HUNDREDS of students who had applied for a place at the University of Reading have been offered a place – FOUR DAYS before they received their A-Level results.
In the early hours of Sunday (14) an automated email was sent by the university to 359 applicants holding conditional offers to study at the institution, informing them that they had received the grades they needed to gain entry to their chosen course.
The email should not have been sent until the morning of Thursday, August 18 when students across the UK find out their exam results.
The university, which is based in Earley, said in a statement on its website that the error was identified quickly, and steps had been taken to refer itself for investigation by UCAS.
UCAS sets a formal embargo where no university can confirm places until 6am on Thursday, August 18, which all universities are required to respect.
A spokesperson for the university said: “We have taken urgent steps to identify the underlying systems issue and put robust measures in place with automated IT systems to prevent any repeat.
“We have emailed each applicant affected, apologising that the confirmation was sent in error before the end of the embargo period. We have reassured each student that their unconditional offer of a place is unaffected. Our undergraduate admissions telephone helpline is open for students with queries.”
The university stated that no specific A-Level or other qualification results were disclosed, and that all personal information remained secure.
The spokesperson said: “We will confirm decisions for all remaining 5,500 applicants who hold firm or insurance offers with the University of Reading on Thursday 18 August. The 359 are a small proportion of the applicants we will be formally offering places to this week.”
- Were YOU sent an unconditional offer by the University of Reading on Sunday? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
