Some of the UK's best students are choosing 'new' universities over Russell Group institutions, as a study launched today by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) reveals students differentiate universities on course reputation rather than university name.
Findings from stages one and two of HECSU's Futuretrack*, a longitudinal study that surveyed almost 50,000 students, revealed that in some subjects, such as law, high achieving students are just as likely to be studying at a 'new' university as a Russell group institution.
The study highlighted that current university ranking systems don't always closely align with the experiences and qualifications of applicants. In response, HECSU's research team at the University of Warwick, where the study was undertaken, has generated a new ranking system based on access tariff points.
Typically, the institutions that require the highest tariff scores are those that students find the most difficult to get an offer of a place and are perceived to attract the brightest students. Institutions in the new classification system differ from the well-known categories (Russell Group, Pre-92, Post-92, and Other) in the following ways:
Highest Tariff Group: contains all but three Russell Group universities, five universities previously classified as 'other old universities', four medical schools, a veterinary school and an institute focussed on languages.
High Tariff Group: contains the remaining three Russell Group universities, all except four of the remaining 'other old universities', four 'new universities', a university that was not a former polytechnic, and three specialist institutions.
Medium Tariff Group: includes four 'old universities', 25 'new universities' and 10 new universities that were not polytechnics.
Lower Tariff Group: contains eight 'new universities', 13 new universities that had not been polytechnics, five former HE colleges and 10 other HEIs, mainly University Colleges.
Jane Artess, director of research at HECSU calls for employers to revaluate where they seek student talent: "It is known that many students choose where to study based on departmental or course reputation as much as university but, Futuretrack shows clearly where and why students with very high points enter 'New' universities and specialist HE institutions as well as those places usually associated with top grades. Also, many high achievers choose or need to study close to home, so find themselves opting for 'lower tariff ' universities rather than aiming for more prestigious ones.
"This strongly opposes current views by many employers that they can only find exceptional candidates from the Russell Group. This simply isn't the case. Employers should try and find out about the departments and courses they are interested in; the net should be cast much wider."
Professor Kate Purcell, who leads the research at Warwick, points out that the new classification reveals how the structure of higher education has been changing as student numbers and the range of courses available have grown. She reflects that it is increasingly inappropriate to group HEIs based on patterns and associations 17 years ago, commenting: "The old 'class structure' of HEIs has been evolving, albeit slowly. It is necessary to measure the extent to which differences in ratings do or do not reflect differences in the current quality of opportunities available to students."
HECSU's Futuretrack survey is the largest study tracking the career development of higher education students, yet undertaken in the UK. In 2006 every full-time UCAS applicant was invited to take part in the Futuretrack census. Responses were received from nearly 130,000 applicants, including EU and overseas applicants and researchers are continuing to track the cohort through to 2011/12.
For the full report or further information visit www.hecsu.ac.uk
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