Bournemouth University applications down for the second year (From Bournemouth Echo)

Bournemouth University applications down for the second year

3:00pm Wednesday 16th January 2013 in News By Jane Reader

APPLICATIONS to Bournemouth University are down for the second year running.

Figures plummeted across England last year when fees almost trebled to £9,000 per year.

And with less than a month to go before this year’s deadline, national figures are showing a further reduction of around six per cent.

Prospective students have until Tuesday January 15 to apply for courses so exact figures are not yet known.

But Bournemouth University spokesman Nathaniel Hobby said: “Applications for 2013 entry are broadly in line with the rest of the sector and more positive than the same time last year.

The deadline for ‘on-time applications’ is January 15 and we expect that some courses will still accept applications past this date should prospective students decide to apply later in the year.”

He said the quality of applicants so far had been good and that fewer applications had been rejected than in recent years.

Chief executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge said the situation could change over the next few days with a rush of applications expected.

But Mary Bousted from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers blamed the increased fees.

She said: “Unless this government makes access to higher education a realistic and genuine possibility for young people from less privileged backgrounds, [Education Secretary Michael Gove’s] concern for white, working-class boys will be just empty rhetoric.”

The university announced in 2011 that it would charge tuition fees of £8,200 for most degrees and the £9,000 maximum on flagship courses, calling the rise “sadly inevitable”.

Vice chancellor John Vinney wrote to staff and students at the time: “These have been difficult decisions to make, however I am confident that they put our University in the best possible position going forward; offering an excellent experience to all, and maintaining quality throughout.