University Admission 2010
Admission Requirements for School Leavers (2009 Year 12)
Last Updated 27 October 2008
The following information is issued on behalf of the four Western Australian public universities. Its aim is to help Year 10 students to decide on their upper secondary subjects, so that they meet university admission requirements. Remember to choose subjects which will allow entry to a wide range of university courses.
Starting with the 2007 admissions year, university admission requirements reflect the changes occurring in senior schooling in Western Australia as a result of the implementation of the Western Australian Post-Compulsory Education Review Report, Our Youth, Our Future.
In determining the requirements for 2010 admission the universities have consulted the school sectors and the Curriculum Council, and taken account of changes announced in 2007 and 2008 by the Minister for Education and Training, and the Curriculum Council. All Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) courses fully implemented up to the end of 2009 will be recognised for the purpose of university admissions. There will be separate external examinations for stage 2 and stage 3 units in all courses. To ensure the best possible chance of success in university studies, students intending to study WACE courses are strongly recommended to attempt stage 3 units in Year 12, if they are capable of doing so.
This information applies to applicants who will be under 20 years of age on 28 February 2010 (ie students born on or after 1 March 1990). It is relevant only for admission in 2010 and is subject to change without notice.
Steve Hoath
TISC Executive Officer
Some students will have a mixture of WACE courses and TEE subjects. To ensure fairness to all students, achievement in WACE courses and TEE subjects will be mapped to the same scale, using the Average Marks Scaling process. Unless otherwise specified, references to scaled marks in this brochure mean the final scaled mark obtained in either stage 2 or stage 3 of a WACE course, or in a TEE subject.
As an incentive for students to study WACE courses at the more demanding stage 3 if they are capable of doing so, an increment will be applied to stage 3 marks. After standardisation and statistical moderation has occurred, the combined unscaled marks at stage 3 will be increased by 15 marks per course relative to the combined unscaled marks at stage 2. After this, the marks in both stages are merged and scaled using Average Marks Scaling. No increments will be applied to courses examined only at stage 3.
For the remainder of this publication, in the context of Year 12 study, the term course(s) means both WACE course(s) and TEE subjects.
Participating Universities
Curtin University of Technology
Edith Cowan University
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia
Requirements for University Admission
To be considered for university admission as a school leaver applicant normally you must -
Portfolio Pathway to ECU
In addition to the requirements outlined above, Edith Cowan University offers an additional pathway for entry by school leaver students. Students will need to satisfy ECU’s competence in English requirement, as outlined below, and achieve a certain number of points determined by their school assessed results for TEE subjects, WACE courses and most Year 12 Common Assessment Framework (CAF) subjects (please check www.reachyourpotential.com.au for the CAF subjects acceptable for the portfolio pathway). Applications will be partially assessed prior to release of final results based on experience and results achieved to date.
Detailed information about the requirements for the Portfolio Entry Pathway to ECU may be obtained from Student Recruitment on 134 328 or www.reachyourpotential.com.au.
Applicants for University Admission from Non-Standard Schools
Normally all school leaver applicants for university are required to meet the
admission requirements outlined in this brochure. You may not meet these admission
requirements if you are attending a school that does not follow the standard
Western Australian school system. If so, apply for admission to a university
course through TISC, but include with your application a statement giving full
details of your upper secondary school studies. Your application will be considered
on an individual basis. For The University of Western Australia, in some courses
you may be in direct competition with non-school leavers. The WACE, awarded by the Curriculum Council,
is not required by any of the universities for students from non-standard schools.
University Application Procedures
Information about applying to the universities and admission to undergraduate courses will be sent to Year 12 students at their schools in August 2009. Application will be via TISC's website.
The closing date for applications without incurring a late fee is normally the end of September. Offers of admission are made by the universities in the second half of January and in early February.
Any further information about application procedures may be obtained from TISC. Enquiries about mid-year entry, external studies, postgraduate studies, timetables and particular course requirements should be directed to the university concerned.
You need to apply for admission through TISC if you:
If you are not one of the above, you are an international student and you need to apply direct to the International Office at the relevant university.
Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE)
It is essential for you to satisfy the requirements of the WACE to enter all four universities unless you are an applicant from a non-standard WA school.
Detailed information about the WACE may be obtained from the Curriculum Council, 27 Walters Drive, Osborne Park, 6017, phone (08) 9273 6300.
For university admission purposes, usually you demonstrate competence in English by achieving the prescribed standard in a course from the English Learning Area: English, English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EALD) or TEE English Literature, or from competence met in the previously offered subjects: TEE English or TEE English as a Second Language (ESL).
English as an Additional Language/Dialect can only be taken by students who meet eligibility criteria set by the Curriculum Council. If English as an Additional Language/Dialect is not available at your school, you should take English course and also contact the universities for details about alternative acceptable English tests.
You can meet the competence in English requirement with Year 12 results obtained in any calendar year.
English; English as an Additional Language/Dialect; TEE English Literature
Curtin University of Technology
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia
You must achieve a scaled mark of at least 50.
Edith Cowan University
You must achieve
All Universities
English, English as an Additional Language/Dialect or TEE English Literature sat on a private basis (if available) can be used to meet all universities' competency in English requirement (see Courses Studied on a Private Basis). In this case, you must achieve a scaled mark of at least 50.
Concessions
Curtin University of Technology
Edith Cowan University
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia
| (a) | If you have not met the requirement for one of these four universities, that university will concede competence in English to you if you have: | |
| achieved a standardised moderated numeric school assessment or standardised numeric examination assessment of at least 60 in English or English as an Additional Language/Dialect or TEE English Literature | ||
| (b) | If you have not met the requirement (a) above for one of the four universities, but you have: | |
| 1 | achieved WACE , and | |
| 2 | achieved a TER above the minimum specified annually by that university and | |
| 3 | achieved a scaled mark less than 50 in English or English as an Additional Language/Dialect or TEE English Literature, then that university will invite you to demonstrate your competence in English by sitting the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) early in January. | |
TEE English or TEE English as a Second Language (ESL) sat previously
All Universities
TEE English and TEE English as a Second Language (ESL) are no longer offered. However, if you have satisfied a university's competence in English requirement previously via results in TEE English or TEE English as a Second Language (ESL), then you have satisfied that university's current competence in English requirement.
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The Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER)
NOTE: All TEE and course results will be scaled to ensure fairness to all students. For students doing WACE courses, as an incentive to do the more demanding stage 3 units, results at stage 3 will be increased by 15 marks per course relative to the stage 2 results, as part of the scaling process (see Scaling).The TEA will be calculated by adding the best four scaled scores. These may be in any combination of WACE courses and/or TEE subjects, as listed below. No course or TEE subject can be counted more than once. NOTE: stage 2 and stage 3 of the same WACE course cannot both count.
In calculating the scaled score, equal weight is given to the final school score and the final examination score, except where courses/subjects are taken on a private basis.
There are unacceptable course combinations whereby scores in both WACE courses/TEE subjects cannot both be used.
For all universities you may accumulate scaled scores which contribute to your TER over five consecutive years. Scaled marks from previous study of TEE subjects or WACE courses are on the same scale as scaled scores obtained from study in 2009 and will be used directly in the calculation of a TER, if applicable.
If you have sat TEE previously, you may use scaled marks in TEE subjects no longer offered, back to 2005.
TEA to TER
TISC will construct a table to convert your TEA to a TER. The table takes into account the number of students with a TEA and the number of people of Year 12 school leaving age in the state. This table is constructed annually.
Prior Year TER
If you have a TER from a previous year, you will be given the benefit of the higher of your previous TER and your current TER. If you have not previously satisfied the WACE requirements or a university's competence in English requirement, you must satisfy current requirements. If your TER is prior to 2005 (2000 for Murdoch University) you should contact the Admissions Centre of the University concerned, as some universities may not allow this to override your current TER.
Courses which are used to form the TER
| Courses | TEE Subjects |
|
Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies |
Accounting |
Unacceptable
Subject Combinations
You cannot use the following course combinations in calculating your TER. It may be possible to take both courses but the result in only one may be used to calculate your TER.
Biology (TEE) with Human Biology (TEE)
Chemistry (TEE) with Physical Science (TEE)
Chinese: Background Speakers with Chinese: Second Language
Discrete Mathematics (TEE) with Applicable Mathematics (TEE)
Discrete Mathematics (TEE) with Calculus (TEE)
English with English as an Additional Language/Dialect
English with English Literature (TEE)
English as an Additional Language/Dialect with English Literature (TEE)
Indonesian:Background Speakers with Indonesian: Second Language (TEE)
Indonesian: Background Speakers with Malay: Background Speakers
Japanese: Background Speakers with Japanese: Second Language (TEE)
Malay: Background Speakers with Indonesian: Second Language (TEE)
Physics (TEE) with Physical Science (TEE)
If you have results from past study in TEE subjects, you cannot use the following combinations in calculating your TER. If you are repeating Year 12 studies, you may have results from both courses but the results in only one may be used to calculate your TER. Results from study prior to 2005 cannot be used in the TER.
Chinese: Background Speakers with Chinese: Second Language (TEE)
Chinese: Second Language with Chinese: Second Language (TEE)
Computer Science with Information Systems (TEE)
Drama with Drama Studies (TEE)
Earth and Environmental Science with Geology (TEE)
English with English (TEE)
English Literature (TEE) with English (TEE)
Italian with Italian (TEE)
Courses
Studied on a Private Basis
You may use results in courses sat privately in the calculation of your TER.
If you wish to sit courses on a private basis you must enrol with the Curriculum
Council. It is possible that not all courses will be available to private candidates. Your scaled score in courses you sit privately will be based on your course examination score only. Results for WACE courses at stage 3 will be increased by 15 marks per course relative to the stage 2 results, prior to scaling.
You will not be able to use results from courses sat privately to meet the WACE requirement.
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Prerequisites
Make sure that you satisfy the prerequisites for admission to the university
course of your choice. Prerequisites
are courses or special requirements that must be successfully completed
for entry to particular university courses. Generally a scaled mark of 50 or more in stage 3 of a WACE course or a TEE subject is required. Earth and Environmental Science 3A/3B may be used to satisfy the prerequisite "one science course.
Prerequisites may be satisfied by results from the current year or previous four years.
Murdoch University does not require applicants to have undertaken specific prerequisite courses and instead provides introductory units to enable its students to become skilled in specific areas in which they may be lacking.
For some university courses the special requirements may include bridging/special course units, interviews, auditions, folio presentations, manual dexterity tests, aptitude tests, fitness requirements, etc. Detailed information is available from the individual universities.
Disclaimer
The universities reserve the right to change the content and/or method of presentation
and/or the method of assessment of any unit of study, to withdraw any unit of
study or programme which they offer, to impose limitations on enrolment in any
unit or programme, and/or vary arrangements for any programme. Enquiries
regarding university admission requirements should be directed to the individual
university(ies) concerned.
TISC and the participating universities cannot accept liability for any incorrect advice received from sources other than TISC, the universities or the universities' officially appointed agents.