LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY

UNDERGRADUATE AND TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE

STUDENT RECRUITMENT 2004 ENTRY

A REPORT TO SENATE

1. UK/EU

Undergraduate

Key features of the 2004 admissions process are as follows (all comparisons relate to 2003):

· Total applications rose by 2.4% (national increase 2.1%)

· Applications for programmes in 9 departments rose by 10% or more (Chemistry by 36.5%, Civil and Building Engineering by 21.4%, Economics by 19.4%)

· 5 departments experienced falls in applications of more than 10%

· Conditional offers firmly accepted (CF) rose by 3.2%

· Unconditional offers firmly accepted rose by 9.6%

And in August when the examination results were announced:

· The proportion of CFs meeting their offers rose by 6.2%

· There was a fall of 25.2% in the total number of conceded places to CF applicants

· 13.0% fewer changed course offers were made

· 30.6% more second choice applicants were placed at Loughborough

· The proportion of places filled in Clearing remained steady at just over 3%

Acceptances at the beginning of the new session totalled 3040 (an overshoot of 2.5%). At that point, all three Faculties had met or exceeded their targets. Factors relevant to the overshoot include upward grade drift, significantly more second choice applicants being placed here and an increase of 2.0% in the proportion of changed course offers accepted. A number of departments have already raised and tightened their entry requirements to minimise the possibility of an overshoot in 2005.

Taught Postgraduate

Key features of the 2004 admissions process are as follows:

· Applications rose by 6.2%

· Applications for programmes in 5 departments rose by 40% or more (IPTME by 166.7%, English and Drama by 143.7% and Geography by 87.5%)

· 4 departments experienced falls in applications of 10% or more (Computer Science by 24.6%, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering by 22.2% and Business School by 12.4%)

· Offers rose by 2.9%, with offers in the Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities rising by 1% and 7.5% respectively.

· Offers in the Faculty of Science fell by 7.4% with a decrease of 35.5% for Computer Science and 14.3% for Chemistry

The current intake (as of 15 October 2004) is 425. This represents an increase of 8.7% compared to 2003. It falls slightly short of the business planning target (436).

· The intake in the Faculty Social Sciences and Humanities increased by 19.9%, while there was a decrease in both the Faculty of Science (8.%) and the Faculty of Engineering (8.2%)

· Intake in 6 departments rose by 30% or more (English and Drama by 200%, Geography by 133.3% and Mathematical Sciences by 125%)

· 4 departments experienced a decrease in intake of 20% or more (Computer Science by 55.6%, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering by 41.7%, Chemistry by 37.5% and Business School by 20.4%)

· There was an intake of 15 for LUSAD’s new postgraduate programme, MA Art and Design (Studio Practice).

2. International

Undergraduate

Key points regarding applications and outcomes are as follows:

· Applications rose by 39.5% (nationally by 8.0%)

· Conditional offers increased by 51.3%

· Conditional offers firmly accepted grew by 48.7%

· Unconditional offers firmly accepted rose by 12.5%

The eventual intake (currently 244) represents a rise of 8.4% compared to 2003. It falls short of the business planning target (263).

Taught Postgraduate

· Applications rose to 9,166 an increase of 22.9%.

· The largest increase in applications was in the Faculty of Science (36.9%), followed by the Faculty of Engineering (26.1%) and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (18%)

· Total offers, including conditional and unconditional, rose by 10.6%

· 5 departments made fewer offers compared to 2003

· The total number of UFs (applicants who have accepted their offer and met their conditions) increased by 3%, with an increase of 18.9% in the Faculty of Science and 4.3% in the Faculty of Engineering. The total number of UFs in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities decreased by 4.6%

The current intake (681 as of 15 October) represents a decrease of 10.6% compared to 2003 and falls short of the Business Planning Target of 820

· There was an increase in intake in 8 departments of which 6 met or exceeded their Business planning target

· 4 departments experienced a decrease in intake of 27% or more (Human Sciences by 42.9%, Information Science by 30.9%, Economics by 30.5% and Electronic and Electrical Engineering by 27%)

· The conversion rate from offers made to offers accepted unconditionally, fell from 30.2% in 2003 to 28.1%. However the conversion rates in 5 departments increased (Chemical Engineering, Civil and Building Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science and Mathematical Sciences)

Factors affecting outcomes

Unconfirmed reports indicate that the decline in international recruitment appears to be sector-wide and to have affected the US (down by over 50% on 2003 intake) and Australia (down by over 20%) as well as the UK

Intake forecasts for Loughborough based on applicants’ behaviour in previous years at the various points in the process, had suggested that the targets for 2004 would be met. It is now clear, however, that this year’s process did not conform to the model. There was a sharp increase in the number and proportion of applicants who had accepted unconditional offers firmly but who failed to arrive. There are two inter-related explanations for this. In the spring, the UK Government (together with the US and Australia) introduced much stricter visa conditions and also extended the visa requirement to countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. This policy appears to lie behind a dramatic rise in the “no-shows” from three countries in particular, Pakistan, Ghana and Nigeria, which coincided with a substantial increase in applications to Loughborough, and unconditional acceptances, from these countries.

Early signs of the impact of the new visa regulations emerged in June when UK universities reported significant downturns in arrivals from China for pre-sessional courses. The 8 week English Language pre-sessional course at Loughborough which began in August showed no such decline, however, recording the highest ever intake. This gave us cause for optimism.

Other external factors operating this year which may have contributed to the outcome include:

· more aggressive marketing in the Pacific Rim by Singapore

· a predeliction on the part of major sponsors such as MARA in Malaysia for cheaper overseas destinations, notably Russia

· an expansion in internal provision at postgraduate level within China

· (undergraduate only) the cancellation of large numbers of applications across the sector following investigations by the UCAS Verification Unit, resulting in the withdrawal of places from 12 students from China with UF status at Loughborough

It should also be noted that some departments did toughen their entry requirements, with particular reference to English Language, in order to convey a more explicit message about quality.

In the light of the outcome for 2004, provisional international targets already set for 2005 entry are being revised. A number of internal steps are being taken to maximise yield from applicants, as follows;

· Speedier processing

· Intensification of contact with applicants

· Consolidation of relationships with feeder colleges

· A review of departmental decision making strategies

· A re-assessment of some alternatives to the current list of approved English Language qualifications

· An increase in the value of the current Loughborough University Scholarship

· More vigorous promotion of the scholarships

· Introduction of deposits for applicants from selected countries

The taught postgraduate forecasting model is being refined to include domicile differentiators.

MB/HEJ/TW 16 November 2004