根據(jù)國外媒體的報道，伯明翰大學(xué)成了英國首個降低2021年入學(xué)要求的大學(xué)。

伯明翰大學(xué)宣布：大部分本科課程的A-level入學(xué)要求將降低一個等級。

至于原因其實很簡單，新冠疫情的影響太大了。

伯明翰大學(xué)是享有盛譽(yù)的羅素大學(xué)之一。目前羅素大學(xué)集團(tuán)共包括24所英國名校：

包括6所金三角名校（劍橋大學(xué)、牛津大學(xué)、帝國理工學(xué)院、倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院、倫敦政治經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院、倫敦國王學(xué)院）

6所紅磚大學(xué)（曼徹斯特大學(xué)、布里斯托大學(xué)、伯明翰大學(xué)、利茲大學(xué)、利物浦大學(xué)、謝菲爾德大學(xué)）

2所蘇格蘭大學(xué)（愛丁堡大學(xué)?、格拉斯哥大學(xué)）、

威爾士和北愛爾蘭最高學(xué)府（卡迪夫大學(xué)、貝爾法斯特女王大學(xué)）

以及其他8所英格蘭大學(xué)：倫敦瑪麗女王大學(xué)、諾丁漢大學(xué)、南安普頓大學(xué)、紐卡斯?fàn)柎髮W(xué)、華威大學(xué)、杜倫大學(xué)、?？巳卮髮W(xué)、約克大學(xué)。

在這篇報道中還提到：伯明翰大學(xué)降低明年入學(xué)要求的做法，可能會給其他大學(xué)帶來壓力，迫使它們效仿。

這樣看來，伯明翰大學(xué)的做法僅僅是開端，其他學(xué)校會如何跟進(jìn)，我們也拭目以待。

據(jù)了解，此次伯明翰大學(xué)對入學(xué)要求的調(diào)整將適用于大多數(shù)本科課程，但不包括預(yù)科課程，以及有外部監(jiān)管的醫(yī)學(xué)、牙科和口腔衛(wèi)生、護(hù)理和理療等學(xué)位課程。

校長伊斯特伍德表示：“我們希望通過將課程入學(xué)要求降低一個等級，可以緩解一些焦慮，并確保選擇申請伯明翰大學(xué)的任何學(xué)生能獲得入學(xué)的最佳機(jī)會。”

“這同時也是為2021年入學(xué)提供更大的靈活性，從而減輕新冠疫情給師生帶來的壓力?！?/p>

?？巳卮髮W(xué)的社會流動性教授梅杰對伯明翰大學(xué)的做法表示支持。?

梅杰說：“雖然各大學(xué)都在努力提高社會流動性，但它們面向的是同一批學(xué)生，可以看到降低分?jǐn)?shù)是有競爭優(yōu)勢的。因此我懷疑大多數(shù)院校都會有類似的策略。”

《衛(wèi)報》原文：

The University of Birmingham has become the first higher education institution to lower entry requirements for next year in recognition of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on A-level students.

The bar for the majority of undergraduate degree programmes at the prestigious Russell Group university is being reduced by one grade.

In a move likely to place pressure on other universities to follow suit, it linked the move directly to supporting sixth-form students due to sit their exams next summer.

Degree programmes that are not included are medicine, dentistry and dental hygiene, nursing, physiotherapy, and social work, where there is external regulation, as well as the university’s foundation year and degree apprenticeship programmes.

“We recognise the need to adapt our admissions approach for this year given the extraordinary disruption affecting these students and their schools and the fact that many are likely to experience more than a year of interrupted learning by the time they sit their exams next summer,” said the university’s vice-chancellor, Prof Sir David Eastwood.

“We have considered what we can do as a university to recognise and reward potential, mitigate some of the educational challenges as result of Covid, and reduce some of the pressure on students and teachers at this challenging time. Providing greater flexibility in our admissions for 2021 entry is one such area.”

He said he hoped reducing the entry requirements would “alleviate anxieties”.

The move was welcomed by Dr Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, but he said third level institutions also needed to work to lower grades for disadvantaged students, who had felt the brunt of a disproportionate impact from the pandemic.

“Even though the pandemic will have a higher impact on school pupils up and down the country, it appears that grades will actually be similar, if not better than previous years,” he said.

While universities were trying to improve social mobility, he said they were competing for the same students, and moves such as Birmingham’s had to be seen in that context.

“There is a marketplace here and I suspect that most institutions will have similar strategies. So you can see there is a competitive advantage of lowering grades.”

The University of Birmingham has said the initiative also applies to its “contextual offer-making” – where institutions take into account factors that can restrict a student’s achievement at school.

封面圖及文章內(nèi)容來源：衛(wèi)報