Widening Access and Managing Recruitment with Smart Targets

UK universities advertise the degree majors (courses) they offer, and every year over 700,000 students apply to their chosen courses. For each of their courses, universities have an intake target (the number of students to admit) and an access target (the number of disadvantaged students to admit). Depending on student demand, each university would like to adjust these course-level targets to meet its aggregate (university-level) targets. We design a centralised system which provides universities with the flexibility to optimally adjust their targets, makes it safe for students to reveal preferences truthfully, and quickly achieves fair and stable market clearing