Potential students are offered the possibility of rent-free accommodation and cash prizes. The universities want to use this to encourage them to apply through the clearing process.

At St. Mary’s University in Twickenham, students who applied early were offered the opportunity to take part in a prize draw.

When I was studying at the University of Gloucester, the prize in a similar competition was a year’s rent-free accommodation.

These are “inappropriate incentives,” says a university employee union in its justification.

A spokesman for the University and College Union (UCU) said students should be able to choose the courses that are best for them and not be influenced by marketing tricks.

“The chaotic wrangling over student admissions through Clearing shows why universities need a new funding model,” said UCU General Secretary Jo Grady.

As soon as the exam results are available, the clearing process begins. This allocates students to places in university and college courses where places are still available.

Students can use it if they do not achieve the grades for their conditional place, do not receive the desired study places, decide to apply for a study place after June 30th, or achieve better grades than expected and want to change university.

The offers designed to encourage students to apply for study places include:

• The University of Gloucester is running a prize draw for free accommodation for students who sign up to the Clearing VIP mailing list.

• St Mary’s University, Twickenham, is promising a guaranteed place in university accommodation to students who apply before August 22. It also held a prize draw for a £250 shopping voucher, which the university said was “due to living costs”.

• The University of Sheffield is among those that have committed to guaranteeing accommodation to certain students, including those who accept an offer through Clearing by 31 August.

• The University of Sussex is awarding 100 rental scholarships worth £1,000 each to eligible students who register through Clearing.

Other universities have used similar marketing techniques to attract all students, not just those who come through the Clearing program.

Among other things, Nottingham Trent University offered a £250 Amazon voucher to every new student who signed up for selected accommodation.

The union attributes such offers to the general funding crisis at universities, which has led to speculation that some universities could fail financially.

“The over-reliance on tuition fee revenues is causing enormous financial instability across the sector,” Ms Grady said.

She wants the government to “provide emergency funding to protect all jobs, courses and institutions at risk and to end the failed experiment of market-led higher education.”

The Education Secretary had previously spoken out against this point and Universities UK stated that this was not a cause for concern for prospective students.

Overall, 2024 is a good year to apply for a university place, as 82% of applicants are accepted to their desired university.

But the overall picture is less rosy. According to the Office for Students, around 40 percent of universities in England are likely to have a deficit.

Tuition fees for domestic students have been more or less frozen since 2012 and have lost their real value due to inflation.

To make up for the funding losses, universities have been recruiting overseas students who pay higher fees. But recent changes to visa restrictions and Nigeria’s currency crisis mean the number of overseas students starting studies at UK universities next month is expected to fall.

All this means that universities need to strengthen their funding. This includes attracting more domestic students, which is why some universities need to offer financial incentives.

Additional reporting by Alice Evans, Hazel Shearing and Sherie Ryder