Heriot-Watt closes Clearing to Scottish students after filling funded places

The Edinburgh based university confirmed that Scottish applicants will not be able to access Clearing for any of its courses

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Phoebe Davies | News

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Heriot Watt University has announced that it will not accept applications from Scottish students through Clearing this year, meaning those seeking late entry places will be unable to apply through the system.

The Edinburgh based university confirmed that Scottish applicants will not be able to access Clearing for any of its courses. This affects students who may have planned to use the process after receiving their exam results or changing their university choices.

Due to Scotland’s free university tuition system, the Scottish Government caps the number of university places available to Scottish students. These places are funded by the Scottish Funding Council.

Clearing provides an opportunity for students to apply for remaining university places if they do not secure their original choice or decide to alter their plans. The decision comes as Scottish universities face growing financial pressures, including increased costs and changes to funding.

Concerns have been raised about the impact on students who rely on Clearing as an alternative route into higher education. Some fear that fewer available places could create additional difficulties for those whose circumstances change during the application process.

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Heriot Watt said its Clearing helpline will continue to offer guidance and support to students exploring other options. The university will still accept applications from students elsewhere in the UK and from international applicants.

The move highlights the wider financial challenges facing Scotland’s higher education sector as universities work to balance sustainability with maintaining access to education.

via Google Maps

A spokesman for Heriot-Watt University said: “We are delighted to be in the strong position of having filled all our Scottish government funded places for Scottish students. “This reflects the strength and appeal of our portfolio in the Scottish market.”

Scottish Labour education spokesperson Katherine Sangster said: “Scotland’s universities have faced successive years of real-terms cuts from this SNP government, at a time when inflationary pressure means that funding is most needed.

“The SNP boast about free tuition in Scotland, but due to their failure to properly finance our institutions, it is Scottish students who are suffering.

“Scotland needs a sustainable tertiary education system that allows the sector to grow and succeed, instead of one starved for cash and forced to increasingly cross-subsidise from international fees.”

Students and teachers are understood to have raised concerns that the number of clearing places available, and the choice of courses on offer, have become increasingly limited.

“This is a direct consequence of the SNP funding model,” Mr Cole-Hamilton added. “We need to build a cross-party cross-sector consensus about the future funding of colleges and universities, responding to the underfunding of Scottish students, the need to protect against global shocks and exposure in a system that’s reliant on the fees of international students, and the unprecedented financial challenges currently facing institutions.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “Increasingly, we’re seeing Scottish applicants miss out because universities are taking students from elsewhere – and that’s unfair.

“SNP ministers must work with universities to ensure Scottish students can access the places they deserve.”

A Scottish government spokesman said higher education is a “key priority” and it is “resolute” in protecting free tuition: “Alongside Universities Scotland, we are taking forward the far-reaching and ambitious Future Framework, a major sector-wide review that will reinforce university sustainability and success going into the future.”

Pupils will receive their exams results on August 4th this year.

A Universities Scotland spokeswoman said: “Students awaiting their results should also remember that clearing is just one of a number of options available after results day, with opportunities to secure places through direct engagement with universities, as well as pathways into further education and other routes that can still lead to degree-level study.”

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Phoebe Davies | News

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Heriot-Watt closes Clearing to Scottish students after filling funded places

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