The number of students who took up full-time higher education places this year was up 1.9 per cent

* The number of students who took up full-time higher education places this year was up 1.9 per cent to almost 337,000, according to figures released this week by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

But the figure is well short of the 3.2 per cent rise that would be needed to fill all the extra full-time places allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England for 2000-01.

An extra 6,257 students enrolled, although 10,746 extra full-time places were available. Universities and colleges also under-recruited last year, allowing the funding council to "recycle" unfilled places this year.

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