UK university admissions could be in line for major reforms – such as a reduction in the number of institutions to which students can apply, or the abolition of the “insurance” choice – but this is unlikely to happen before the clearing process is significantly modernised.

A published by Ucas says that the admissions service considered making major changes to applications at this stage, with wider use of the early October deadline and shifting the main deadline from January also among the options that were looked at.

But initial feedback from universities was that they were broadly happy with the existing set-up, at least until clearing is brought fully into the digital era, which could allow for a more radical rethink.

The consultation comes after the last government considered – and then dropped – plans to make students apply to English universities after receiving their exam results, rather than before as is currently the case.

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Since that 2022 decision, and under chief executive Jo Saxton, Ucas has advocated a best-of-both-worlds approach in which most students apply before they get their results but still have significant flexibility to choose a different path afterwards.

This is affirmed in the new consultation, in which Saxton says clearing is now far from “a point of limited choice for disappointed applicants”, with 70,000 students – 13 per cent of accepted applicants – placed via this route last autumn.

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“Clearing is now a genuine moment of choice for students, with many using it as a direct post-qualification system, as well as to revisit or reaffirm their decisions, with places available at the majority of universities and courses at this point,” Saxton writes in the foreword to the consultation.

“The combination of the ability to make pre- and post-qualification applications is a key feature of the current system and provides greater flexibility to students.

“Should this consultation reaffirm the views expressed during the pre-consultation phase that the main scheme cycle does not require wholesale change, the development of an enhanced clearing will become Ucas’ focus henceforth.”

Students currently apply to five universities before choosing a “firm” and “insurance” choice but Ucas says it considered reducing this to three or four, in response to concerns from some highly selective institutions about the volume of applications they were receiving, some of which students might have no intention of pursuing.

However, Ucas now proposes to retain the existing limit, for now at least, because students and teachers viewed a reduction as a “cap on opportunity” – and some universities feared that their recruitment prospects would suffer. This decision is “pending further reform” to clearing, and the Extra application service for students who do not get any offers from their initial five choices.

Ucas says it also heard concerns from universities about insurance choices, which are taken up by students comparatively rarely – applicants who miss out on their firm choice are nowadays more likely to search for an alternative university in clearing. Some admissions teams commented that insurance choices made numbers management more uncertain, and that this was a particular problem in capped sectors such as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Ucas proposes to retain the insurance choice in the short to medium term, however, describing insurance choices as “an invaluable source of psychological safety for applicants” but also wants to introduce a “decline my place” function for insurance choices, which could offer providers earlier clarity on recruitment numbers.

Ucas adds that it looked at moving the main January deadline, with options as early as December or as late as March considered, with an earlier date attractive to some universities to allow for earlier offer-making. But schools raised concerns about the knock-on impact on exercises such as mock exams, so the admissions service says it will stick with a mid-January date for the foreseeable future.

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Another change mulled by Ucas was allowing more institutions to use the early October deadline, which currently applies only for courses at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and in medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. But it says that this had led to “significant concerns” from schools and colleges around the impact on widening access and the “overall coherence” of the admissions system.

Even if the main elements of the admissions system remain the same for now, Ucas says that it will work to make the process more efficient for universities, and make clearing more flexible and digital.

If clearing does undergo major changes, Ucas “will engage with the sector afresh on whether the use of five choices remains appropriate, and whether a smaller number of initial choices could be balanced with greater flexibility and more options later in the cycle through a reformed Extra and clearing process”, according to the consultation document.

The admissions service’s consultation runs until 22 April, and changes are unlikely to be implemented before the 2028 admissions cycle.

Lynsey Hopkins, Ucas’ director of admissions, said: “As the UK’s shared undergraduate admissions service, Ucas must balance the interests of universities and colleges with those of applicants, and the teachers and advisers who support them. That’s why we’re working to ensure the admissions cycle continues to work for everyone.

“In developing this consultation, we spoke with more than 300 schools, colleges and universities, along with thousands of students. We’re now inviting further feedback to help shape the future structure of the admissions cycle and highlight any areas or themes for future reform.”

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chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com