University uses Facebook for A-level students going through clearing
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Version 0 of 1. It used to be the case that teenagers found their friends on Facebook, but when A-level results are released on Thursday morning, school leavers could be using the social network to find a university place. Birmingham City University is helping students beat the telephone queues during university clearing by inviting them to use its Facebook and Twitter accounts instead. “On results day, students can often feel too upset to talk about course options and our clearing hotline can get very busy. Making offers via social media will mean that inquirers can swerve the engaged tone and get an instant response on whether we have a place for them,” said Bashir Makhoul, pro-vice-chancellor at the university. Related: University clearing: a teachers' guide for results day Students who are looking for a place will be asked to private message the university via Facebook or Twitter with their name and contact details, Ucas points (including subjects and grades) and the exact name of the course they are interested in. The social media service, which will run alongside the university’s clearing phone hotline, will be open from 7am-7pm on Thursday. Increasing numbers of students use clearing to find a university place – around one in10 students who started courses last year found their course this way. Universities say they are investing in more resources to cope with the calls – Sheffield Hallam, Leicester and Loughborough have all increased the number of people operating their hotlines. Lindsey White, student recruitment manager at Sheffield Hallam said the university had almost tripled the number of people on call. “We’ve also invested in a new telephone system which will reduce waiting times, help people go through the process more quickly, and just try to make it less stressful for callers,” she said. Others, such as the University of Sheffield and the University of Gloucestershire, ran early-bird clearing lines allowing students to register in advance of results day in order to jump the queue on Thursday morning. Related: Take it from an examiner, your students’ A-level results could easily be wrong Listings of universities that are offering places in clearing are on the Ucas website. Many of the Russell Group universities – including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, King’s College London, Nottingham and York – are advertising vacancies. Ucas has advised prospective students who use clearing to do their research before discussing their options with universities. Mary Curnock Cook, Ucas’s chief executive, said: “If you think you’ll be using the clearing route to get there, don’t worry – record numbers of students were placed that way last year. “Most universities will have some courses with vacancies, including in subjects you might not have considered when first filling out your Ucas application. Universities and colleges will want to talk you – but remember to prepare and do your research before discussing your options with them.” |