Universities 'cutting entry requirements' for poor students

By Graeme Paton. Top universities are secretly admitting poor students with lower entry grades amid growing political pressure to boost access to higher education, a report has suggested.
Rising numbers of institutions are cutting entry requirements at the last minute to allow students who “miss their target grades” to get a place, it emerged.
Researchers found that only a minority of universities make lower “upfront” offers to teenagers from deprived backgrounds in advance, instead choosing to “reassess” these students if they fall short of entry grades after A-level results are published. More...