Ucas acceptance data show further decline in number of UK older learners
The number of mature students accepted by UK universities on exam results day has dropped below 60,000 for the first time in at least a decade amid a decline in nursing and teaching applications.
In recent years, the number of students entering higher education aged 21 or over has been in steady decline following the increase of tuition fees in England to £9,000, and according to Ucas data—which include 10 years’ worth of statistics—just 58,260 mature students were accepted as of 15 August this year.
This is down 3.5 per cent year on year and significantly more in the long term. In 2015—the earliest year covered by the new Ucas data set—74,270 mature students were accepted on results day, meaning the total number has fallen 21.5 per cent since then.
‘UK losing out’
Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus group of modern universities, told Research Professional News that successive governments had been “unable to reverse the trend”.
“All the while this deep well of talent and potential remains untapped, the country loses out, as do campuses denied the perspective and experience these students would bring to lecture and seminar halls,” she said.
Graeme Atherton, head of the Centre for Inequality and Levelling Up at the University of West London, said the decline in numbers was in line with the “continued lack of a financial support system that reflects the realities that mature students face”.
“It also shows the real need if we are to connect higher education with the growth goals of the new government, for a new widening access strategy that focuses on mature learners as much as it does on younger ones,” said Atherton, who is also director of the National Education Opportunities Network.
Public sector issues
The Ucas data show that total number of results day nursing course acceptances in the UK was up marginally from 18,300 to 18,450—although the numbers are still down on each of the previous three years. More than 22,000 people had been accepted at the same point in 2021.
Teacher training acceptances were down year on year, from 2,600 to 2,480 after almost hitting almost 3,000 in 2022.
“Nursing and teaching have traditionally been hugely popular subjects for mature students,” said Hewitt. “The higher education funding model is fundamentally broken, so we would urge the government to initiate a taskforce without delay to identify and implement a financial system that works for universities and students.
“At the same time maintenance grants should be re-introduced in line with inflation and a social mobility premium should be explored for universities teaching those learners who need additional support while they study,” she added.