Applying to HE with reformed qualifications

• A key point is that qualification regulators around the UK have stated the standard of A levels and AS qualifications has remained the same.
• Equally, the qualifications an applicant holds is only one part of what a university or college considers when assessing them. They'll also consider predicted grades, personal statement, reference, and a range of contextual factors such as school type, school attainment and location.
• Universities and colleges are therefore unlikely to distinguish between different A levels across the UK.

Aston University said:

We appreciate that some students may apply to university in 2016-18 with a mix of old and new style A/AS levels. We would not discriminate between different years/styles. 

No – we want to make the transition as simple as possible. They just need to select A level and specify the awarding body, date of achievement and subject.

Yes – an applicant enters the awarding body, date of achievement and subject. From this unis and colleges can determine whether it is a reformed or unreformed A level.

We will also provide verified information as part of our Awarding Body Linkage process – this is when we pass exam results to universities and colleges ahead of results day, so they can make Confirmation decisions. This data will distinguish between reformed and unreformed qualifications across the UK. 

Universities and colleges are autonomous in the way they value qualifications and practices vary. Traditionally, the AS has been used in the following ways. Some of them:

• use the AS grade as part of their holistic assessment of an applicant
• use the AS to sense check predicted grades
• consider AS grades only if an applicant has not met the terms of their offer
• require a fourth AS as part of their standard entry requirements

Even if an admissions department does not use the AS in their admissions processes, it still gives useful information about the applicant and may indicate breadth of study.

Aston University will not discriminate against schools/colleges or students who have not taken or certified stand-alone AS levels in Year 12.

Aston University. 

Yes. UCAS requires applicants to enter all achieved qualifications in Apply.

If a school or college chooses to enter its students for AS levels then this should be stated on the UCAS form and in the UCAS reference. Students are also welcome to take additional AS levels in Year 13 (if time and resources allow) to broaden their studies. 

Aston University's qualification reform statement.

• With unreformed A levels, schools could decide if they wished to certificate (or ‘cash in’) AS examinations at the end of the first or second year of study.
• Reformed AS qualifications will be automatically certificated and there is no concept of ‘cashing in’. All achieved qualifications must be entered in Apply.
• Schools can still choose whether or not they ‘cash in’ unreformed AS qualifications while they're still available.
• The rules around cashing in and certification will remain as they are in Wales and Northern Ireland. 

No. Unis and colleges are aware that schools and colleges are making differing decisions about future AS provision and they will treat all applicants fairly.

Not all universities and colleges used the AS previously in their admissions processes. Those that did, recognise the pattern of entry will differ and are therefore trying to remove any use of the AS from their admissions processes to ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently.  

In the future we understand that there are a large range of options open to schools and colleges in relation to whether AS level exams are completed at all, or in just some subjects. The college will continue to maintain its position in that neither advantage, nor disadvantage will be given to students who present these qualifications at the time of application and therefore this should be a matter for the individual school or college. 

King's College London. 

At present (2014) there are a small number of areas in which AS attainment is a key part of the admissions decision at Sheffield, and we will ensure that, by the time applicants are presenting with reformed AS and A levels, any areas which currently use AS grades revise their practices so that there is no advantage or disadvantage to applicants based on the presence or otherwise of certified AS grades on their UCAS application.

University of Sheffield. 

An applicant can apply for any course or university they wish, although we always advise them to make informed choices.

A small number of courses have previously listed a fourth AS as part of their entry requirements. Due to the reduced take-up of the AS in England, some unis and colleges are moving away from doing this. Even if it has not removed the fourth AS from its entry requirements, the uni or college will generally be sensitive to the qualifications an applicant has had available to them, so they are treated fairly.

It's important for schools and colleges to provide information about the qualification offer available to their students as part of the reference –  Guidance for school and college references (142.23 KB)

At present all applicants taking A levels are required to offer 3 A levels and a pass in a 4th subject at AS level. The requirement for the 4th AS was introduced with Curriculum 2000 and modular A levels, when 4 subjects were routinely offered in year 12. Now that there has been a reduction in funding and a return to linear A levels it is likely that UCL will no longer require a 4th AS. We would not wish to maintain a requirement that would discriminate against applicants from schools that are not able to offer four subjects.

UCL.

The College understands that partly as a result of curriculum reform and changes in the post-16 funding landscape, a number of schools and colleges believe that in the future they may not be able to offer students a fourth A level subject. In these cases the College will waive the requirement for the fourth AS, where applicable, but a statement must be included in the first few lines of the UCAS reference to inform us of the school’s policy in this regard. The College will review this policy annually as the position for schools and colleges becomes clearer in this area.

King's College London. 

Science A levels awarded in summer 2017 in England will have two grades:

• an A*-G grade for the exam
• an additional grade based on a candidate’s practical skills

Two distinct approaches are developing in relation to the science practical grade.

The first is that the university or college will require any candidate taking an A level in a science subject to achieve a pass in their practical element, regardless of the course. 

For example:

Where candidates are taking an A level in a Science subject, the University will expect the student to be successfully assessed in any practical skills.

University of Bath.

The other approach is that the university or college will only require the practical grade when they deem it relevant to the course:

The University of Birmingham will ask for a pass in the practical element of the reformed science A levels for entry to our Science and Engineering programmes.

The University of Birmingham.

Regardless of the approach adopted, any requirement will be detailed in course entry requirements and the offer. 

Find out more in our  Science practical – quick guide (1.15 MB).

• For the 2017 admissions cycle, when all reformed science A level awards will be pending, referees will be able to predict whether or not a learner will pass the science practical.
• From the 2018 cycle onwards, learners will be able to enter achieved science practical grades into Apply.

UCAS Conservatoires applicants

For the 2017 entry cycle, referees will not have the functionality to add the science practical as part of the predicted grades. However, you can add the predicted grades into the reference itself.

Find out more in our  Science practical – quick guide (1.15 MB)

Universities and colleges which stipulate GCSE grades are currently reviewing their entry requirements following the introduction of reformed GCSEs in England. Whilst significant numbers of applicants will apply to higher education with reformed GCSEs in 2019, smaller numbers are likely to apply for 2017 and 2018 entry. 

Ofqual has set anchor points between the old and new grading scales for qualifications in England, and exam boards will use statistical evidence to make sure that, broadly speaking:

• the same proportion of candidates will achieve a grade 4 and above as currently achieve a C and above (the alignment being at the bottom of each grade)
• the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 7 and above as currently achieve an A and above
• grade 9 will be awarded to the top 20% of those who get grade 7 or above
• the bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of grade G

Universities and colleges recruit students from across the UK. Students in Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to undertake GCSEs graded A*-G, so universities and colleges will display GCSEs both alphabetically and numerically. 

The UK qualification regulators are clear that the two grading scales are not directly comparable and it's likely the GCSE entry requirements set by universities and colleges may vary depending on the course, the provider’s recruitment strategy, and whether the course is professionally accredited. However, universities and colleges will be clear about their criteria in their entry requirements.

Based on the entry requirements already released, the following trends are emerging:

• grade C has generally been aligned to a 4 or 5
• grade A has generally been aligned to a grade 7
• A* grade has generally been aligned to 8 and above

We've produced Changes to GCSE grading (485.39 KB) to help universities and colleges when reviewing their GCSE entry requirements.

The English Baccalaureate is not a qualification – it's a school performance measure.

At present, no university or college lists the English Baccalaureate in its entry requirements. However, universities and colleges do commonly require GCSEs in certain subjects, such as English and maths.

Universities and colleges will continue to value a broad range of subjects taken at GCSE:

The University welcomes applicants who have achieved the English Baccalaureate, however, we currently have no plans to make this award a requirement for students in England for entry to the University. 

University of Manchester. 

• There is a single switchover point for the new Tariff, with the new system being introduced for the 2017 admissions cycle.
• If an HE applicant is holding a reformed or unreformed AS in the 2016 admissions cycle, they will be subject to the current Tariff methodology.
• If they are applying in the 2017 admissions cycle, they will be subject to the new Tariff.
• All AS qualifications will attract the same Tariff value.

• If an applicant has achieved the AS and A level in the same subject, a university or college will generally only accept the Tariff points for the A level.
• In England the AS has been described as standalone. However, the qualification is also co-teachable alongside the A level and would share content. Due to this, the AS is unlikely to be deemed as sufficiently different to be considered a separate qualification.
• If a learner has not progressed to the full A level, they will count the AS Tariff points. 

• Tariff points are allocated to the overall qualification grade for science A level in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• In Wales and Northern Ireland, the practical element of science will be assessed as an intrinsic part of the assessment scheme, there is no separate science practical grade – this applies in England only.
• The UK qualification regulators have confirmed the science A levels in the three countries are the same standard, as they are all A levels, and therefore attract the same Tariff points. This is important, despite the different approaches to assessing practical science, so as to ensure a learner taking science A level in one country is not treated differently simply because of a policy decision around the approach to assessing one component of that subject.