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Summary A quarter of universities in the UK's Russell Group still have student vacancies.
The group, which includes many top universities, says changes to the funding system in England have meant students who wanted to go to a good university and had the right grades have not been able to.Six out of its 24 members have spaces.Higher Education Minister David Willetts says it is likely fewer people will go to university this year.There is more of a market this year in student places and some Russell Group universities have never previously offered places through Clearing - the system which matches students to vacancies.Universities in England have been able to expand by taking as many students with top grades (AAB or higher) as they can accommodate or if they are charging fees of less than £7,500, but their core number of places have been cut.And fewer students than expected got the top grades.Tuition fees rise to a maximum of £9,000 a year for many students around the UK this autumn, following the decision to raise fees in Englands universities.According to the Ucas Clearing website there are vacancies for courses beginning in the next two weeks at at least six out of the Russell Groups 24 universities, including Birmingham, Sheffield and Queen Marys, University of London.Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said: If universities couldnt recruit enough high-calibre students they risked losing funding but if they recruited too many students with grades ABB or below they risked substantial fines.The numbers getting AAB grades or equivalent were lower than expected he said - 80,000 rather than 85,000.According to Ucas, there are more than 26,000 university courses with empty places, compared with 20,000 at this time last year.
