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Middle-ranking universities may offer scholarships to lure AAB-grade students or higher away from elite universities The highest performing A-level candidates could be tempted with cut-price deals on tuition fees from next year, as some English universities face increased pressure to maintain student numbers. Sir Steve Smith, president of the vice-chancellors’ umbrella group Universities UK, said in an interview that the highest-achieving students will be “gold dust” in the new system, due to come in next year. He said universities that currently attract a small proportion of students with the best grades would face difficult decisions: “They are going to have to work out if they start ‘buying’ AAB students. “One of the implications is that those students become like gold dust for their reputation. So you might have an incredibly strong series of incentives.” Reforms proposed by the government will allow institutions to take on unlimited numbers of students who achieve AAB or higher at A-level. There will also be extra places for cheaper institutions that charge an average fee of £7,500 or less. The reforms, outlined in a white paper, effectively squeeze middle-ranking universities that charge high fees, removing some of their best-performing applicants who are likely to be targeted by elite institutions. Some universities are preparing to drop their fees in response, so they can gain extra places under the £7,500 threshold. The coalition’s proposals mark a radical change from the current system in which each university is allocated a fixed number of government-funded places for home undergraduates each autumn. Among the first to offer a deal to entice high-fliers is the University of Kent, which will give £2,000 scholarships to any recruit for 2012 who gains three As in their A-levels, regardless of family income. The prospect of cheaper deals for high achievers was criticised by Gareth Thomas, the shadow universities minister, who said the money should be spent on widening access to students from poorer backgrounds. Nearly a third of students achieving AAB or above are from private schools and 20% of those achieving the highest grades at state sixth forms are in grammar schools. Thomas said: “If vital money to help those from less well-off backgrounds is instead being used by universities as a marketing gimmick because they are worried about a drop in student places, this is yet another sign that the government didn’t think through their plans in the white paper or the trebling of tuition fees.” The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which is responsible for universities, said: “As long as universities are meeting their access agreements, it is up to them how much they charge. We don’t disagree with what they are doing. “Universities need to meet tough new criteria for attracting the brightest students from lower income backgrounds, including offering fee waivers and bursaries. These additional scholarships will help universities to attract the brightest and the best students.” In an interview with the Sunday Times, Smith, who is vice-chancellor of Exeter University as well as being head of Universities UK, predicted that application numbers are likely to be down by at least 10% in 2012 because of student fears of debt and a fall in the number of school-leavers. This could put more pressure on universities to cut fees. He also said he expected to record substantial numbers of courses closing, particularly in sciences, as many universities decide they can no longer afford to run expensive, laboratory-based degrees. He warned that universities could be faced with European Union applicants “flooding in”, because it will be virtually impossible to force them to repay their student loans once they return to their home countries. Higher education Students Access to university A-levels Schools Tuition fees Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk