Geography undergrads:Who are they and where are they coming from?

Seraphim AlvanidesUniversity of Newcastle

“Progress report”

• GEES-funded small-scale project 2004-05

• Student recruitment for GEES degrees in the 21st century: Mobility, socioeconomic and geodemographic background of GEES undergraduates

• S. Alvanides (Newcastle) & D. Croot (Plymouth)• See Planet issue 13, p.43

Inspiration

• Geography BA/BSc Admissions tutor/selector• Croot D & Chalkley B (1999) Student recruitment

and the geography of undergraduate geographers in England and Wales, J. of Geography in H.E. 23 21-47

• Geographical research on widening participation– “UCAS applicants from the SE London sub-region”

Williams & Walker, 2004– “Young participation in higher education” Hefce, 2005

Croot & Chalkley (1999)• Focus on “the marketplace” (Eng&W)

– Single Hons Geography– Distribution of supply– Entrance requirements

• Standard offer used to regulate the market

• UCAS data for 1995, 1996, 1997 entries– All degree applicants/entrants– Single Hons Geog (BA&BSc)– Inter-regional student flows

Highlights Croot & Chalkley (1999)

• From applications to enrolments– The “retrenchment” hypothesis– Strength of “regional identity”

• Geographers more mobile (29% home) than other students (41% home)– Regional differences in “home” students

• Geography less popular in certain regions– Trend towards vocational disciplines– Concern with introduction of student fees (!)– Concern with uneven distribution of supply

Aims of project

• Construct a dataset of applications and acceptances for degrees in UCAS subject lines F8 and L7.

• Conduct initial analysis on mobility of undergraduate applicants by type of degree and socioeconomic background at regional and sub-regional(?) level.

• Consult with HEFCE on the suitability and robustness of the 'location adjusted benchmark' for the WPA.

Progress so far

• Obtained permission to use UCAS data

• Attended UCAS data training events

• Recruited research assistant (Newcastle)

• Profiled postcodes for 2002, 2003, 2004

• Applicants’ data for 2002, 2003, 2004• Personal (sex, parents’ occupational group)• School type/Educational sector• Accepted/Rejected/Firm/Insurance choice• Contextual information (neighbourhood type)

Hypotheses to investigate• “The marketplace” (regional level)

– Changes in applications 2002, 2003, 2004– Comparisons with applications 1995-1997– Comparison between “old”/”new” Universities

• The applicants/students– BSc/BA applicants by sex & background– Mobility by degree, sex & circumstances– Mobility by region (both origin & destination)

“[…] one might have expected geographers, for example, to have focused on the spatial aspects of student recruitment”

Croot & Chalkley 1999, p.22

Please email comments to:s.alvanides@newcastle.ac.uk