The folks at the University of Salford clearly love dating app Tinder. Last year, the university created a Tinder-style app to help match students applying through clearing to courses they might enjoy, and now its reaching out to A-level students on the app to promote itself.

The university has created two profiles on the popular dating app to encourage social interaction with future undergraduates who have changed their mind about their next step, or are applying late.

The profiles, set up for male and female students, enable prospective students to explore the options available to them across the universitys seven academic schools, from aeronautical engineering to midwifery.

“A-level results day can be an extremely stressful time for students, particularly those who may have fallen short in getting the grades they need,” said Hannah Burchell, associate director of marketing at the University of Salford. “The key message is not to panic and think that youre going to be left on the shelf, but to carefully consider the clearing options out there.”

The Tinder campaign is accompanied by the universitys Matchmaker course-finding site, which was launched last year and utilises a Tinder-style swiping interface to help generate course recommendations based on grades, interests and subject areas. Last year, more than 10,000 students used the app on results day, increasing clearing offers at the university by 28 per cent.

“In a similar vein to our innovative matchmaker, we want to make the clearing process as fun, reassuring and engaging as possible,” said Burchell. “This not only reflects the personality of the university and our commitment to putting student satisfaction at the forefront of everything we do, but it ensures that the students who enrol are well suited to us and ultimately we find the right course for them – a perfect match!”

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