Following on from last week’s news that there were growing calls in the media for changes to be made to the admissions process for Year 12 school leavers, it seems that tertiary institutions have responded in kind. The G08 Universities of Australia (that is, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney, ANU, Monash University, UNSW, The University of Adelaide, The University of Western Australia, and The University of Queensland) have declared that they intend to establish fairer and more transparent entry schemes.
The primary issue with the current system that, for the most part, the clearly-in ATARs published each year do not accurately reflect the standards for that course, nor do they give any indication of the average scores of the students who are admitted. As a recent report revealed, there were certain institutions where the vast majority of students studying particular courses had ATARs significantly lower than the clearly-in that was advertised. However, the controversy was not over the fact that these students had been admitted (since there are all sorts of factors that go into the tertiary admissions process) but rather, over how the way universities marketed their courses with inaccurate and misleading data.
The New Admissions Options
But a few days ago, the G08 institutions announced that they would be implementing some changes to try and counteract all of this. For starters, there will now be a clearer distinction between the three different kinds of admissions pathways. Namely, entry on the basis of ATAR only, entry with an ATAR plus other criteria, and options that don’t require an ATAR.
These universities will also now make an effort to publish a greater variety of information so that students aren’t just left with a single number as a point of reference. This information will include:
• quartile distributions for all courses.
• minimum ATARs for all courses.
• minimum and maximum ATARs for courses with small enrollments.
They’ll also be publishing data that shows how many students were admitted purely through the ATAR system, as well as how many were admitted through special entry access schemes or “other means.” At the moment, some universities publish the percentage of students admitted with ATARs below the clearly-ins, but for the most part, that information isn’t very useful on its own. Plus, that percentage doesn’t factor in the different pathways to admission that those courses offer, meaning that unless a student knows a lot about the enrollment process already, this data isn’t really helping.
But now, the G08 have committed to breaking down this admissions criteria in ways that are easier to understand.
And what’s more, there will be a more details made public for so-called ‘alternate pathways.’ Various states currently have special admissions options available to students, as well as programs like The Monash Guarantee. But there are also many institutions who offer ‘bonus point schemes,’ especially in New South Wales. Without a centralised way to compare these kinds of programs, it can be very difficult to judge which universities you are eligible for without visiting each site individually. This is especially true given that publications from VTAC and UAC are often either inaccurate, incomplete, or quickly become outdated.
So what does this mean for current and future Year 12 students?
Well, you can look forward to more detailed information in Open Day booklets and online. And, come results day, you’ll likely see much clearer communication from universities regarding their admissions options and policies. For now, only the G08 unis have made this pledge to prioritise transparency, but hopefully other tertiary institutions will follow suit.
As to whether this will translate to a ‘drop’ in the clearly-in ATARs that are advertised… only time will tell.
Stay tuned for more ATAR news as the year unfolds!
