Admissions

New conservative-focused standardised college admissions exam-maker says it aimed for private-sector customers, and now sees greater potential at public institutions

Universities and colleges should not cut their own financial support if a student receives an external scholarship, says Wyatt Deihl

With more support, care leavers could close the progression gap in much less than a century, says Monica Alejandra Henaõ-De-Castro

With concerns about AI writing applications and the ongoing fall-out from the end of affirmative action, some institutions are seeking to get to know potential students better by inviting them to campus

Just 0.4 per cent of student populations at elite universities have experienced being in care, finds new report

Analysis by dataHE shows entry rates fell among all students, but was steepest for the most under-represented

Politicians, the public and judges have grown tired of deferring to universities’ opaque decision-making processes, as illustrated by Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action in admissions, say Anthony Carnevale and Peter Schmidt

Drop in international students applying via Ucas, down to lowest level since 2014, might offer signs of market pressures

Admissions figures on track for ‘largest-ever fall’ in English student entry rate bring worries for universities accustomed to growth

With 55,000 missing predicted grades, universities looking to fill places via clearing hope to convince those who missed out to recalibrate 

The Ucas data also shows that the number of international students accepted on to courses also fell

If A-level grades are only ‘reliable to one grade either way’, where does that leave admissions officers deciding on borderline cases, asks Dennis Sherwood

As part of Biden-endorsed response to Supreme Court ban on race-based preferences, Ivy League elite requires applicants to describe life experiences

In first concession among 17 elite institutions accused of conspiring to limit student assistance, university also agrees to help cases against others

Amid steep demographic declines, competition replaces cooperation for institutions that rely heavily on local populations

‘Absolutely not’ the case that home undergraduate places are being constrained, says outgoing head of admissions service

Three-quarters of school leavers accepted into first choice of university

Institutions enact policies that go beyond court ruling due to abundance of caution or as part of ‘politically motivated agendas’

A second year of falling entry rates for UK 18-year-olds would be ‘a seismic moment for the sector’, admissions experts predict

Australian survey points to high degree of financial self-reliance among incoming students, along with amorphous fears about the future

Guaranteed interviews for ethnic minority applicants of a certain standard would also tackle postgraduate underrepresentation, says Research England-backed initiative

The interim report’s focus on engagement with Australian communities risks overlooking obligations to the rest of the world, says Craig Jeffrey

After losing faculty and students because of partisan DeSantis reforms, campus described as paying recruiters despite federal ban

After being exempted from Supreme Court ruling on Harvard and UNC, training grounds for Pentagon officers face their own legal threat

After court rejects racial preferences in admissions, biggest US civil rights group presses campuses for corrective pledges

Tokyo could use figures to justify more heavy-handed sector intervention, academics say

Demand from older students could be falling because of expansion of opportunity for 18-year-olds over the past decade

Announcement that government will finally follow through with threats to restrict admissions to ‘low-quality’ courses leaves sector leaders with as many questions as answers

Ex-Treasury secretary sees alumni preferences as key test for elites, and wishes he had done more to attack the practice while leading university

Long-awaited consultation response parks proposal to introduce sector-wide minimum entry requirements but slashes foundation year fee limit

Race-based admissions may be banned, but legacy students and those from elite schools still enjoy huge, unfair advantages, says Aman Majmudar

The biggest step backwards over the last 50 years was supporters’ retreat from equal opportunity to a focus on ill-defined ‘diversity’, says Harvey Graff

Use of the CSAT is likely to increase US enrolment of South Koreans but could bode ill for some of the latter’s domestic institutions, says Kyuseok Kim

Echoing conservative Supreme Court, coalition of advocacy groups formally demands end to Harvard’s admissions preferences for relatives of alumni

Department for Education statistics show social mobility impact of A-level assessments affected by Covid-19 policies

Number of UK 18-year-olds starting university later this year is expected to be the second-highest ever – but down from last year’s record

The ban on race-conscious admissions does not override the need to monitor progress in equity and social mobility, says W. Carson Byrd

It isn’t perfect, but data and analytics could capture the disadvantages applicants face and the diversity they may represent, says Carlo Ratti

Experts raise concern that US applicants will be forced to spin ‘sob stories’ about overcoming discrimination

Australia is top-performing nation for first time in five years, while the United Arab Emirates is on the rise

Shorter degrees and more apprenticeships among other plans to boost staff recruitment

Academic leaders see grounds for improvement despite Supreme Court ruling, though track record suggests reason for sceptism

Trump-installed conservative supermajority ends decades of precedent that allowed consideration of racial diversity in undergraduate enrolments

Student growth is a key reason why Lucy Cavendish is admitting more state school pupils than any Oxbridge college, says president Madeleine Atkins

Overall US recruitment from overseas up 8 per cent at postgraduate level, according to annual survey

Admissions service warns that disadvantaged learners could be squeezed out as UK university application numbers hit 1 million by end of decade

Young people with asylum status say they struggle to get admissions teams to understand immigration rules and recognise their academic track records

Hepi report says reforms already announced by Ucas must go further

Gaps between quality of providers’ teaching and the students they cater for identified in new Hepi report

Makers of GRE seek to revamp standardised test after universities raise concerns over diversity and value

But young carers with degrees are more likely to be in work than carers without degrees, study finds

Gatekeeping systems used by big brand institutions ‘legitimise race and class inequalities’, scholars claim in book

Mechanism needed to stem ‘unlimited recruitment’ by wealthy institutions and resulting job cuts at other universities, say UCU activists

A misinformed rush to churn out employable graduates combined with a zero-sum budgeting approach is denuding other departments, says Harvey Graff

In rare victory for parents, federal appeals court overturns convictions, criticising their alleged bribery but agreeing that USC wasn’t cheated

Earnings gap for poor graduates applies even taking into account university attended and subject studied, Taso report finds

Practice in which a student creates a portfolio of study preferences and then receives offers helps US colleges boost size and diversity of new intake

But academics express scepticism, saying policy does not tackle ‘root’ of problem behaviour

More prepared to pay for education because of innovations in flexible learning, despite demographic shifts that are harming public sector

Despite ‘debt avalanche’, universities stress that tuition fee loans are ‘not like grocery bills’