In a bid to encourage diversity, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that university application forms will be anonymous by 2017.
Admissions body UCAS has welcomed the move to help boost minority student numbers.
Graduate employers have also agreed to name-blind recruitment in a plan to discourage an unconscious bias against candidates from minority groups.
But will anonymous university applications boost student numbers in the UK?
It is thought that the removal of names from applications could encourage higher levels of participation from disadvantaged groups.
This may help to encourage some people to apply for courses in the future.
Record Student Numbers
The latest figures from admission service UCAS shows that the number of people accepted onto higher education course in the UK reached new highs in 2015.
Over 520,000 students were accepted onto courses in the 4 weeks after A-level results, 2.5% higher than the previous year.
The UK has attracted rising numbers of overseas students in recent years and with the limited on the amount of students studying in the UK lifted, student numbers will no doubt continue to increase.
It is yet to be seen if the removal of a candidate’s name from an application form will improve the number of applicants from a minority background however, data shows that numbers have recovered since tuition fee increases were introduced.
Student Housing Crisis
With more students studying than ever, housing them has become somewhat of a hot topic.
The reality of the matter is that there is currently not enough purpose-built housing to accommodate the 2.3 million students in the UK.
In fact, there are only 524,000 purpose-built beds in the UK.
A recent report from Savills has shown a record $6.5 billion worth of investment in the country’s student property market in the first 9 months of the year. This record-breaking figure illustrates the demand for student housing.
Experience Invest – a London-based specialist in this field – developments accommodation in the sector. See inside a UK student property investment.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Experience Invest explains why there is investor demand in the student property sector.
