UAC News - August 2017

New offer round and how to manage preferences

As you know, there is a new offer round before Christmas this year - December Round 2. Offers to Year 12 students based on their final Year 12 results will be made in this round, and in the next round, January Round 1.

Many schools have been asking if offers will be made to all courses in December Round 2. While we are still waiting on final advice, it seems that most universities will be making offers to all courses in December Round 2.

A list of courses excluded from December Round 2 will be available on our website in early September, along with clear instructions for applicants to those courses.

Note that even after making offers in December Round 2, universities will still have places available to make offers in January Round 1, especially to those students whose results are not available in time for December Round 2.

UAC PINs

All 2017 NSW HSC and ACT Year 12 applicants had their UAC PIN emailed to them in early August at the email address they registered with NESA (previously BOSTES). If any of your students didn't receive their PIN email, don't worry, we'll be resending PIN emails on Friday 22 September.

If their PIN doesn't work, they need to double-check they’re using their UAC PIN and not the PIN issued by NESA.

If they’re using the correct number they can access the application login page and click the ‘Forgotten your PIN’ link under 'Manage your application', then follow the prompts to receive an email containing a link to reset their PIN.

If they haven’t yet applied, they should call UAC between 8.30am and 4.30pm (Sydney time) Monday to Friday on 1300 275 822 (or (02) 9752 0200 from mobiles). They’ll need to answer some identification questions and then their UAC PIN will be re-issued.

Admissions transparency

You might have heard that the Commonwealth Government and the higher education sector have agreed on a plan to improve the transparency of higher education admissions. As a result, universities will be required to present admissions information using a standard template, common terms and revised ATAR-related thresholds and definitions.

For this year, UAC will have links to that information on the UAC website and in future years we will also be using the standard templates and definitions.

We'll put more information for schools about admissions transparency on the Schoolink section of our website in the next few weeks.

Higher education reform

In the May 2017 Budget, the Australian Government announced a package of higher education reforms, including:

• increasing the maximum student contribution for Commonwealth-supported courses
• lowering the HELP repayment threshold
• aligning HELP repayments to CPI
• replacing subsidies with loans for most permanent residents and New Zealand citizens.

These reforms are subject to the passage of legislation.

Be an early bird

The processing charge for applying for university through UAC depends on when students apply. The early bird charge of $58 ends at midnight on Friday 29 September so remind your students to apply by then or the fee reverts to the standard fee of $183.

Even if they’re not sure of their courses by this date, they can apply and then change their course preferences as many times as they wish—for free!

SRS closing dates

A reminder that SRS applications and SRS Check & Change close at midnight on Friday 29 September. After this date, students cannot access or modify their SRS application. Before this date, students apply using SRS Apply.

SRS applicants must have any courses they would like to be considered for an SRS offer included in their list of preferences by midnight on Sunday 12 November. SRS unconditional and conditional offers will be released on Thursday 16 November.

Fact sheets with information for schools about SRS are available on UAC’s website.

Key SRS dates

Educational Access Schemes (EAS)

Your school will have received the Educational Access Schemes 2017–18 booklets by now, outlining the scheme and how to apply. The booklet, application form and supplementary application form can also be downloaded from UAC’s website, as can our Quick Guide to EAS and information on preparing Educational Impact Statements.

Encourage your students to apply for EAS by 30 November 2017 so they will receive their eligibility letter from UAC on 12 December 2017 – in time to change their preferences for December Round 2 on 21 December.

Key EAS dates

Equity Scholarships (ES)

Your school will also have received the Equity Scholarships 2017–18 booklets by now, outlining the scheme and how to apply. It can also be downloaded from UAC’s website. Students apply for ES online.

The most important Equity scholarship offer rounds for Year 12 students are on Friday 22 December 2017and Monday 15 January 2018. These rounds are when most applicants will receive their Equity Scholarships offers.

Further ES offer rounds are available throughout 2018. Full details of offer rounds and participating institutions are available on UAC's website.

Key Equity Scholarship dates

Further ES offer rounds are available throughout 2018. For full details of offer rounds and participating institutions, go to uac.edu.au/equity/offers/institution-offers.shtml.

Your student preferences and offers

Preferences and offers for your school will be available on Schoolink at key times in the admissions cycle. Log in to MySchool after 5pm on the following dates to access this information:

• 19 September 2017 – preferences, so you know who has applied
• 8 November 2017 – preferences, so you know preferences before the SRS offer round
• 16 November 2017 – offers from SRS round
• 18 December 2017 – preferences, so you know final choices for December Round 2 based on ATAR
• 22 December 2017 – offers for December Round 2
• 4 January 2018 – preferences for January Round 1
• 13 January 2018 – offers for January Round 1
• 20 February 2018 – offers, so you know all offers for semester 1

You'll need your school's username and password to log in. These have been mailed to all schools. If you have any technical difficulties or questions, call UAC Customer Service on (02) 9752 0200 or email schoolsfeedback@uac.edu.au.

Payment options

The payment options available to applicants are the same as previous years – credit/debit card (Visa or Mastercard only) and PayPal. Year 12 students can also use Australia Post Billpay and BPay.

Remind your students that if they choose to pay by Post Billpay or BPay, they must pay before they can receive any offers.

ATAR enquiry centre

ATARs will be released on Friday 15 December. Students who have queries about the calculation of their ATAR can call UAC on 1300 MY ATAR (1300 692 827) or (02) 9119 5012 from mobiles on the following days:

• Friday 15 December, 8.30am–6.00pm
• Saturday 16 December, 8.30am–4.30pm (TBC)
• Monday 18 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Tuesday 19 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Wednesday 20 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Thursday 21 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Friday 22 December, 8.30am–4.30pm (TBC)

If students have general queries about their application, they can contact UAC on 1300 MY UAC (1300 275 822) or (02) 9752 0200 from mobiles.

Offers below the cut-off

For those who need a refresh on how the offer system works, here’s an explanation on how students with a selection rank below a course cut-off may still get an offer to that course.

The cut-off for a course is the lowest selection rank (inclusive of bonus points) accepted into the course. The selection rank for Year 12 students can be simply their ATAR, or it can be their ATAR plus any bonus points they have received.

Here is an example of how it works:

Course A has 6 applicants, but only 3 places available.

The 6 applicants are ranked in order of their selection ranks.

1. 79 (ATAR of 79)

2. 78 (ATAR of 73 + 5 bonus points)

3. 77 (ATAR of 75 + 2 bonus points)

____________________________

4. 76 (ATAR of 76)

5. 75 (ATAR of 66 + 9 bonus points)

6. 74 (ATAR of 74)

The first 3 applicants receive an offer. The cut-off for the course is 77 (cut-offs do not necessarily mean the lowest ATAR; the cut-off is the lowest selection rank).

You can see that 2 students received offers with lower ATARs than the student who just missed out, because those students had higher selection ranks due to bonus points.

UAC community liaison

This year has shaped up to be a very busy one for UAC’s Community Engagement team. To date we have attended 44 careers expos, 52 student and parent information sessions, 20 career adviser sessions and 98 presentations across Australia – and there are many more events still to come.

Community Liaison has been able to offer more options to engage with our institutions, students, parents and career advisers in 2017. We receive many invitations from schools to run talks, presentations or information sessions on topics ranging from the ATAR to applying to uni and, where possible, we are available for:

• student information sessions (day or evening)
• Year 10 presentations on subject selection and the ATAR
• Year 12 presentations on the ATAR and applying through UAC
• careers markets and expos.

Or, if your careers adviser network is holding a meeting and would like an update on UAC, we would be happy to attend.

And if we can’t be there in person we can offer video conferencing connections.

Before requesting a session, our general guidelines are:

• session time for a UAC presentation is no less than 45 minutes
• flexibility of dates
• single schools must have a minimum of 250 students and parents in attendance.

If your school can’t meet the minimum attendance requirement, we encourage you to join up with neighbouring schools.

If you are in a regional area or another state, check when UAC will be at an event near you by checking our events calendar. If we’re in your area we can schedule a visit more easily.

If you have any questions about booking a UAC visit or to request a presentation, email ce@uac.edu.au.

Keep contact details up-to-date

Remind your students to keep their contact details up-to-date so that we can provide them with important information about their ATAR and application. If a student’s contact details change after they have lodged their application, they can update their details through Your Application on UAC’s website.

Also remember that schools are required to update changes to a student’s contact details with NESA so that the student’s HSC and ATAR are sent to the correct address.

UAC News mailing list

Is there someone at your school who should be getting UAC News who isn’t? To be put on the UAC News mailing list, tell them to email uacnews@uac.edu.au with the name of their school and their email address.

University news

Australian College of Applied Psychology

New course
Undergraduate Diploma of Counselling Skills available from September

ACAP has introduced a seventh qualification to its suite of programs in the Counselling discipline. The Higher Education program, called the Diploma of Counselling Skills (Course code 540512/3) is a realignment of ACAP’s existing Diploma of Counselling, which will be replaced by the new sub-bachelor course from September 2017.

Designed to deliver core skills and support students in reaching their study goals, the course offers access to academic units for those wanting exposure to higher education at an entry level. Example units include: Preparation for Academic Study, Psychology of Health and Wellness and Developmental Psychology.

Eligible students will be able to access FEE-HELP for the new undergraduate Diploma.

The Australian Government Jobs Outlook website reports moderate to strong employment growth for counsellors continuing through to 2020.

ACAP’s new Diploma of Counselling Skills will be a standalone qualification. Its graduates will be ready for roles as phone counsellors, therapeutic services coordinators, family, residential or mental health support workers.

The Diploma has a strong skills focus and an emphasis on personal and professional development. Students will also be introduced to mental health topics as well as ethics and legal issues.

For details of entry criteria and program content, go to ACAP’s Diploma of Counselling Skills course page.

CQUniversity

New courses

Bachelor of Aviation (Flight Operations)* Distance

If your career aspiration is to become a professional airline pilot capable of managing a multi crew environment then the Bachelor of Aviation (Flight Operations) will prepare you for this career opportunity. This degree will provide you with the knowledge, skills and experience to satisfy requirements for an Air Transport Pilot Licence and Command Instrument Rating.

Associate Degree of Aviation (Flight Operations)* Distance

If you are looking for a career as a Commercial pilot then the Associate Degree of Aviation (Flight Operations) is the qualification you need to achieve that goal. This degree will provide you with the knowledge, skills and experience to satisfy requirements for a Commercial Pilot Licence and Command Instrument Rating.

*University approval pending

Griffith University

The Gold Coast and Logan campus priority access scheme has recently expanded to include more Northern New South Wales regions. This was revised to provide consistent access to the scheme for applicants in neighbouring postcodes. Visit Griffith’s Apply website to view the full list of eligible regions.

Further subjects have been included in the Year 12 Subject Bonus Scheme. There are now 22 subjects recognised for bonus points within the scheme. Visit Griffith’s Apply website to view the full list of eligible subjects.

If you are a Guidance Officer, please take time to read through the Academic Registrar's Newsletter specifically for our NSW Guidance Officers. You will need to register and log in to the webpage via academic-registrar.com.

If students need assistance in selecting a course or finding a pathway to their preferred program, they can call Griffith Admissions on 1800 677 728 anytime Monday to Friday between 9am–5pm.

University of Sydney

Fixed-ATAR courses

The University of Sydney has introduced fixed ATARs for 2018 entry to most courses. The fixed ATAR will not change throughout the preference and admissions period, allowing students to make informed decisions about their future studies. To be offered a place in a fixed-ATAR course, students will need to list the course as their first preference and then achieve the required ATAR or equivalent in their Year 12 studies. Please note that the fixed ATAR will guarantee entry if you have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification and have not undertaken any tertiary studies. Not all courses have fixed ATARs and some have limited places and/or additional selection criteria. Learn more online.

UNSW

Cancelled course

425500 – B Engineering (Honours) (Geospatial Engineering)

UNSW Gateway Entry Scheme

The UNSW Gateway scheme recognises that schools have different levels of educational advantage and therefore some students experience more disadvantage than others. This means that a student’s ATAR may not accurately reflect their ability to achieve at university.

The UNSW Gateway Scheme applies an evidence-based approach which makes the pathway to a degree at UNSW more equitable for students from low-socio economic backgrounds and regional areas.

The UNSW Gateway Scheme automatically applies an adjusted selection rank to students who have attended Gateway eligible schools in NSW. If your ATAR falls within ten points of the Guaranteed Entry rank for UNSW degrees where the cut off is 90 or below, and you order your preferences in a way that allows you to receive an offer, Gateway will automatically adjust your selection rank.

To check whether a school is included in the Gateway Scheme, visit the UNSW Gateway webpage or email UNSWGateway@unsw.edu.au.

Check the UNSW Guaranteed Entry ranks for 2018 here.

Please note, no other EAS or bonus point schemes will apply to offers made via UNSW Gateway.

University of Wollongong

Accommodation Guarantee

UOW is one of the few Australian universities to offer an accommodation guarantee for first-year students. To be eligible for the guarantee students must apply by 12 November 2017. UOW also offers a range of accommodation scholarships. Click here for more information.

Important UOW closing dates for supplementary applications

754800 – B Performance 754810 – B Performance (Dean’s Scholar)

Students applying for either of the above degrees through UAC (with the exception of Early Admission applicants) are required to register for an audition. Registrations can be made online and close at 5pm Tuesday 31 October 2017.

Scholarships

UOW’s scholarships and grants aim to help students reach their goals. UOW scholarships and grants demonstrate our commitment to and recognition of excellence, equity and diversity. Information on UOW scholarships and grants and how to apply is available here. Applications are now open, with on-time applications closing 30 November 2017. For further information call (02) 4252 8959 or email scholarships@uow.edu.au.

Western Sydney University

Western’s Exciting New Early Offer Program – Coming Soon

At Western, we do things differently. In 2017 we are giving HSC students the opportunity to plan their futures early. We will reward students with an early offer in return for their hard work so they don’t have to rely on their ATAR. Why? Because your hard work matters – not your ATAR ranking. Register now to receive information from Western Sydney University about this exciting new early offer program.

Free digital textbooks at Western in 2018

Western was the first university to provide all the digital textbooks for first year units for free. We are pleased to be offering the benefit of free digital textbooks for first year units to students once again in 2018! That’s up to $800 in value. Why? Because money shouldn’t stand between them and opportunity. Discover more about free digital textbooks.