May 30, 2016

The Transparency of University Admissions: IRU Submission

The consultation on the Transparency of Higher Education Admissions Processes is an opportunity to improve potential university applicants’ understanding of tertiary admission processes in Australia. The outcome should be to ensure applicants are clearer about their likelihood of an offer for the courses that interest them, encouraging them to apply.

To achieve this each university and other higher education provider should, where it does not already, makes available information about:

• the different bases for applying for entry and the way in which an applicant’s capability will be assessed; and
• the number and success of applicants from previous periods.

The information and data should apply to each common basis of entry and related assessment mechanism. It should apply to all courses from sub-bachelor through to postgraduate coursework.

The target for the information and data is the individuals considering university or other higher education, to assist them to convert their interest into application to a course suitable to them with a reasonable expectation of being accepted. It is important that national level evaluation perspective does not compromise the clarity of information for the individual applicant each of whom will need access to a small set of the admission information and related data.

The IRU submission addresses in turn:

• how changes in higher education change the admission process;
• the areas of potential confusion about admission processes as the basis for clarifying pubic understanding;
• the principles proposed in the Panel’s discussion paper; and
• the actions needed to improve understanding of admission processes to ensure suitable transparency.

Read the full submission below.