Unlocking the Secrets of UAC Admissions Friday 10 December 2004 Council Chamber UNSW

Who are we?  Will Johncock, Admissions Assessment Officer  Rebecca Kimber, Team Leader, UAC Admissions  Sonia Nitchell, Head, UAC Admissions & Equity Programs  Kathryn Whittingham, Manager, Admissions & Student Recruitment UNSW STUDENT SERVICES

What are the key dates?  3 December: Early Round (UNSW does not participate in the Early Round)  17 December: NSW HSC results e-release  18 December : UAIs e-released by UAC  21 December: Mail HSC results and UAIs  5 January : Preliminary Round (ADFA and on- shore HSC International offers) – Accept Online opens for these applicants  5 January : UNSW Info Day

………more key dates  6 January: Close change of preferences for Main Round  19 January: Release of Main Round Offers  20 January: Accept/Enrol Online opens  28 January: Last day to Accept offers  2 February: Late Round Offers  9 February: Final Round Offers  18 February: Last day to Enrol  21 February: O’Week begins

Who are UAC applicants?  Broadly two groups of applicants: A = current or recent HSC only, UPP only B = hold multiple qualifications (eg. secondary, several tertiary) or tertiary only  Group A are straightforward –only qualification on which to assess for entry is their secondary or bridging rank (UAI or equivalent) –UAC converts non Aust Year 12 quals to provide equivalent admission rank (eg IB 30 points=AR 90.40)

Who are UAC applicants? (cont’)  Group B generally more complex - usually have both a secondary rank AND one or more tertiary ranks - UNSW will look at some ranks but not others - Tertiary ranks are derived from UAC Schedules (agreed to by all institutions in NSW/ACT) depending on grades achieved in each qualification - overall assessment of an applicant will differ depending on the UNSW program to which they are applying

What does UAC do?  Provides a centralised system for allocating offers to local undergraduate applicants  UAC does what we ask them to: they do NOT make decisions about which applicants we make offers to  At UAC assessors specific to UNSW process our applicants according to guidelines we provide and in close consultation with Rebecca

What is an Admissions Rank?  A rank derived from a qualification or work experience which can be used to differentiate applicants for admission to university  All qualifications/work experience are assessable BUT not all are recognised by UNSW  UNSW considers: Year 12 qualifications (Australia and some overseas eg. HSC, A Levels, IB) Completed TAFE/private provider qualifications (minimum level - AQF Certificate IV) Tertiary study (minimum of one full time year 0.75FTE)

What is the UAI?  An example of an Admissions Rank (ie secondary, SR)  The UAI indicates the rank of a NSW/ACT Year 12 student, relative to their age group  Based on an aggregate of a range of scaled HSC marks  The UAI is a numerical value with the range 0.00 to  A UAI of 100 does not mean a “perfect score”  Students may be eligible for a Limited UAI if they were at least 20 years of age on 1 March 2004, and have taken between 5 and 9 eligible courses in 2004, including at least 1 unit of English

What are CRSDAs?  Course Rank Set Derivation Algorithms (aka “algorithms”)  There is no “perfect” algorithm – hence, we provide reports to Faculties to ensure suitable applicants are not disadvantaged  A means by which different ‘weightings’ can be applied to secondary and/or tertiary qualifications  Faculties use different algorithms e.g 4J – Best of any rank (ADFA and Atax) 5Y – Most recent tertiary study (COFA) 5X – 80:20 (Arts & Social Sciences, Grad/PT Law)  Final Rank for each preference is determined by CRSDA

How are the number of offers calculated?  UNSW Enrolment Plan gives expected enrolments, by program, by funding type, as at 31 March  Attrition factor of ‘initial’ to ‘final’ enrolment applied  Conversion rate of ‘offer’ to ‘initial enrolment’ added on  It is not an exact science – applicant behaviour can change!

Calculation of offers – an example  B Social Science (3420)  Enrolment Plan – 54 persons  Trends suggest a 6.25% attrition rate between initial and final enrolment – 57 persons  70.59% conversion rate, offers to enrolment – 81 offers

How are offers and cut-offs determined?  “Supply and Demand”  Allocation meetings – Professor Robert King, UNSW Student Services, Institutional Analysis & Reporting, in consultation with Deans  Review UAC simulation results  Aim is to fill the OVERALL University enrolment target  Parameters and sub-quotas set in the UAC system  Parameters : number of offers/minimum cut-off  Sub-quotas : ACCESS

How are offers and cut-offs determined?………..continued  Allocation meetings will be held 11 –17 January to look at data simulations  23 simulations in total for Main Round  Offer pool also affected by other universities – domino effect  Same process for LFEE, subject to “35% rule” and filling of Commonwealth Supported (CS) places  LFEE cut-off may be up to 5 points below the CS cut-off

What happens next?  Offers are finalised w/e 15 & 16 January  Main Round “Live Run” : 10.00, Monday 17 January  e-release of offers : 21.00, Weds 19 January  Students have until 28 January to accept their offer  Acceptances inform the number of vacancies available for the Late Round & Final Round

How does ACCESS work?  The ACCESS Scheme is the UNSW scheme for (predominantly) Year 12 applicants who have experienced long-term educational disadvantage (eg. financial, rurality, illness/disability, parental death)  Students apply through the Educational Access Scheme (EAS) administered by UAC on behalf of the universities  EAS guidelines determine eligibility  UNSW notifies applicants of eligibility for the ACCESS Scheme in early December

ACCESS (cont’)  UNSW – 5% quota of places in each program  ACCESS eligible applicants whose rank is below the standard cut-off compete with each other for an ACCESS place (ie.within the 5% subquota)  ACCESS applicants can receive an offer with a rank up to 10 points below the published cut-off (both HECS & LFEE)

How does SCATS work?  Special Consideration for Applicants with Tertiary Study ( )  Students apply directly to UNSW  Application closing date: 26 November  Assessed for eligibility by the UAC Admissions Team, in conjunction with the Faculties, according to EAS guidelines  Admission Ranks are adjusted accordingly

What we can do for you…….  Advise on UAC Admissions policies & procedures  Provide Preference Statistics for each UAC closing date to VCAC, Academic Board and Faculty Executive Officers  Supply mailing details for applicants who have a preference with UNSW

What we can do for you (cont’)  Run Applicant Reports – after close of change of preferences (midnight 6 January 2005) and assist with processing these  Provide output after each simulation  Supply details of all applicants who receive an offer  Manage unsuccessful applicant appeals  Acceptance and Enrolment Statistics

Handouts  Presentation slides  Bookmark and leaflet of key dates  Copies of “You and Your UAI”  Example applicant report  Example course report

Any questions/want to know more? Rebecca Kimber Sonia Nitchell Kathryn Whittingham Come and see us in LG17 – Chancellery!