Clearing update: 95% of remaining courses for Scots in Scotland in three HEIs

Further to the running tally on clearing in Scotland here, a last look at what’s still on the UCAS website for Scots in Scotland (looking specifically at full-time undergraduate degree courses lasting at least 3 years).

Half the courses listed at the start of August have been removed from the UCAS site – though that’s partly due to what looks (at first sight) like a re-think by Heriot Watt about what should have been listed for it initially.  95% of the remaining courses are in three institutions: UHI, SRUC and UWS.  It follows that there still appear to be spaces for Scots in Scotland, but very concentrated in specific parts of the system, raising questions about the distribution of funded places versus the actual pattern of student demand – an issue which becomes increasingly important as student demand outstrips available places, as discussed here.

There may be good arguments for the current position. It may even be that the apparent high concentration of vacancies in certain places is misleading and simply an artefact of the different ways institutions present themselves on the UCAS site.  There may be some behind the scenes shuffling of resources going on which means that, despite appearances, spare supply is being moved to meet patches of higher demand.

What’s missing here is any public discussion between the Scottish government and others about all this.  At minimum, it deserves a bit of attention and explanation.

Disclaimer: students still seeking places should check the UCAS site direct and not rely on the information here.