A new university admission system to be adopted by the Australian National University (ANU) has been praised by Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham.
The ANU has announced that it is to look beyond admission rankings such as ATAR when selecting future students, making maths and English prerequisites for admission and taking a student’s contribution to family, school and community into consideration.
“ANU warrants its status as Australia’s national university with this commitment to welcome, educate and accommodate the best and brightest Australians, regardless of their background,” Senator Birmingham said.
“It’s only fitting that our national university should reach out to talented students at every school across the nation, with the embedding of accommodation support into the admissions process of particular benefit to the many students who relocate to Canberra to study at ANU.”
He said for students looking to apply to study at ANU in 2020, the new model would streamline admissions, scholarships and accommodation processes, turning what could be a stressful process into a simple, welcoming, transparent one.
“ANU is leading the way in maintaining high academic standards, including by making maths and English prerequisites,” the Minister said.
“This step is in keeping with advice from experts like the Chief Scientist, Alan Finkel, and I call upon all Australian universities to reintroduce clear pre-requisites as part of their admissions processes,” he said.
Senator Birmingham said his Department had been working closely with the higher education sector to improve admissions transparency and implement the recommendations delivered by the Higher Education Standards Panel in 2016.
“Having access to clear, consistent and transparent admissions information will help students make the best possible choice about the course they want to study and the institution they want to deliver that course,” he said.
