UU Vice-Chancellor welcomes university entry report

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster has welcomed a national report which recommends improvements to university entry which could make the system fairer and more transparent.

Professor Gerry McKenna said the Schwartz report, which proposes far reaching reforms including a new admissions system known as PQA (post-qualification applications), was an "important step forward towards greater equality and would end in-built disadvantage in the entry system".

Currently universities make offers to students on the basis of predicted grades rather than after the grades have been awarded. More than half of predicted grades turn out to be inaccurate, questioning the basis of the current system.

“The system has also failed to take into account many relevant qualities that reveal a person’s aptitudes and intelligence,” Professor McKenna said. “This has disadvantaged many entrants due to social background or the particular school at which they have studied. Therefore, the recommendations of the Schwartz report would be an important step forward towards greater equality and would end in-built disadvantage in the entry system.”

Professor McKenna said he also supported the report’s view that entry based merely on ‘A’ level grades or other examination results was too narrow and prescriptive.

“The University of Ulster has already set a national example in its broader entry scheme which recognises a wider range of qualifications," he said.

“Significantly, this has not resulted in any reduction in academic performance in terms of the high proportion of our students achieving first class and upper second class degrees. Fairness can go hand and hand with quality and quantity if a university is properly committed to serving all who have the ability to benefit from a university education.

"The University of Ulster is proud to have set the standard in Northern Ireland but we must not be afraid to make further progress,” he concluded.

(MB/GB)