Busting the Myths about Selection Ranks

Many students working hard to get into a chosen course will be aiming for that magic number – the selection rank ‘cut-off’ (or minimum selection threshold) which may make them eligible for their course.  

A selection rank is the rank required for eligibility for entry into a particular course of study. The selection rank is determined by using an applicant’s ATAR, qualifications and other adjustment factors. The flowchart below summarises how selection ranks are determined.  

Selection ranks and how they are used by institutions to select applicants are not simple. We asked our QTAC specialists to identify some of the most common questions they get about the selection rank processes. We’ve also included links to information on the QTAC website. 

MYTH #1 The ATAR is your selection rank 

The ATAR itself is not a selection rank. The ATAR is an achievement measure of how you ranked against all other year 12s in your cohort. As an achievement measure, it is profiled against a specific schedule to give a selection rank. It just so happens that the value of that selection rank is the same as the ATAR. For many school leavers the ATAR will be their only input into a selection rank if no other adjustments apply. 

MYTH #2 Rank adjustments are added to your ATAR to increase your ATAR 

No. Adjustments are added to the ATAR selection rank to determine the final selection rank. The ATAR itself stays the same. In the past rank adjustments were sometimes referred to as ‘bonus points’. 

MYTH #3 All institutions use the same criteria to calculate your selection rank 

No. Institutions have different rules for applying adjustments to a selection rank and adjustments are often course specific. Find out more about adjustments and the selection rank profile. 

MYTH #4 The selection rank for a course is always the same every year 

No. The published minimum selection threshold is based on the previous year’s Semester 1 intake period and varies from year to year.  
The minimum selection threshold is the minimum adjusted score (rank) that was required for an offer of a place. The minimum selection threshold was previously referred to as a ‘cut-off’. Minimum selection thresholds vary from year to year, and from offer round to offer round, depending on the number and quality of applicants a course receives. 

MYTH #5 If you do a VET subject you automatically get a certain selection rank 

Some institutions (not all) may consider completed VET qualifications, at Certificate III level and higher, as a basis of tertiary admission. The VET qualification will be assessed as a stand-alone qualification according to a schedule and given a selection rank. Find out more about VET qualifications for tertiary entrance and individual institution schedules. 

MYTH #6 Only year 12 applicants can use VET for their selection rank 

No. Anyone who applies to QTAC, including non-year 12s, will have their VET qualifications assessed as part of their application in the same way as all other applicants. Institution policies will determine how the selection rank from VET qualifications are used. 

FAQ – Where can I find out what selection rank is needed for a course? 

Use QTAC’s Course Search to find a course. Each Course Search entry shows a selection rank profile reflecting the selection rank required in the previous year’s January offer round. Information is published for every domestic entry undergraduate course that uses the selection rank wholly or partly, in the tertiary admission process. 

Contact us at QTAC for more information  

Call 1300 467 822  

Using data analytics to support EAS applicants most in need

Using data analytics to support EAS applicants most in need

Posted on Oct 10, 2022 | In Blog, Institution Staff, School Staff

It is often the most disadvantaged applicants who struggle to fully document their Educational Access Scheme (EAS) claims and face missing out on a place in their preferred course. QTAC is making innovative use of data analytics to enable our EAS team to provide targeted, individual support to those EAS applicants most in need.  

EAS is an evidence-based scheme and to be considered for a selection rank adjustment based on educational disadvantage, applicants must provide all the required supporting documents. The rate of undocumented EAS applications has been around 40% for some years (41.6% in 2022) and insufficiently documented claims often account for 15 to 20% of EAS applications.  

Data analytics allows QTAC to identify and to offer targeted help to those EAS applicants who will likely need an adjustment to be competitive. This has led to measurable improvement in EAS documentation and is helping applicants get across the line for an offer. 

About EAS 

QTAC’s Educational Access Scheme (EAS) helps tertiary applicants by providing a selection rank adjustment for eligible applicants whose recent study was impacted by financial or personal challenges.  

Before you apply:  

  • Read the EAS guidelines, FAQs and Case Studies. 
  • Check your eligibility for nominated categories. 
  • EAS is an evidence-based scheme so you must provide all the required supporting documents. 
  • If you cannot provide the documentation please submit a statement explaining why.  

More details about the EAS scheme, including helpful FAQs, can be found on the QTAC website, or you can contact us at QTAC for assistance on PH: 1300 467 822. 

If you are interested in a QTAC Presentation to support Year 12 students or QTAC Applicants and you are representing a school – please email presentations@qtac.edu.au with EAS Presentation in the subject line and a team member can provide you with more information. 

Did you know that Higher Education is a Human Right?

At the 2022 UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona in Spain in May, UNESCO’s Director General reaffirmed that higher education is not, and should not become a privilege, but is an integral part of the fundamental right to education. Countries need to promote local and global equity of university access. 

Over the past two decades there has been a major transformation in higher education across the world with a doubling in the number of students enrolled – to 235 million students – and this number is likely to double again over the coming decade. 

However, numbers in higher education are still lagging behind in developing countries, with just 10% of young people accessing higher education compared to 79% in some richer countries. Progress has been made in terms of equality between men and women, and in 2020 there were 113 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men in the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging as the only region where there are fewer female than male students in university. 

The Australian Landscape 

Australia has (relatively) good access to higher education, with ongoing initiatives driving improvement. In May 2021, of Australians aged 15-74 over two-thirds (68%) had or were studying for a non-school qualification. Half of all young women aged 25-34 years now hold a bachelor degree or above, compared with just over a quarter (26%) twenty years ago (May 2001). 

The importance of a post-school qualification can be seen in the employment statistics in Australia. As at May 2021, 78% with a non-school qualification were employed, compared with 56% of people without one.  

Lifelong learning 

Australians continue to learn throughout their lives. In 2020-21, 42% of Australians aged 15-74 years had participated in learning over the past 12 months (7.8 million people). This ranged from formal study for a qualification such as a certificate, diploma or degree, to non-formal learning such as work-related training or personal interest learning. Online learning is becoming the most common way work-related training is delivered with post-COVID rates more than doubling from 19% in 2016-17 to 55% in 2020-21. 

QTAC supporting access to higher education 

QTAC is proud to play a part in helping give people from all walks of life access to higher education. We process upwards of 70,000 applications for tertiary study per year and in the 2022 admissions year made 51,860 offers of course places in our Queensland institutions to students.  

In addition to core business, QTAC administers the Rural and Regional Enterprise Scholarships (RRES) Program funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Education. Since 2016, the RRES Program has helped give over 4,000 students in regional and remote areas access to higher education.  

The QTAC website lists a number of Assistance Schemes such as the Educational Assistance Scheme (EAS) and Rural Access Scheme. To make higher education more accessible to prospective students, our Queensland institutions offer a range of support incentives such as special admissions schemes, the Rural Access Scheme,  scholarships, residential funds, regional preference schemes and flexible modes of learning. You can find out more information on the range of special admissions schemes on the Queensland institution’s websites.   

Author: Dr Janet Buchan

 

Sources 

University World News (https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220520090907357 ) 

ABS Statistics (https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/work-related-training-and-adult-learning-australia/2020-21) 

The new Australian Curriculum has had the ‘Marie Kondo’ treatment

The new Australian Curriculum (ACARA Version 9.0) was endorsed by education ministers in April 2022. After a lot of discussion and debate on key aspects of the curriculum, schools can begin teaching the content from 2023.
 
Of interest to parents, teachers, and others interested in the Australian curriculum is this ABC podcast. David de Carvalho, CEO of the Australian Curriculum Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA), discusses the “more stripped-back and teachable curriculum” that supports deeper conceptual understanding and aims to improve performance.
 
To find out more about the ‘Marie Kondo’ treatment for curriculum, listen to the podcast (14 mins.). 

Hot tips for submitting a successful QTAC application

Every QTAC application is individually assessed by QTAC’s specialist Assessors. Our small team assesses close to 70,000 applications every year. We asked our experts to share their hot tips for making sure your application has a smooth run through the system to give you the best chance of getting an offer for your preferred course*. 

  1. Research course options and admission criteria thoroughly before putting in your application using QTAC’s Course Search.  
  2. Check that you can meet all course eligibility requirements i.e. prerequisite subjects and selection rank thresholds.  
  3. Check if there are early or fixed closing dates for your preferred course.  
  4. Create your QTAC account through Application Services  
  5. Complete all sections of the application before submitting. 
  6. Submit all required documentation with your application as early as possible. 
  7. Submit all eligibility requirements before the closing dates set for the specific course e.g. portfolios, subject prerequisites, personal statements, questionnaires, UCAT entry for medicine.  
  8. Order your preferences carefully so you don’t miss out on that dream course. Find out more about managing preferences.  
  9. Log in to your QTAC account through Application Services and check your application after completion. 
  10. Respond promptly to QTAC requests for further information or documents. If you cannot supply a document, let QTAC know so that your application is not delayed. 
  11. Make changes to your application and preferences well before the offer rounds. Check the Key Dates for deadlines.  
  12. Check the course offer dates and vacancy information from individual institutions so that you know when to expect an offer.  
  13. Respond to your offer notification as soon as you receive it. Your response can determine if you are included in further offer rounds. Your offer will expire if you do not respond to it by the specified date and time. Find out more about expired offers and how to respond to offers.   

 

Register for your ATAR 

Queensland applicants (2020 Year 12’s onwards), don’t forget to sign up in the ATAR Portal for your Queensland ATAR. This gives your consent for QTAC to share your results with institutions, including interstate for application purposes. 

 

Our QTAC assessment specialists are ready to assist you.  

Call us on 1300 467 822. 

 

*Disclaimer – These are general guidelines only. Because of the complex nature of individual institutional course requirements, QTAC takes no responsibility for individual outcomes based on this advice. All applicants should thoroughly research and check their applications after submission.  

Is now your time?

Have you been thinking about doing some further study, but it’s been a while since you left school? Applicants who are not currently in year 12 generally make up over half the QTAC applicants each year, so don’t worry that you’ll be the oldest in a class of young school leavers! Choosing to study as a mature age student has a number of advantages. 

If you are worried about the time-commitment or getting to classes, the flexibility of online learning and part-time course options offered by institutions makes tertiary study very accessible to most people. 

QTAC’s non-year 12 applicants come from many different backgrounds. They include students who have taken a gap year after school and now know what they want to study, people who began working straight from school but after a few years are now ready to take the plunge into tertiary study, and professionals with existing qualifications who are looking at post-graduate study to progress their careers. Then, there are those who simply want to fulfil their ambition to go to university and to be the first in their family to do so. 

So, where do you start with your QTAC application? 

Everything you need to know about applying to QTAC can be found on our website.  

What do you want to study?

If you are applying through QTAC, our Course Search  tool can help you navigate courses offered by 17 higher education providers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. You can find out more about individual courses on the institution websites or talk to the university or TAFE student advisors.  

How can you get into the course you want? 

There is in-depth information about Admission Criteria and different aspects of eligibility on the QTAC website, and our QTAC advisors can talk you through the process.  

If you have been working for some time you may already have professional, defence or emergency services qualifications that could give you a selection rank to help with your application. 

Don’t quite have what you need yet to get into the course you want?

If you don’t meet the entry requirements for the course, you might want to look at an Upgrading Pathway. Upgrading means doing something towards getting a new, and hopefully better selection rank to be able to apply for courses that are harder to get into. Other pathways include enabling programs and bridging courses, where you can study a certain subject to meet course subject prerequisites. 

To demonstrate your capability of undertaking future tertiary study for a course you can sit the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), a two-hour aptitude test that may count towards your selection rank. Each institution has its own rules about using the STAT towards course entry, so make sure you check institution specific rules about the STAT before applying. 

If now is your time – then take those first steps into tertiary study

APPLY NOW

From the Desk@QTAC is QTAC’s new blog

The From the Desk@QTAC  blog will deliver regular postings that offer insights, news and views about QTAC and our work. Find out more about QTAC’s core business with spotlights on data analytics, QTAC application trends, Assessment services, Technical Services, Course and Offer and of course the Queensland ATAR.

Follow us for commentary on current events and trends from the broader education sector with links to articles and resources of interest. We aim to provide carefully curated information of interest to QTAC’s students, partners, participating institutions, schools, tertiary institutions, other tertiary admissions centres, the public and media outlets.

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