Coventry University is seeing a rise in the number of
applications it is receiving for places on courses in 2012 compared
with 2011, according to the latest figures from UCAS.
The University's figures are in contrast to the average trend
across the sector which shows that university applications are
currently down 6.4% on 2011 (source: UCAS, December 19th 2011).
UCAS figures from January 8th 2012 show Coventry University's
application numbers to be 1.24% up on the same point in 2011 and
9.71% up on 2010, indicating that the university's annual rise in
applications is set to continue in spite of the new fees.
Coventry is one of only a handful of UK universities to have
elected to charge variable fees for 2012 - rather than £9000
per annum across the board - following the introduction of higher
tuition fees by the government to replace the loss of 80% of the
grant funding for teaching.
The University announced in March 2011 that it would charge a
range of fees in 2012 between £4,500 and £9,000 per
annum, with a view to encouraging applicants from a wide range of
backgrounds, regardless of income.
Professor Ian Marshall, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Coventry
University, said:
"At Coventry University we felt the only fair answer to the
changes to the higher education fee system was to charge variable
fees that were based on the actual cost of delivering the course,
rather than electing to charge £9,000 across the board.
"This decision was based on listening to what prospective
students and their parents had to say, and understanding that value
for money and transparency on costs were key to their choice of
university.
"We will have to wait until later this month when the first UCAS
application digests are published to know for sure which
fee-setting strategy is right, but these latest application figures
would seem to vindicate Coventry's approach - particularly when you
consider that the average trend for the sector shows application
numbers to be behind those of 2011."
Coventry University registered its best ever student
satisfaction ratings in the National Student Survey in 2011, making
it the highest-ranked modern university in the Midlands and the
second highest-ranked in England for student satisfaction.
For more information on Coventry University's tuition fees
policy, please click here.