Bradford is bucking the trend among universities with an increased number of applications despite higher tuition fees.

The University of Bradford is also alone in Yorkshire in having more applicants than last year and the year before – and it has been credited with playing a vital role in the recession.

Nationally, applications from UK students for the first year of higher tuition fees are down by 8.7 per cent, according to figures from the admissions service. With fees rising up to £9,000 per year, the impact has been greatest for England’s universities, with applications down by 9.9 per cent.

Yet the number of applications to the University of Bradford has risen.

“We are pleased to see that our application levels have increased,” a university spokesman says. “The University of Bradford believes that its offer of professional education and the opportunity for graduate employment is something that our students take very seriously.

“In the new fees era, our long-term reputation on employability seems to have been a key influence on those choosing a degree with us, so where the sector overall has seen a drop, the University of Bradford has seen a 0.4 per cent rise in applications.”

Last year student leaders threatened to take action after bosses at the university revealed that it would charge the maximum possible tuition fees of £9,000 per year from 2012.

Councillor Ralph Berry, executive member for children and young people’s services with Bradford Council, who also sits of the governing body of the University of Bradford, said the popularity of the institution brought benefits for the whole city.

“I’ve noticed that there has been a firm trend in current years for the university to establish its credentials. It has become an exceptional higher education institution that is playing a strong role in the regeneration of the district and is so important for Bradford at a moment when the economy is in recession.

“It has a very strong vocational base and is opening up higher education to more students by working very hard with schools and local communities, plus it has a number of extremely creative part-time options.

“We now have students who are going to the University of Bradford, who ten years ago would not have been considering university.”

Taster days are offered by each academic department and special booster programmes are designed to encourage students to enrol.

“Initiatives like these are the culmination of years of work,” says Coun Berry, “The University of Bradford has one of the strongest bases of locally-sourced students of all ages, and many mature students, too.”

The university planned ahead to counter difficulties faced by the flagging economy by developing these initiatives, and by undergoing an expansion programme with new, state-of-the-art facilities.

The institution is continuing to invest millions of pounds in improving its campus, despite the economic gloom.

Additions include a £35 million sustainable student village, £9 million School of Health Studies and £1 million redevelopment of the university library.

“Courses such as opthalmology and pharmacy, with an international reputation, draw applications from across the globe,” says Coun Berry.

The university’s school of management is one of Europe’s leading business schools, which is highly ranked year after year in official league tables.

“If you look at the outcomes of studying in Bradford, your prospects of achieving what you set out to achieve are very high. Students who have studied in Bradford do very well in the employment market.”

Announcing the fee increase last year, vice-chancellor Professor Mark Cleary said the fees had been set at £9,000 to ensure a strong, sustainable university, with funds to invest in a high-quality learning and teaching environment, with a major focus on employability and delivering high levels of student satisfaction.

Jenny Cryer, senior operations manager at the youth support service Connexions Bradford, says the increase in applications shows that young people appreciate having an excellent facility on their doorstep. “They want to stay locally. This reflects the work that the university has done in partnership with schools in the district.”

She points out that the fall in applications nationally shows that not all students are choosing to enrol at their local university.

“For Bradford to have more applications, it must be doing something well.”

Adds Coun Berry, a former graduate of the University of Bradford who moved north from Surrey: “People should be proud of what we have here – your local university is standing tall.”