Nearly half of schools and colleges have changed the qualifications or subjects they offer as a result of qualification reform, according to the latest survey from UCAS.

This year, UCAS’ annual qualifications survey, designed to gain a better understanding of how schools and colleges are responding to qualifications reforms, has been broadened beyond A and AS Levels to include GCSEs and vocational qualifications.  Nearly 300 schools and colleges took part in the survey giving valuable information to universities on current trends in higher education entry qualifications.

Findings include:

AS and A Level:

• 56% of respondents have changed their AS and A Level provision in the last year
• 29% are offering the AS in all reformed subjects (much fewer than originally predicted), with 30% offering it in some subjects
• 36% are not currently offering the AS
• Nearly half intend to revisit their AS decisions for 2017/18 at which point all A Level subjects will be reformed.
  

• 23% are offering an unreformed vocational specification despite the availability of the reformed version
• 22% don’t feel that higher education has a good understanding of vocational qualifications
• Universities need to ensure they reflect the diverse range of vocational qualifications available in their entry requirements.
  

• 40% don’t feel confident in identifying learners’ levels of performance under the 9-1 grading scale
• The majority of universities and colleges that previously required a C for entry, now ask for a 4.