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Advice and guidance for referees for independent applicants

If you have been asked to write a reference for an independent applicant who is not
currently at school or college, please read through the advice below before starting.
The UCAS reference is the only part of the application not written by the applicant.
References are intended to provide universities and colleges with an informed academic
assessment of an applicant's suitability for higher education study. Universities and colleges
are looking for the following key facts about a student.
The student's academic performance in their post-16 education
Their potential for academic success in higher education
Why the course they have chosen is suited to them
Any personal qualities which will benefit them at university, such as skills, aptitude,
enthusiasm
What they can bring to the university, such as extra-curricular activities and interests.
You will not be able to read the whole application and you should contact the applicant to
check which courses they have applied to, if you do not already know. Please note that you
should not include a direct reference to any particular university or college, because at this
stage we do not allow them to see the identity of any other institutions to which an applicant
has applied and they will all read your reference.
If you are writing a reference for an international applicant, please write in English. If
the applicant's first language is not English, please comment on their ability to write and
speak in English, and indicate whether any of their studies were taught in English.
If you taught them before they started their break from education, please give details
and describe how they compared with others in their class.
If the applicant is on an access course, foundation course or other one-year course,
you may not have known them long enough to write a full reference. In this case, please
explain that you are providing a temporary reference (including as much detail as you can)
and will provide a complete reference next spring. All supplementary references should be
sent directly to all the chosen institutions and should quote the applicant's name and
Personal ID, which you should obtain from the applicant.
Describe their suitability for their chosen courses
The most important part of your reference is your assessment of the applicant's suitability
for the higher education courses they have chosen. We recommend that you consider
including:
their proposed career ambitions, attitude, motivation and commitment. If relevant,
your opinion of their suitability for this career path
their past achievement and current activities, with particular reference to subjects
relating to the courses for which they are applying
any supplementary information about their qualifications and study
any relevant related skills such as employment, work experience, voluntary work
any commitments of which you are aware that might prevent the applicant from
attending an interview on a particular day
any factors, such as personal circumstances, that may have affected, or might affect
their performance. Information about any special needs and other requirements. Do

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not give information about an applicant's health or disability without their

agreement.
Students are asked to state any disabilities or special needs in a separate section of the
application. Students are not obliged to disclose such information on their application;
however, early disclosure gives the universities and colleges more time to prepare and
arrange the support that a student may need. Some referees may wish to mention the
student's learning difference or disability in an academic context, such as how they
currently cope in employment or otherwise.
Many universities and colleges provide details of the selection criteria and attributes they
are looking for in their prospectuses, websites, or specific entry requirements for particular
courses. If you know the courses for which they are applying, this will be a helpful starting
point, particularly if you are writing a reference for a course in a subject area with which you
are unfamiliar.
When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, please
remember that, under the Data Protection Act, the applicant can ask for a copy of the
reference and any other personal information that we have about them.
Predicted grades
Each pending qualification that the applicant has entered on their application will be listed in
the reference section.
Please select / enter a predicted grade for each pending qualification.
If you are unable to provide predicted grades, please tick the box 'I am unable to provide
any predicted grades'. An email will be sent to the applicant to inform them of this.
If the applicant does not have any pending qualifications you will not be asked for predicted
grades.
How to provide the reference
The reference should be written using a standard word-processing package and should not
exceed 4,000 characters (this includes spaces) or 47 lines (this includes blank lines),
whichever is the shorter. You cannot use bold, italics or underlining in the reference; if
these types of formatting are used, they will be removed from the text when your reference
is pasted into the application and saved.
When you are entering the reference into the application system, we recommend that you
work without taking substantial breaks because the system will time-out after 35 minutes of
inactivity. The countdown on screen displays how much time you have left before it times
out and closes. For this reason we recommend that you prepare your reference in a
word-processing package and then copy and paste it into the box. You cannot save your
reference in draft form and then return to it for amendment later.
Once you have submitted your reference, your password will be marked as expired and will
no longer give you access to the site.

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