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Admissions procedures

All Departments will admit students in line with the University's admissions policy.

• Consideration will be given as to whether applicants will be able to fulfil the objectives of the programme of study and achieve the standards required.
• A range of factors additional to, and in some cases instead of, formal examination results is considered in the selection process. These can include:
• The personal statement and reference
• Additional evidence of achievement, motivation and potential as gathered through interview or assessment of written materials
• Other factors as appropriate to the discipline, such as employment or volunteer work in relevant fields and sustained critical engagement with relevant issues
• Since entry is competitive, achieving examination grades equivalent to or above the standard offer for a course does not automatically entitle a candidate to an offer.
• The requirements of the UCAS scheme will be observed for Undergraduate entry.
• Applications will be dealt with efficiently without unnecessary delay against internal service level statements.

Procedures for handling applications may vary from subject to subject. Most offers are based purely on the information provided on the appropriate application form or at interview, and may be conditional on obtaining a certain standard in specified subjects in examinations. In addition, departments may, at their discretion, ask applicants to attend for interviews, undertake supplementary assessments or provide examples of work. In such cases, the departments should clearly explain how and why this will be used in assessing the candidate and treat all candidates on an equal and fair basis. When assessing an application for undergraduate study, admissions selectors will normally consider the following information on the UCAS form:

• Academic ability and potential as shown by Qualifications shown in section 5a and 5b of the UCAS application, eg GCSE+AS level results and predicted or actual A level grades or equivalent.
• Motivation to study a particular discipline.
• Related work or voluntary experience showing commitment to a chosen career (particularly important for courses with a vocational slant).
• Extra-curricular activities, achievements and interests.

When assessing an application for postgraduate study, admissions selectors will normally consider:

• Applicants who hold a good first degree with at least a second class honours, or an equivalent qualification.
• Evidence of relevant personal, professional and educational experience.
• In the case of research students, consideration will be given to whether the applicant's proposed programme of work can be completed in the designated timescale and whether appropriate supervision can be provided and maintained.

Entry requirements

The setting of entry criteria for a programme of study is the responsibility of the academic school to which it belongs, within the overall policy requirements agreed by the University. The University minimum entry requirement is normally two A levels at grade E, or equivalent, although most courses require much higher grades for entry. Schools can insist on a particular level of performance in a subject at GCSE, A level or other examinations, including English language qualifications. Where particular subjects will not be considered, these should be specified, e.g. General Studies. Minimum entry criteria are published online in the Programme Specification document for each course, following approval from the relevant Learning & Teaching Board.

The Recruitment and Admissions Office will maintain a record of minimum entry requirements for all Taught courses at UG and PG level, which will include both academic and non-academic criteria. The record will be updated following consultation with School Admissions Officers prior to the start of each academic session. This information will be used in University publications such as programme specification documents, online and hard copy University prospectuses, and UCAS publications. It is the Department's responsibility to ensure that published entry requirements (both academic and non-academic) are fair, transparent and accurate wherever they are published.

Intake

Home and European Union

Each year the University has to register students in order to meet overall targets for Home and EU student numbers or face significant financial penalties in funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The HEFCE targets apply to the total student population and so new intake targets cannot be accurately set until after registration the previous year. The calculations for each School's Home/EU and international undergraduate targets are set by the Student Planning Office and distributed to Heads of Schools in late October/early November. The Recruitment & Admissions Office is informed of the overall School targets for Home/ EU undergraduates and then calculates where necessary the quota for each course based on the previous year's intake and taking into consideration any amendments requested by Departments. There are wide variations in the number of offers admissions staff have to make to fill their places. The relevant School Admissions Officer calculates the number of offers to be made to attain target based on the previous year's intake and informs admissions staff of the number of offers they are permitted to make for each course. There are no course quotas set for postgraduate entry.

International

The Student Planning Data Office in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Heads of Schools sets notional targets for international student intake for undergraduate and postgraduate entry. No course quotas are set for international admissions. It is the responsibility of the appropriate Head of School or their nominated representative to make decisions on all applications to their courses unless this responsibility has been delegated to a central unit such as the Recruitment & Admissions Office or International Development Office. All decisions will be made in accordance with the University's admissions policy. While it is anticipated that in most cases, admissions staff will make offers based upon the published entry criteria it is recognised that since entry is competitive, achieving examination grades equivalent to or above the standard offer for a course does not automatically entitle a candidate to an offer.

Offers

The making of an offer of a place commits the University to a contract with the applicant. Therefore, officers of the Admissions Office may only make formal offers to candidates unless in specific circumstances this authority has been delegated. Once a decision has been made to offer a candidate a place, the School Admissions Officer should notify the Admissions Office by outlining the nature of the decision in writing on the candidate's application form or completing the decision Proforma in the case of PG applicants. The Recruitment and Admissions Office is responsible for informing the candidate of the decision. In the case of undergraduate applicants this will be transmitted to the applicant via UCAS who will write to the applicant formally detailing the nature of the offer and any conditions attached. In the case of postgraduate applicants, the Recruitment and Admissions office will write to the candidate directly to inform them of an offer and any conditions attached. Schools are encouraged to write to successful candidates. However, any letters from the School regarding an offer of place for a first degree should not detail the conditions of the offer as this must be done formally through UCAS for undergraduate candidates or via the relevant Admissions Office for Postgraduate candidates.

Replies to offers from applicant

Undergraduate applicants

If an applicant wishes to accept an offer of a place for undergraduate study they must update their UCAS track record indicating that they have placed the University of Kent as their 'firm' or 'insurance' choice by the required deadline.

Postgraduate applicants

If an applicant wishes to accept an offer of a place for postgraduate study, they must complete and return a 'reply to offer' slip directly to the University. Meeting Conditions of the offer It is the responsibility of all applicants holding conditional offers to provide evidence that they have met all of the conditions of their offer before they can be given the status of registered students. If, however, an applicant has failed to achieve the requirements specified they may contact the relevant Admissions Office for advice regarding alternative courses that may be available, such as pre-sessional English courses for applicants who fail to meet the University's minimum English language requirements.

Deferral of entry

If a candidate wishes to request a deferral of entry to the following year, they should indicate this on their application form, or put a request in writing directly to the University as soon as possible after submitting an application. While the University is generally willing to accept applications more than 12 months before the date of admission it does not guarantee that requests for deferral will be approved. The maximum period allowed for deferral is one academic year.