T levels. To say that they’ve been a focus of much debate in the world of further education would be underselling the impact the qualifications have had already – a year before they are even introduced.

In 2017, the Technical and Further Education Act was passed, and the wheels for a new technical qualification were firmly put into motion. And while it’s been stop and start ever since – Anne Milton’s admission that she wouldn’t advise her own children to study for a T level was a definite screeching point – they will be taught in more than 50 colleges across the country from 2020, and over 100 from 2021. 

News:  Russell Group universities still undecided on T levels

Background:  T levels: What are they and how will they work?

More:  Milton: 'Leave it a year' before taking T levels

The Department for Education has heralded them as the "gold-standard" of technical education, putting them on par with A levels. They are to be the genuine, high-quality A level alternative for those who don’t wish to pursue an academic route. Earning a T level should mean the doors of industry will be open to you – and you’ll be able to step into the world of work fully skilled and raring to go. That’s the idea, anyway. 

In mid-August, the DfE announced that there would be Ucas points attached to T levels. A Distinction* would earn you the same amount of points as A*A*A* at A level, the announcement read. So as well as being a direct route to work, they’re also going to be a passport to university. 

But, actually, that route doesn’t look quite as straightforward as the DfE's announcement makes it sound. As my investigation in Tes reveals today, many elite universities are still to make up their minds on T levels. 

I asked all 24 if they would be accepting T levels – after all, the Ucas points are guaranteed – as entry qualifications to their undergrad courses. 

The responses I got back (once I’d given a whistle-stop explanation of the quals: gold-standard, 2020, route to industry and universities) were disappointing. 

Sixteen of the universities that responded have no official policy or position yet. Five of them said that they would be accepting the new qualifications. One university, which shall remain nameless, insisted that T levels were reformed Cambridge Technicals. Imperial College London gave a firm no. But then, at least it’s a definitive answer.

Some seemed confused as to why I was asking now – T levels will not be brought in until next September, so the first cohort of T level students wouldn’t be going to university until 2022. Wasn’t it a bit early to be asking to see an admissions policy?

Frankly, no it isn’t. Imagine this: you’re 15 years old, and you're thinking about a career in construction. You’re wondering about the best route to take, and your teacher says that the college up the road from you is offering a T level in construction next year. It could be a straight route into industry, she says. 

But you’re 15. You don’t know if you want to go straight into work after studying. You don’t want to write-off university completely – and why should you have to? 

Best check to see if the leading universities in the country will accept this new qualification or not, then.

Oh, wait…

A lack of information

The number of students taking the T levels from 2020 is unknown at the moment, but seeing as they’re being offered in dozens of colleges, and in three routes, it will likely be thousands. 

And if things don’t change soon, then those thousands of students won’t have clarity on what their options are post-18.

The blame doesn’t lie solely at the door of the universities. Many told me that they simply didn’t have enough information from the DfE to make a decision. Well, why not? 

The DfE told me that they are working with higher education providers to raise awareness of T levels, and to ensure that universities are aware that from 2022 they can admit pupils who study them. 

It’s not a question of whether or not they’re aware of T levels – it’s whether or not they deem the new qualifications a worthy enough qualification to be a stepping stone into one of the UK’s top universities.

At the moment, the answer is simple: we don’t know. And for those students considering a T level and making a decision that will have a huge impact on the start of their adult lives, that is just not good enough.