Confirmation and Clearing is underway

18 Aug 2022

Phone lines opened from 8am today (Thursday, 18 August) as students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their A-level and other results

A core team of more than 70 staff are operating the phone lines to respond to calls from students, working closely with colleagues in Faculties and Schools who will consider applications for courses through the confirmation and clearing process.

The team are based in our Student Services Centre and the Rutherford Building, with some colleagues also taking calls remotely off campus. In previous years there have been upwards of 10,000 calls over the confirmation and clearing period, with 6,000 of these alone being answered on the Thursday of results.

With only limited courses going into clearing this year, we have made sure that there are more call handlers available on the confirmation line, ready to talk to unsuccessful applicants, and offer support at this difficult time. Central, Faculty and School teams are dealing with many more applicants who narrowly missed their A-level grades, so we are encouraging students we can’t accept to focus on their Plan B as there are courses available through clearing elsewhere, although we do expect vacancies for high demand programmes to fill up quite quickly.

Teaching and learning, recruitment and admissions teams have been working over the past year to manage many competing external factors as we emerge from the pandemic, as A-levels return to being assessed by exams for the first time since 2019.

Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, said:

“On behalf of the Senior Leadership Team, I would like to thank the staff from across our University community who are answering calls, handling queries and doing their utmost to support students, parents and supporters through this time, which can be challenging and anxious for some and joyful and exhilarating for others.

“As we know, the process for Admissions is particularly hectic and pressured at this time. Over the next few days, staff from across our University community will deal with all the queries and concerns promptly and sympathetically as we have to convey what can be unwelcome news for many applicants.

“What is clear is that we remain ever more popular as a destination for study and personal growth for prospective students from near and far.”

Courses available at our University at the commencement of the confirmation and clearing process at 8am on Thursday, 18 August were as follows, though there has been strong interest from excellent applicants, and some of these are already closing:

• Adult Nursing (Postgraduate) – MSc (B742)
• Midwifery – BMid (B720)
• Public Health (Distance Learning) – BSc (B901)
• Public Health (on campus) – BSc (B902)
• Social Work (Postgraduate Entry) – MA (L508)
• Speech and Language Therapy – BSc (B620)