STUDENTS SHUN WESTMINSTER UNIVERSITY

By Shola Adenekan

Westminster University has seen another fall in applications for next year, according to the latest official figures.

The UCAS figures show that Westminster is massively under subscribed after only 17,000 students applied for 22,000 places. This is the second year that Westminster applications have fallen, despite a national increase of three percent.

Dr Geoffrey Copland, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said that students prefer traditional courses at traditional universities to vocational courses at the former polytechnics.

Red brick universities like the London School of Economics and University College London had an increase in applications, while other former polytechnics had a sharp reduction.

Dr Copland said: “The fall in demand for vocational degree courses and the high cost of living in London have made the new universities less popular among A-level students.

“In relation to other London universities we have the smallest reduction of any of the post-1992 universities, some of which have as much as 20 per cent reduction.”

Under a five year plan at Westminster University new courses are to be introduced, while some old courses are to be phased out to make them more attractive to potential students.

The number of overseas applications received by the University of Westminster this year increased by 15 per cent from last year. One in ten students currently studying at the University of Westminster comes from overseas.