BU Application Figures Reach New Heights

21 February 2007

BU has experienced a significant rise in applications to our undergraduate courses.

Figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS) show a 10.7% increase for BU based on the number of applications received from UK/EU students via UCAS by the January 15th deadline.

Total applications to Bournemouth topped 16,280 – the highest ever received by this time of the year – representing an increase of over 1,600 applications.

According to The Sunday Times, the figures place Bournemouth sixth amongst English universities that have experienced a rise in applications.

The BU increase is well ahead of national statistics which show that applications to English universities have gone up by 7.2% over the last year.

Amongst the University’s academic subject areas to show a marked increase in applications are:

courses related to design, engineering and computing - up 54.8%
courses related to media (journalism, marketing, media production) – up 10.9%
courses related to tourism, hospitality, leisure and retail – up 9.2%

The news comes just months after the introduction of the new fees structure which requires students in England and Wales to pay up to £3,000 per year towards tuition - but only after they graduate.

Some analysts had predicted that the fees would force applications down this year.

BU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Curran, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme and Radio 4’s Six O’Clock News that he believed there had been no drop because “the message has got out loud and clear now that it’s not students that are being charged these fees, it’s the graduates.

“So students don’t pay during their course, they pay out at some point after they’ve done their course, once they’re earning a regular salary,” he continued.

“It’s in line with what people have seen in other countries; if we look, for example, in Australia the introduction of fees didn’t affect overall levels of applications at all.”

Professor Curran attributes Bournemouth’s rise in applications to the quality of its courses and the direct link between them and the career aspirations of prospective students.

“Our University is going places and it’s clear from these application figures that prospective students see the value and relevance of our high quality courses to their personal and professional lives."

“The news comes at a time when BU is investing significantly in its learning resources and accommodation for students and undertaking one of the largest recruitment programmes of senior academic staff and PhD students in the UK.”