CAO: Harris welcomes reduction in number of courses offered by 'cruel' random selection
With Education To Last Colleges Simon In Beds Owned Harris More By Year, Capacity Over Than Minister Beds 990 Private Acmodation Student Higher More Is There 2,000 Acmodation Said Addition
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris has welcomed the “very significant reduction” in the number of courses offered by “cruel” random selection.
Last year, 47 courses went to random selection which sees entry to a course determined by a lottery. The number fell significantly to 17 courses this year.
“Random selection can be a particularly cruel and difficult way that you get the max points perhaps required, but you still find yourself not guaranteed a place in the course,” he said.
Speaking outside Government Buildings, Mr Harris said we are now seeing a year-on-year increase in the number of students getting their first-place offer.
Mr Harris said the 60% of level 8 courses that have seen a reduction in points will come as a “source of relief” for students and the wider education system after points seemed to be going in one direction for a number of years.
He put this down primarily to sustained investment in courses that are in high demand, noting that medicine saw an extra 60 places this year, on top of last year’s additional 60.
Mr Harris said students are beginning to see the benefit of a sustained period of investment in growing the number of college places with targeted increases in areas such as medicine and nursing.
He said there is more accommodation capacity than last year, with over 990 more student beds owned by colleges in addition to 2,000 private accommodation beds.
“As recently as yesterday, there were 1,991 rooms available to rent on college websites right across the country,” he said.
Although 60% of students received their first choice this year, Mr Harris said grade inflation needs to be “unwound” which he said is the “next challenge”.
“We’re going to be very honest here, there is no ability, I don’t believe, to eradicate grade inflation overnight. This is something that needs to be done over a number of years in a careful way,” he said.