If your students are researching courses, they may be thinking about Tariff points.
Share these five facts with your students so they understand what the Tariff is, and how important it is to check the entry requirements for the course(s) they’re interested in.
- The UCAS Tariff was introduced in 2001, when lots of alternative qualifications to A levels started to appear. Its purpose was to help universities and colleges understand the wide range of different qualifications available to students.
- We updated the Tariff in 2017 to ensure more vocational and non-traditional qualifications could attract UCAS Tariff points, to support fair access to higher education.
- The Tariff uses a set of numbers, which some course providers use to describe qualifications and grades in their entry requirements. Only one third of university courses use the Tariff in their entry requirements – most use qualifications and grades.
- Just because a qualification is on the Tariff, doesn’t mean a course provider will accept it. Remember, lots of course providers do not use Tariff points. Therefore, it’s really important to check the entry requirements for the course you’re interested in – don’t just rely on your number of points.
- There’s only a certain number of qualifications on the Tariff. A uni, college, or conservatoire may accept a qualification even if it isn’t on the Tariff, so it’s best to check with them to see if they will accept your qualification.
Tariff points should not have any impact on students' decisions on qualification choices, or their preparation for higher education. Universities and colleges are independent organisations, and each year they decide how to set their entry requirements. If your students want more information on the Tariff, please signpost them to our student Tariff page.
To access all our adviser guides and resources on the Tariff, visit www.ucas.com/advisers/tariff.