University Uses Facebook For A-level Students Going Through Clearing

In the past, Facebook was where teenagers used to find their friends, but as the A-level results are set to come out on Thursday, school leavers may now utilize the social network to look for a university spot. Birmingham City University is offering assistance to students by getting them to use their Facebook and Twitter accounts to bypass the prolonged waiting time on the telephone when seeking a university spot during clearing. Bashir Makhoul, who is the pro-vice-chancellor at the university, stated that the hotline can get so flooded with calls that people can feel too worried to talk about their options and by offering the service via social media, inquirers will likely get an instant response on whether they’ve received an offer. On the day of the results, students that are seeking a university spot will be asked to contact the university through Facebook or Twitter by private messaging them with their contact details, UCAS points, and the specific course they are interested in. The social media service will run from 7 am to 7 pm on Thursday and will run alongside the clearing phone hotline. Last year, around one in 10 students that started courses used clearing to find a spot and it seems like an increasing number of students are turning to clearing each year. Sheffield Hallam, Leicester, and Loughborough Universities have all increased the number of staff on their clearing hotlines. Lindsey White, who is the student recruitment manager at Sheffield Hallam, confirmed that the number of phone operators has almost tripled. Universities like the University of Sheffield and the University of Gloucestershire ran early-bird clearing lines, which allowed students to register before the results day to beat the queue. Many Ucas-listed universities, which include Birmingham, King’s College London, Bristol, Nottingham, York, and Cardiff, are advertising spots for the students. Ucas has recommended that potential applicants should research their options before discussing them with different universities during the clearing process. Mary Curnock Cook, who is the Ucas chief executive, stated that record-breaking numbers of students found a place in clearing last year and that most colleges and universities will have courses with vacancies.