Uni Minister Calls For 'Core Course' Rethink

The Universities Minister has said more modern subjects like dance and media studies should not be recognised as core academic subjects.

David Willetts' comments come on the day around 250,000 A-level students get their exam results .

The battle for college places this year is expected to be more intense than ever ahead of tuition fee increases.

Mr Willetts told The Daily Telegraph the points system used in university admissions "sends a very bad message to young people by implying that all A-levels have an equal chance of helping them into university".

Ucas , which processes university applications, allocates points based on the grade achieved, regardless of the subject.

Mr Willetts added: "[Ucas] are operating a massive system with more than half a million applications, but they need to signal the importance of some A-levels more than others and that message is often hidden behind a tariff point model."

He also said that work-based apprenticeships should be accepted as a way to get into university.

Concerns have been raised this year about students who fail to secure a university place and could face the daunting prospect of up to three times higher tuition fees in 2012.

Wendy Piatt, of the Russell Group, which represents leading universities, said it was not realistic to expect every student who wants to go to university to get a place.

She said: "The costs to the taxpayer of a very generous system of student loans and grants make it unrealistic to think that the country could afford to offer a properly funded university place to everyone who would like one.

"In a tight fiscal climate, maintaining the quality of the student experience must be a greater priority than expanding the number of places."

On Monday Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers , expressed concern about the financial burden for those who miss out.

She said: "This year, more than ever, we fear for the thousands of students who miss out on a university place and face paying three times more next year or struggle to find careers advice following Government cuts."

But Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK , sought to play down the fears.

She said: "It must be very dispiriting for students who have worked hard for the results they're receiving to be faced with a barrage of gloom and apocalyptic predictions that usually turn out to be incorrect.

"People making such unfounded forecasts, usually to score cheap political points, are quite irresponsible and they should consider the impact it has on applicants."

She said last year nearly 70% of university applicants were accepted on to a course.