The number of degrees which attract zero students at universities across the country has risen despite a drop in the number of courses available, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Times Higher Education report:
The number of degree programmes offered by universities that failed to enrol any students has risen despite cutbacks in course portfolios, Times Higher Education has found.
There was a 7.6 per cent rise in the number of unfilled courses between 2011-12 and 2012-13 at universities that responded to a THE Freedom of Information request, sparking debate over whether unfilled courses represent a costly failure to do proper market research or are an inevitable by-product of a broad curriculum.
Sixty universities told THE how many degree courses (including part-time and postgraduate taught programmes, but excluding joint honours) had failed to recruit over the past two years.