Universities Admission Index

Last updated

The Universities Admission Index (UAI) was used in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, as the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate-entry university programs. It was a number between 0 and 100 (though those below 30 were not reported), occurring in increments of 0.05 and indicating the rounded percentile rank of a student who undertook the Higher School Certificate or ACT Year 12 Certificate with a valid quantity and combination of units of study. It was replaced in N.S.W with the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in 2009. [1] Prior to the UAI the ACT used its own Tertiary Entrance Rank [2]

Contents

Overview

The UAI was awarded to students on the completion of the HSC in NSW and the completion of an ACT Year 12 Certificate with a "Tertiary Package" in the ACT - both at the end of year 12. It provided a percentile ranking of peer students of the same age. In NSW, the UAI was determined by a combination of the public HSC exams common across all schools at the end of Year 12 and continuing assessment. Assignments and exams in Year 11 served to prepare students for Year 12 but were not in any way involved in the calculation process. In the ACT, the UAI was determined by ongoing assignments and exams spanning through both Years 11 & 12. The ACT Scaling Test (AST), sat by tertiary students, linked a student's ability with the school's mean score in each course and was used to scale students in different courses and schools.

UAI scores were not directly equivalent to a percentile rank among those who completed Year 12 (i.e. a UAI of 99 was not equivalent to placing in the top 1% of the state). The statistical distribution of UAI scores in 2004 found that 1.6% of students who completed Year 12 scored at or over a UAI of 99. [3] UAIs are awarded in increments of 0.05. The UAI's predecessor, the Tertiary Entrance Rank, was different because it defined the student population as only students in year 12. The UAI attempted to rank students who did not progress to their senior years of High School, by estimating what they would have got. This keeps the rank consistent throughout the years despite fluctuating Year 10 drop-out rates as the rank was always measured relative to a Year 10 cohort, with the ranks of the drop-outs being estimated.

A student's UAI was given as a number between 30 and 100. Students who receive 30 or below receive a 'pink slip' which informed them that they received below 30, though these were rare due to most of the estimated Year 10 cohort's marks falling into this range. UAIs of 100 were extremely rare and were only achieved by a few students (generally, about 20 out of almost 66,000) every year.

The organisation responsible for administering the UAI, was the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC), who scaled all subjects using mathematical formulae to try to ensure equity of marks across subjects.

To be eligible for the UAI as well as the HSC or ACT Year 12 Certificate, a student must have complied with additional rules set by the Board of Studies in New South Wales or the Board of Senior Secondary Studies in the Australian Capital Territory.

Calculation in NSW

To calculate the UAI, the UAC used the raw exam marks of the HSC and the moderated assessment mark.

The assessment mark was obtained from the internal school examinations a student sat over the last term of Year 11 and the three terms of Year 12. The school marks were sent to the UAC from the Board of Studies, and from these students were ranked from first to last. The student ranked first was then assigned a moderated assessment mark equal to the highest examination mark scored by that group of students, regardless of who scored it, and similarly the student ranked last would receive the lowest examination mark. The rest of the students had their assessment marks moderated between these two values, with the proportional difference between the marks remaining the same (for instance, the gap of 10 between two marks spread over a range of 20% would be halved if the range was further halved to 10%).

The student who came first in the subject was then assigned the maximum mark, normally 50.0 on a one unit basis but may have changed with scaling. Following that all students who sat the course had a scaled mark calculated based on an estimate of what each student would have achieved had they sat that course. This was repeated for all of a student's units.

The student's two best English units were added along with their next best eight units, which may have included further English units, to give an aggregate mark, out of 500.0. Students were then ranked - however, this rank did not translate directly to the UAI. The distribution of students was uneven. Ranking scaled upwards - only 29.3% of students would receive a UAI of under 50, and the median UAI was around 65, a statistical trend which was applicable at every UAI level. This was because the spread of marks took into account those who did not complete their HSC or otherwise attend the post-compulsory years of education. Their hypothetical marks were determined by the School Certificate, one compulsory for all students in NSW. As their marks were generally lower than those who complete the HSC, they caused the uneven spread across the spectrum of the UAI. Hypothetically, assuming that everyone continued to complete the HSC, the spread would have been completely even. However, NSW retention rates for students stood at around 70%, and there were students who completed the final years without gaining an HSC.

Students who finish high school overseas

Students who finished high school overseas and who had a qualification such as the SAT, International Baccalaureate or A Levels may have had their score converted to a UAI. Also, a number of international schools had adopted the ACT curriculum and assessment regime such that their studies culminated in the award of an ACT-calculated UAI.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

During June 2009, the Federal Minister for Education announced the removal of UAI and the introduction of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, or ATAR, for Year 12 students of 2009 within the ACT and New South Wales, and for the rest of the country excluding Queensland in 2010. [4] The ATAR was introduced as an attempt to unify the university entrance system in Australia, where previously each state had its own individual system (e.g. UAI in ACT/NSW, TER in SA/NT, ENTER in Victoria). The shift to ATAR means that the scores for most students receiving a UAI would increase by a small amount (although this would not present as any advantage as score cutoffs would subsequently increase), while the maximum score would change from a UAI of 100 to an ATAR of 99.95. [5] Queensland will not shift to the ATAR system, due to a completely separate system and scoring scale.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete senior high school level studies in New South Wales, Australia. It was first introduced in 1967, with the last major revision coming into effect in 2019. It is currently developed and managed by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

The Victorian Certificate of Education is one credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria. The VCE is the predominant choice for students wishing to pursue tertiary education. An alternative to VCE is the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learnings (VCAL), a vocational based senior secondary school qualification.

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed their senior secondary schooling in the state of South Australia.

University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution.

The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia. It was a percentile ranking, designed to simplify the comparison of entrance levels for students educated in different processes of admission for university applicants from interstate. It was replaced by the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank from 2010.

The Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) was a tertiary entrance score used in several Australian states, the ACT and the Northern Territory as a tool for selection to universities in Australia. As of 2010, it has been replaced by the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in all states and territories.

The Overall Position (OP) was a tertiary entrance rank used in Queensland, Australia to guide selection into universities. Like similar systems used throughout the rest of Australia, the OP shows how well a student has performed in their senior secondary studies compared with all other OP-eligible students in Queensland. The system was introduced in 1992 and ended with the 2019 cohort.

The Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE) was the standard academic examination for secondary students completing their twelfth year of schooling in Western Australia during the early twenty-first century. The exam results were used to determine the Tertiary Entrance Rank and the Tertiary Entrance Score. These metrics were used to determine eligibility for entrance to the tertiary institutions in the state.

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) is a group of three scholastic aptitude tests used for admission into undergraduate programs at Australian universities, for students without a recent Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Some universities require STAT testing for admission to particular programs or courses. The Australian Council for Educational Research designs the examinations. The central tertiary admissions centre in each Australian state and territory and the University of Tasmania administer the STAT examinations.

Narrabundah College High school in Narrabundah, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Narrabundah College is a government college that teaches the last two years of secondary education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was the first school in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), starting the programme in February 1978.

The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the credential awarded to students who have completed senior secondary education in the state of Western Australia. It is the Western Australian graduation certificate of the Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Students are required to meet various breadth and depth requirements, achievement standards and literacy and numeracy standards across their final years of schooling. As of the 2020 WACE, there are 106 courses available for students to study. Many WACE students are awarded an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), summarising their results across all areas of study into one ranking for the purposes of university admission. Students may choose from ATAR courses, which count directly towards their ATAR, Vocational Education and Training courses, which are more practical courses and can lead to further vocational opportunities, and, from 2021, General courses, which provide pathways to university, employment, or further vocational education and training. From 2010, the WACE replaced the Tertiary Entrance Exam (TEE), as the standard academic examination for school leavers in Western Australia.

Distinction courses were an advanced placement program available to Higher School Certificate (HSC) students in New South Wales, Australia, who have been accelerated in at least one subject by at least one year. For the bulk of the program, three courses were available, Comparative literature, Cosmology, and Philosophy, and are run via distance education and directly administered by the NSW Board of Studies. The programs were no longer run after the 2010 HSC.

Radford College Private, day school in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Radford College is a private, Anglican, coeducational day school, located in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

English is the only compulsory subject for the award of the Higher School Certificate at the end of secondary schooling in New South Wales, Australia. Marks gained in at least two units of English must also be included in the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) used to determine entry to university. Students must study one of the following courses:

Bored of Studies is an Australian website targeted at students in New South Wales and Victoria. It is prominent among students for its Student Assessment Modeller that calculates approximate Australian Tertiary Admission Rank or Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank results, and for hosting study notes for the New South Wales Higher School Certificate courses. An extensive student community has evolved around its forum, which is frequented by school students, teachers and a growing number of university students. The site's name is a parody of the NSW Board of Studies, the former governing organisation for the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

Universities Admissions Centre

The Universities Admissions Centre is an organisation that processes applications for admission to tertiary education courses, mainly at institutions in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. A not-for-profit company incorporated in July 1995, it has offices located at Sydney Olympic Park.

Education in Western Australia Overview of the education in Western Australia

Education in Western Australia consists of public and private schools in the state of Western Australia, including public and private universities and TAFE colleges. Public school education is supervised by the Department of Education, which forms part of the Government of Western Australia. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority responsible for developing a curriculum and associated standards in all schools, and for ensuring standards of student achievement, and for the assessment and certification according to those standards.

The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement in North America and the GCE A-Levels of the United Kingdom. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for two years. In some states adults may gain the certificate through a Technical and Further Education college or other provider.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the primary criterion for domestic student entry into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities. It was gradually introduced to most states and territories in 2009-10 and has since replaced the Universities Admission Index, Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank, Tertiary Entrance Rank and the Overall Position. It is a percentile ranking between 0.00 and 99.95 which shows student’s relative position compared to all other students in the age group of 16 to 20 years for that year. Though ATARs are calculated independently by each state, they are all considered equivalent. Since some students quit studying early or do not qualify for an ATAR in their state, the average ATAR amongst students who achieve one is 70.00. Admission to universities is granted based on the "selection rank" calculated by each university based on its own unique criteria. Selection ranks are a combination of ATAR and additional points based on universities own criteria used for selecting students such as a "personal statement, a questionnaire, a portfolio of work, an audition, an interview or a test". Some universities also provide additional points on the basis of disadvantage such as for rural or Indigenous Australian applicants.

References

  1. ↑ Universities Admissions Centre (June, 2009)
  2. ↑ ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies. "What's the TER" (PDF). University of Melbourne Digitised Collections. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Table A8 (pdf)
  4. ↑ ACT adopts national student ranking system - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  5. ↑ Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) - UAC
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.