The Art and Design Admissions Registry (ADAR) was a British administrative body concerned with admissions to

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

courses in art and design outside universities. It was founded in 1966 and functioned for thirty years before being absorbed into the

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS ) is a UK-based organisation whose main role is to operate the application process for British universities. It operates as an independent charity, funded by fees charged to applicants an ...

(UCAS) in 1996. ADAR was based in the city of

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. Following the introduction of Art Foundation courses from 1963 onwards, interest among potential students increased in the range of higher education courses available nationally. Like the

Central Register and Clearing House The Central Register and Clearing House (CRCH) was an administrative organisation in teacher education in England and Wales which existed for almost sixty years. It pre-dated by some thirty years a similar organisation for university courses ( UCC ...

the ADAR scheme operated on a sequential rather than simultaneous basis, so that once a particular applicant had been accepted by their first choice their form did not circulate to further institutions. In 1996, the scheme had 15,200 applications which led to 9,082 acceptances, compared to 6,900 acceptances in 1991. Most major branches of British higher education merged their admissions systems in the new UCAS scheme in 1992, but Art and Design admissions presented particular problems since they worked to a later timetable as a result of the important role Art Foundation courses had in developing as fully as possible a student's proposed specialism (painting, sculpture, graphic design and so on). Work was furthermore generally submitted before a decision was made on whether to interview. A means of absorbing ADAR was found by 1996 although fears were expressed that students might be tempted to try to bypass the Foundation course preparatory route. The merger with UCAS allowed that for a period there would be two routes of admission, one generally conforming to the UCAS timetable, and one running later to allow for the special circumstances of many Foundation applicants. A study in 2002 aimed to test whether the merged scheme had been as beneficial as its proponents had claimed,Porch, Lisa and Barclay, Martin, "Unifying Higher Education Admissions in Art and Design", Journal of Further and Higher Education, Vol 26, No. 3, August 2002, pp. 241-250

References

1966 establishments in the United Kingdom 1996 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Art schools in the United Kingdom Arts in the United Kingdom Design institutions Education in Hereford Educational institutions established in 1966 Educational institutions disestablished in 1996 Hereford Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Herefordshire UCAS {{UK-university-stub