UCAS Equality Reports for Individual Universities Published

UCAS has published new analysis that extends its existing national equality reporting to individual universities for the first time.

The reports, created on behalf of around 130 larger universities, place the likelihood of being offered a place in the context of average offer rates for other applicants with the same predicted grades applying to the same courses at that university.

They also set the number of applicants and accepted applicants in the context of population differences, which is especially important for understanding representation in higher education for different ethnic groups.

The reports show some large differences in the share of the population who enter universities by background, sex and ethnic group. Although disadvantaged groups, young men and the White ethnic group are the most under-represented in higher education as a whole, this is not the case at every institution and there are complex patterns across some individual universities. Across the largest universities students of all ages from the top 20 per cent most advantaged areas were 2.4 times more likely to enter higher education, and had a greater chance of their applications being accepted over the review period.

The suite of reports include:

• reports for over 130 larger higher education providers, detailing applicants, acceptances and offer-rates by applicants’ sex, ethnic group, and background
• a guide to using the ‘sex, area background and ethnic group’ reports
• lookup tables to check whether the difference in offer rate and average offer rate (a key measure) is large enough to be confident it is not statistical ‘noise’
• summary-level reports by higher, medium and lower tariff universities
• an interactive explorer tool for more easily accessible comparisons

UCAS Chief Executive, Mary Curnock Cook said: ‘Universities have responded readily and rapidly to the White Paper challenge of greater transparency in the admissions process. Fair admissions is a hallmark of the UK higher education sector.’

Dame Julia Goodfellow, President of Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, said:

"It is good that the university sector is publishing this extra admissions data through UCAS. It highlights universities' commitment to transparency in the admissions process and to improving participation from all backgrounds.

"Publishing more data will not necessarily solve some of the longstanding problems in access to and participation in higher education. It will, however, allow universities to identify issues and solutions specific to their own institutions. It will allow us also to look at the picture across the sector.

"Universities UK's Social Mobility Advisory Group is currently looking at this area. It will report its recommendations to government and English universities this summer."