Older women and people from minority ethnic groups are least likely to secure university places, according to research from the University admissions service, Ucas.Some 87,000 potential students who applied to university in 2006 failed to secure a place - up from 84,000 in 2005 and 76,000 in 2003.

Women were most likely to feature in the “non-placed applicants” (NPA) group, particularly in the withdrawn (67.1%) and “no offer” (66.2%) categories, between 2003 and 2006.

Black and minority ethnic groups were also over represented, found the study. Some 48.7% of these groups fell into the “no offers” group between 2003 and 2006. Overall, the number of NPAs from black and minority ethnic groups was 37.5%.

People who complete and submit the Ucas application form, but are not placed in higher education by the end of the application cycle also tend to be older, poorer and have studied non-traditional qualifications, a conference today to launch the report will hear.

But the proportion of university applicants who live in the UK but who do not get a higher education place has remained stable over recent years at around 19%.

Of those who do not get a place, more than a third (37.5%) received no offers at all, while more than half (51.9%) turned down at least one offer.

But the research revealed that some 38% of all NPAs from 2003 to 2006 reapplied to university at some stage and, of those, 80% secured a place.

Today’s report, shown exclusively to EducationGuardian.co.uk, recommends ongoing support work and professional development with institutions and admissions staff to explore how to deal with less traditional entry qualifications.

It suggests more work should be done on how to integrate them into the tariff point system that awards students scores for the grades they achieve for an A-level or equivalent qualification.

Applicants without A-level equivalent qualifications are less likely to be placed, particularly those with “only vocational” and “only foundation or access” courses, the research suggests.

This finding is likely to alarm government officials, who are trying to encourage pupils to take up diplomas and persuade university admissions officers to accept them as equal to traditional A-level qualifications.

Ucas is also calling for further research on the issues affecting women applicants, in particular older women, who feature in the “no offer” and “withdrawn” categories.

More research could reveal that a significant proportion of the NPAs are in fact studying part-time and, therefore, not “non-placed”.

The director of policy at Ucas, Jill Johnson, described the research as “an important piece of work”.

“When such a significant proportion of students who bother to apply are not placed at the end of the cycle that has implications for the individual and for the country as a whole.

“There are other factors at play here that do need further investigation. When you look at absolute numbers you are still losing quite a lot of HE learners.”

The conference would help identify where more research was needed, she added.

The higher education minister, Bill Rammell, welcomed the report. “It’s absolutely crucial that we gain a better understanding of why certain groups of young people are less likely to be placed at the end of the application process than others, so we can ensure that everyone who has the potential to go into HE are given every opportunity to do so,” he said.

“We are making progress - this year has seen the highest number of university applicants ever. But we need more if we are to be economically competitive.”

Source: Education Guardian

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