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Fair admissions code of practice
Last updated on Monday 29 Jul 2024 at 11:57pm
Our Fair admissions code of practice shows the higher education sector's commitment to fair and transparent admissions practices.
This code sets out the principles and behaviours that universities and colleges who have signed up to it follow to deliver for applicants.
This includes an admissions process that:
- protects applicants' interests
- supports fairness and transparency
- ensures the stability of the higher education sector
- maintains high academic standards
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Fair admissions code of practice
Who does this code of practice apply to?
This code is co-owned by Universities UK and GuildHE and applies to the admission of home undergraduate students. It consists of revised principles for fair admissions developed during UUK’s Fair admissions review, and underlying behaviours that demonstrate these principles.
Universities and colleges that sign up to the code will be expected to make sure that their admissions processes follow the principles of the code with immediate effect. A list of universities and colleges that have signed up to the code can be found at the bottom of this page.
This is a living document that will be updated to best respond to future admissions challenges.
Summary of the code's principles
Applicants who apply to a university or college that follows this code can expect admissions processes that:
Above all, protect and prioritise the interests of applicants
This means universities and colleges should make sure that admissions practices support student choice and do not create unnecessary pressure.
Universities and colleges should make sure that applicants have all the information they need to make an informed decision about the best course of study for them.
They should also avoid applying pressure through their offer making practices, including by avoiding the use of ‘conditional unconditional’ offers, restricting the use of unconditional offers to specific circumstances, and using incentives appropriately and transparently.
Are transparent
This means universities and colleges should provide the information applicants need to make the best choice for them, including the prior qualifications applicants may need, how they make their choices, and why they make certain types of offers.
This information should be made available clearly, in good time, and through appropriate channels.
Enable universities and colleges to select students able to complete a course as judged by their achievements and potential
This means universities and colleges use the evidence they have available to make informed decisions on applicants’ potential to succeed on a course.
This evidence can include exam results, other qualifications, relevant experience, or by using other methods of testing (such as auditions, interviews, or submitting creative portfolios).
However, applicants should also be assessed as individuals, and other contextual factors may be taken into account.
Use reliable, valid and explainable assessment methods
This means that the way admissions processes operate should be guided by research and good practice, and universities and colleges should be able to explain why their approach to admissions is in the applicants’ best interests.
Universities and colleges should also monitor the link between their admissions practices and the outcomes for their students.
Minimise barriers for applicants and address inequalities
There are some barriers to entry for applicants that have nothing to do with their potential or ability to succeed on a course, such as where they grew up or their life experiences.
Universities and colleges should minimise these barriers to entry through their admissions processes, but should be clear on how and why they do so.
Are professional and underpinned by appropriate institutional structure and processes
This means that admissions processes should be organised in such a way that they are efficient, high-quality and provide a professional experience for applicants.
For more information on what these principles mean in practice, see the full version of the code.
July 2024: Update
- The most recent update to the Fair Admissions Code of Practice was in July 2024. The key change is that the Code and its principles now explicitly apply to international students, including the expectation that signatories ensure that third parties (including agents and franchised provision) act in accordance with the Code.
Further areas of change within the Code include:
a. It suggests that universities and colleges use recognised titling conventions to accurately and clearly convey the content of courses to applicants.
b. It reaffirms and clarifies cases where offer-making practices need to be fair, and transparent and avoid placing undue pressure on applicants, including with the use of deadlines, incentives, or conditional unconditional offers.
c. Existing principles and behaviours related to entry requirements and the criteria for assessment of applications now also extend to include English language proficiency, compliance with UKVI requirements for sponsored students, and clarity over the process by which providers establish international equivalencies for UK qualifications.
d. It strengthens the expectation that universities set entry requirements to support student success and consistently evaluate the link between offer-making practices and student retention, attainment, and progression.
e. Clarity that ultimate responsibility for admissions decisions sits with universities and colleges and that these decisions should only be made by those who are properly trained to do so.
f. It is clear that universities and colleges must engage international education agents in line with the recommendations of the UK Agent Quality Framework, including that agents provide advice and guidance to prospective students in accordance with the Code of Ethical Practice for Education Agents.
g. An expectation that universities and colleges should have in place structures and processes to establish clear lines of responsibility with third parties (including international and domestic agents, franchised provision, and pathway providers), evaluation and governance processes to maintain quality and compliance with the Code.
Who has signed up to the code?
Over 100 Universities UK and GuildHE members have agreed to uphold the principles and behaviours outlined in the code.
Some universities and colleges are still going through necessary internal procedures to consider signing up to the code, and this list will be regularly updated to reflect new signatories to the end of April.
This list was last updated on 9 August 2023.
List of signatories
- Aberystwyth University
- AECC
- Anglia Ruskin University
- Arts University Bournemouth
- Aston University
- Bangor University
- Bath Spa University
- BIMM Institute
- Birkbeck, University of London
- Bishop Grosseteste University
- Brunel University London
- Bournemouth University
- Buckinghamshire New University
- Canterbury Christ Church University
- Christ the Redeemer College
- City, University of London
- Coventry University
- Cranfield University
- De Montfort University
- Edge Hill University
- Edinburgh Napier University
- Falmouth University
- Glasgow Caledonian University
- Glasgow School of Art
- Goldsmiths, University of London
- Harper Adams University
- Hartpury University
- Imperial College London
- Institute of Contemporary Music Performance
- Keele University
- King's College London
- Lancaster University
- Leeds Arts University
- Leeds Beckett University
- Leeds Conservatoire
- Leeds Trinity University
- Liverpool Hope University
- Liverpool John Moores University
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- London South Bank University
- Loughborough University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Middlesex University
- Moorlands College
- Morley College London
- Newcastle University
- Northeastern University London
- Newman University
- The Northern School of Art
- Northumbria University
- Nottingham Trent
- The Open University
- Oxford Brookes University
- Pearson College London
- Plymouth College of Art
- Plymouth Marjon University
- Queen Margaret University
- Queen Mary University of London
- Regent's University London
- Rose Bruford College
- Royal Agricultural University
- Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Royal College of Music
- Royal Holloway, University of London
- The Royal Veterinary College
- Scotland's Rural College
- Sheffield Hallam University
- Solent University, Southampton
- St George's, University of London
- St Mary's University College
- St Mary's University, Twickenham
- Swansea University
- Teesside University
- Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
- University Academy 92
- University College Birmingham
- University College London
- University of Aberdeen
- University of Bath
- University of Bedfordshire
- University of Birmingham
- University of Bolton
- University of Bradford
- University of Brighton
- University of Bristol
- University of Cambridge
- University of Central Lancashire
- University of Chester
- University of Chichester
- University for the Creative Arts
- University of Cumbria
- University of Derby
- University of Dundee
- University of East Anglia
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Essex
- University of Essex Online
- University of Exeter
- University of Glasgow
- University of Gloucestershire
- University of Greenwich
- University of Hertfordshire
- University of Huddersfield
- University of Hull
- University of Kent
- University of Law
- University of Leeds
- University of Leicester
- University of Lincoln
- University of Liverpool
- University of Manchester
- University of Nottingham
- University of Oxford
- University of Plymouth
- University of Portsmouth
- University of Reading
- University of Salford
- University of Sheffield
- University of South Wales
- University of Southampton
- University of St Andrews
- University of Stirling
- University of Strathclyde
- University of Suffolk
- University of Sunderland
- University of Surrey
- University of Sussex
- University of the Arts London
- University of the Highlands and Islands
- University of the West of England
- University of the West of Scotland
- University of Warwick
- University of West London
- University of Westminster
- University of Winchester
- University of Wolverhampton
- University of Worcester
- University of York
- Wrexham Glyndŵr University
- York St John University
