NEWS
VC says overhaul ATAR
CSU’s Vann says test hurts disadvantaged,
uncapped system limits metrics’ usefulness.
A
TAR cut-offs are not useful measurements of student
potential in a demand-driven system, Andrew Vann, the
vice-chancellor of Charles Sturt University, has argued.
The ranking system, used in all Australian states and territories
except Queensland, has been the subject of media scrutiny since
it was revealed some universities were admitting students up to
40 points below course cut-offs.
Entrance terms
under scrutiny
Standards panel will examine ways to improve
transparency about requirements and
provide better information for students.
T
he federal government is directing the Higher Education
Standards Panel to examine university entrance requirements
to improve transparency.
The federal education minister, Simon Birmingham, said the panel
would help inform a revision of the higher education standards
framework, which takes effect next January.
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campusreview.com.au
Vann, who is also chair of the NSW Vice-Chancellors’
Committee, said while he wouldn’t scrap ATARs entirely,
the uncapping of university places has limited the
system’s effectiveness.
“ATAR originally was at its strongest when we had a capped
system and the job that universities had to do was to allocate
too many students to not enough places,” Vann said. ”As we’ve
expanded the system, that still works for some courses, but it’s
become less relevant, so universities are using much more diverse
ways of admitting students now.”
Vann argued that ATAR cut-offs are now measurements of
course demand and quality, rather than an indication of the
academic ability needed to study. Furthermore, ATAR varies from
postcode to postcode, due to scaling.
Flexible entry schemes are necessary,