has led to thousands of students worrying about how their final grades will be produced.

Ofqual, the body responsible for regulating exams and assessments, have said that students will be given a grade predicted by information submitted by their teachers.

Explaining the process, Richard Garrett, Director of Policy at Ofqual, said: “The most important thing to say is that our over-riding aim, considering the arrangements we have put in place, is to make sure that the process is fair to students, in particular that they are not disadvantaged as they progress to Sixth Form, Further Education and university.

“The way it will work is all students’ schools and colleges will be asked to send exam boards two pieces of information, for every subject, based on what they know about the students’ work and achievements.

“What I would emphasise the most is teachers know students well. They are highly experienced in making assessment judgements and will have a very good idea what grades students would have achieved had they been able to take their exams.

“Teachers will send the grades they most believed the students were most likely to get had the teaching and learning and exams had happened as planned.

“Then, within each subject, the order of students at the school and college by performance for each grade will be used to standardise the fine-tuning across schools and colleges.

“School and college are going to consider a wide range of information including classwork, assignments, exams, non-exam assessments or coursework they have done, as well as their general progress over the course.

“The information we will collect will allow exam boards to standardise grades across schools and colleges, to make them as fair as possible across the country.

“When people progress, the grade will have just as much weight as any received in any other year.

The Universities Minister added: “Universities have already said that they are going to be as flexible as possible. This is a completely unprecedented time. I do appreciate how worried students and prospective university students must be at this time.

“These grades that will come out will be as robust as possible and much more accurate as well than they potentially could have been. So hopefully that will reassure some students worrying at home, worrying that they will be getting a poor grade, but it will be very reflective of the work they have done to date.”

Results Day

Students who are set to receive grades will have had their eyes set on Tuesday, 4 August as when they will be receiving their results.

But the covid-19 pandemic has thrown that date into doubt and students have been concerned as when they will be receiving their final grades.

The Minister addressed this, stating: “We are working on this at the moment.

“I can’t give you the definitive date but what we are trying to do is make sure it is similar to what’s happened in other years.

“I think it’s really important that this is seen, as it should be, that students will get A Levels or BTEC results or other Level 3 qualifications that are on a par with every other year which is exactly what they are going to be.

“They are going to be on their CVs for the rest of their lives and worth just as much as last year’s or next year’s qualifications.

“So we are trying to hit a happy medium between the similarity with other years but also allowing for some additional time if possible for institutions and that clearing process.

“But as soon as we get that information, students will be amongst the first to know.”

Status of existing offers

Nottingham Trent University (NTU) handed out the most unconditional offers in 2018, with 41% of offers made being unconditional.

NTU has also come under fire for their policy of conditional unconditional offers recently.

Applicants to NTU should not be concerned though as Clare Marchant, CEO of UCAS, said that those who have existing unconditional offers will not be affected.

She said: “Absolutely not [will offers be withdrawn]. This is going to be a broadly similar cycle to similar years. If you have an offer, it is still legitimate and you still have time to make a decision on that offer.

“As we have looked at university offer making, we have also moved those dates that students have to make a decision by, to give you a little bit more time to make those decisions.

“So if you go into Track, you will see that new date that you need to make a decision on that offer. We flex those dates according to the rest of the cycle.”

On unconditional offers specifically, Michelle Donelan added: “We did a two week pause and we have extended that until April 20.

“So institutions shouldn’t be offering new unconditional offers. If a student has already had an unconditional offer then that will still stand.

“I would urge students who have an unconditional offer to sit back and consider your options and wait for those grades like in any other year.”

By Matthew Lee

Feature image credit: Pixabay

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