University Admission 2009
Admission Requirements for Mature Age Applicants

Introduction
University Application Procedures
Mature Age Admission Requirements
International Applicants
University Admission Based on the Special Tertiary Admissions Test
Year 12 Mature Age Admission
Common Requirements
University Specific Requirements
Disclaimer


Last Updated 27 October 2008

Introduction

This publication provides a summary of the admission requirements for mature age applicants of the four public universities in Western Australia.

If you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident of Australia who will be 20 years of age or over before 1 March 2009, the following information applies to you.

This information is based on submissions from the participating universities, and information relating to changes in upper secondary schooling in Western Australia, available from The Curriculum Council at the time of publication. It is relevant only for admission in 2009 and is subject to change without notice.

In particular, the universities reserve the right to change or withdraw any course that they offer, and/or vary arrangements for any course. Enquiries regarding university admission requirements should be directed to the individual university 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.

Participating Universities

Curtin University of Technology
Edith Cowan University
Murdoch University
The University of Western Australia

Important Notice

Starting with the 2007 admissions year, university admissions requirements reflect the changes occurring in upper secondary schooling in Western Australia as a result of the implementation of the Western Australian Post-Compulsory Education Review report, Our Youth, Our Future.

For 2009 admissions, all Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) courses fully implemented up to the end of 2008 will be recognised for the purpose of university admissions, providing students have sat the external assessment. Edith Cowan University may offer alternative pathways that do not require the external examination to be sat. Some students will have a mixture of WACE courses and TEE subjects. Achievement in these WACE courses and TEE subjects will be mapped to the same scale.

For the purposes of this publication, the term ‘course(s)’ means both WACE course(s) and continuing TEE subject(s).

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University Application Procedures

Information about applying to the universities and admission to undergraduate courses will be sent to mature age students at their schools in August 2008. Application will be via our 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:

  • are an Australian citizen
  • are a New Zealand citizen
  • have been approved/granted permanent resident status

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.

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Mature Age Admissions Requirements

You may qualify for university entrance by:

or on the basis of

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Mature Age International Applicants

If you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia, you can qualify for admission by:

  • meeting the normal WA school leaver requirements (see the 2009 Admission Requirements for School Leavers publication). Mature age international applicants are exempt from the WACE requirement, or
  • achieving an acceptable level of performance in the Western Australian Universities’ Foundation Program (WAUFP),

or on the basis of

  • recognised prior tertiary qualifications (contact the individual universities for further information), or
  • such other qualifications and/or experience as an individual university may accept. (Contact the individual university for details.)

International applicants or temporary residents who sit STAT can only use the results to supplement other entry qualifications or to prove English competence. Further information about courses and fees is available from the universities direct.

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Mature Age University Admissions Based on the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) is used by the four public universities in WA as part of their admissions procedure for mature age applicants.

As entry to most university courses is competitive, above average marks will usually be required. Please refer to the universities’ individual sections for specific details on using STAT as a basis for application.

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Mature Age Year 12 Admissions Requirements
As a Mature Age applicant, you will normally be required to:
  1. demonstrate English language competence - refer below for details; and
  2. obtain a sufficiently high Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) for entry to a particular university (see below); and
  3. satisfy any prerequisites or special requirements necessary to be considered for entry to particular courses.

Note: Although you may sit STAT, you will still need to satisfy the TEE/WACE course prerequisite requirements for your preferred course of study.

The Tertiary Entrance Rank
A mature age Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) provides a means of ranking students for selection for university admission. Applicants for each university course are ranked in order of merit based on their TER.

The TER ranges between zero and 99.95 and is derived from the Tertiary Entrance Aggregate (TEA).

A mature age TEA is normally calculated using two TEE/WACE course scaled marks. The sum of the best two course scaled marks is multiplied by 2. The maximum TEA is 400. Examples of TEA calculations are given below.

Courses/subjects which are to be used in the calculation of a mature age TEA must be taken in the same year and candidates must be 19 years of age or over before 1 March in the year these courses/subjects are taken.

There is no List 1/List 2 requirement but applicants do need to be aware of unacceptable course/subject combinations. In addition, applicants should note that some university courses have specific prerequisite TEE/WACE courses. (Refer to the individual university sections for details of these requirements.

It is not necessary for a result in English or English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EALD) or English Literature to be included in the TER.

In calculating the final score for TEE/WACE courses, equal weight is given to the marks obtained in the final examinations and those from school assessments, except where subjects/courses are taken on a private basis (see explanation under Courses studied on a private basis). All scores are scaled/moderated before they are used for university entrance purposes.

Please refer to the individual university sections for additional university specific criteria on calculation of Tertiary Entrance Ranks.

Courses which are used to form the TER
 
Courses TEE Subjects
Applied Information Technology
Aviation
Earth and Environmental Science
Engineering Studies
English
English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EALD)
Media Production and Analysis
Physical Education Studies

Accounting
Ancient History
Applicable Mathematics
Arabic
Art
Biology
Calculus
Chemistry
Chinese: Advanced
Chinese: Second Language
Discrete Mathematics
Drama Studies
Economics
English Literature
French
Geography
German
Hebrew
History
Human Biology
Indonesian: Advanced
Indonesian: Second Language
Information Systems
Italian
Japanese: Advanced
Japanese: Second Language
Malay: Advanced
Modern Greek
Music
Physical Science
Physics
Political and Legal Studies

 

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 with Physical Science (TEE)
Chinese: Advanced (TEE) with Chinese: Second Language (TEE)
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: Advanced (TEE) with Indonesian: Second Language (TEE)
Indonesian: Advanced (TEE) with Malay: Advanced (TEE)
Japanese: Advanced (TEE) with Japanese: Second Language (TEE)
Malay: Advanced (TEE) with Indonesian: Second Language (TEE)
Physics (TEE) with Physical Science (TEE)

Courses Studied on a Private Basis
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. The scaled score in courses sat privately will be based on the examination mark only (out of 100) and may be used in the calculation of a mature age TER.

Examples of Calculation of a Mature Age Entry TEA
Example 1 - Four courses

In 2006 the applicant was 17 years of age and was over 19 on 1 March 2008.

   
  Scaled Scores
   
2008 English 74
2008 Applicable Maths 52
2006 Biology 58
2006 Chemistry 32
   

Two course calculation (both courses must be taken in the same year)

74 + 52 = 126

Multiply by 2 = 252

TEA = 252

The TEA is then converted to a TER. As a guide, use the summary version of the conversion table on TISC’s website.

 
Example 2 – Two courses

This applicant is 19 years of age by 1 March 2008.

 
Scaled Scores

 
2008 Human Biology  66
2008 Applicable Maths 64
   

Two course calculation

66 + 64 = 65

Multiply by 2 = 130

TEA = 260

This student would also have to satisfy English Competence.

Prerequisites
Prerequisites are the courses or special requirements that need to be successfully completed for a student to be considered for entry to particular university courses. Generally a scaled mark of 50 or more is required. Prerequisites may be satisfied by results from the current year or previous four years.

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. Information regarding any special requirements is only partly provided in this publication. Detailed information is available from the individual universities.

For an outline of prerequisites and preferred courses click here.

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Mature Age Year 12 Admission Requirements  

Competence in English

For university admission purposes, usually you demonstrate competence in English by achieving prescribed performance in English, English as an Additional Language/Dialect (for eligible students) or TEE English Literature. You can meet the competence in English requirement with results obtained in any year.

Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT)
For Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University a mark of at least 145 in the Written English test of STAT satisfies the competence in English requirements. The University of Western Australia requires a mark of 150 in the Verbal component of the Multiple Choice section AND a mark of 145 in the Written English section.

English; English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EALD); 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:

  • a scaled mark of at least 50; or
  • a letter grade of A, B or C in two English units (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B) studied in Year 12; or
  • a letter grade of A, B or C in two English as a Language/Dialect units (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B) studied in Year 12; or
  • a letter grade of A, B or C in TEE English Literature.

All Universities
English, English as a 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).

Concessions

All Universities

(a) If you have not met the requirement for one of the 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, English as a 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 a TER above the minimum specified annually by that university and
  2 not achieved competency in English 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
For all universities, you have satisfied a university’s current competence in English requirement if you have satisfied that university’s competence in English requirement previously, via results in TEE English or TEE English as a Second Language (ESL).

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University Specific Requirements
 

Curtin University of Technology

Admission Based on STAT
To be eligible for entry to the university you will need:
  STAT MC a minimum score of 145
    and
  STAT WE a minimum score of 145

IMPORTANT: The scores for STAT WE and at least one component of STAT MC will need to equate to a notional Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) equal to or greater than the cut-off rank for the course(s) for which you are applying. STAT is not suitable for all courses; and some courses require specific components of STAT MC (ie Verbal or Quantitative, or both). Check below to see if STAT can be used for entry to the course(s) you are interested in.

All applicants for admission to Curtin are required to provide separate evidence of satisfactory performance in an approved test of English in addition to their qualifications. Attainment of 145 in the STAT WE will satisfy Curtin’s English competency requirement.

Applicants Who Sat TAE/TEE in a Prior Year
Applicants may combine scaled marks obtained in the previous four years with current year results to form a normal school leaver TER. The higher of the school leaver TER or mature age TER will be used for admission purposes.

Applicants who sat TAE/TEE in a previous year and did not qualify for admission will be reassessed under the current entry requirements.

 

Edith Cowan University

Admission Based on STAT
To be eligible for entry to the university you will need:
  STAT MC a minimum score of 115 for either component (see below)
    and
  STAT WE a minimum score of 145

Some courses require a minimum satisfactory score in either the Verbal or Quantitative component of the Multiple Choice test. To find out what is required for the course of your choice, see below.

Courses which have a science or mathematics prerequisite require a mark of at least 145 in the Quantitative component of STAT MC

All Law courses require a mark of at least 145 in the Verbal Component of the STAT MC.

For some courses, such as the performing or visual arts, satisfactory auditions, interviews or submission of past work are essential admission requirements.

All applicants for admission to Edith Cowan University are required to provide evidence of satisfactory performance in an approved test of English in addition to their qualifications. Attainment of 145 in the STAT Written English will satisfy Edith Cowan University's English competency requirement.

Applicants Who Sat TAE/TEE in a Prior Year
Applicants may combine scaled marks obtained in the previous four years with current year results to form a normal school leaver TER. The higher of the school leaver TER or mature age TER will be used for admission purposes.

Applicants who sat TAE/TEE in a previous year and did not obtain a rank sufficiently high to be considered for entry will be assessed by the university in terms of the minimum entry ranks for the current year.

Portfolio Entry Pathway to Edith Cowan University
In addition to the requirements outlined above, Edith Cowan University offers an additional pathway for entry by mature age students. Applicants will need to satisfy Edith Cowan University's competency in English requirements, as outlined above, and submit supporting documentation directly to Edith Cowan University. For further information access www.reachyourpotential.com.au.
 

Murdoch University

Calculation of the Tertiary Entrance Rank
Mature age applicants who have undertaken no postsecondary study and want to study Chiropractic Science, Law or Veterinary Science as Standard Undergraduate applicants (Category 1) are advised that they should study four subjects in the one year. Applicants applying on the basis of fewer than four subjects are ineligible for Category 1 and will be considered as Other Undergraduate applicants (Category 2). They should note that there are a limited number of places available in Category 2 and that they are competing for a place along with applicants who may have completed a year or more of tertiary study.

Admissions Based on STAT
Prospective students who do not have any evidence of recent academic attainment to support their application are encouraged to sit STAT Multiple Choice and STAT Written English. To be eligible for most courses you will need a mark of at least 145 for either component of the Multiple Choice test and a mark of at least 145 for the Written English test. Achieving the academic minimum does not guarantee admission to a particular course. Due to competition for places, individual courses may cut higher than the academic minimum.

In addition to sitting STAT, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a brief personal statement in support of their application for university admission. This statement should be approximately one page and should outline the candidate’s reasons for selecting the chosen degree programme and explain why he/she believes the degree will be successfully completed if a place is offered. It may include a brief resume of any occupational, educational or personal experience which indicates a capacity for successful tertiary study.

Applicants should note that admission to courses where quotas restrict the number of new students may not always be available on the basis of STAT results. STAT is not considered to be a suitable qualification for entry to Chiropractic Science, Veterinary Science or Law.

Applicants Who Sat TEE in a Prior Year
Applicants may combine scaled marks obtained in the previous four years with current year results to form a normal school leaver TER. The higher of the school leaver TER or mature age TER will be used for admission purposes.

The TER should be no older than ten years if it is the sole academic basis of admission.

Applicants who sat TEE in a previous year and did not qualify for admission will be reassessed under the current entry requirements.

 

The University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia offers three specific entry routes for Mature Age applicants. Not all entry routes are appropriate for all courses. Some courses, such as Medicine, Dentistry and Law have particular requirements. Potential Mature Age applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the Admissions Centre for advice on the most appropriate entry route form prior to enrolling in any course of study.

Admissions Based on STAT

  • This entry route is not available to International Students

Results in STAT Multiple Choice (Verbal component) and STAT Written English test may be used for entry to the following degrees:

  • Arts
  • Arts (Asian Studies)
  • Arts (Communication Studies)
  • Arts (European Studies)
  • Arts/ Education (combined course)
  • Conservation Biology and Management+
  • Environmental Design (leads to Master of Architecture)
  • Fine Arts
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Music*
  • Music/Arts (combined course)*
  • Music Education*
  • Musical Arts*
  • Restoration Ecology (Albany Centre only) +
  • Science (4-year)+

* Audition is also required.
+ These courses also require a pass in any TEE mathematics subject (or equivalent).

To be eligible for entry into Semester One under this route, STAT must be taken by November of the previous year. Entry under this route is extremely competitive, and applicants should be aware that meeting the minimum requirement as listed below is not a guarantee of selection. As in all entry routes, the stronger the results, the greater the likelihood of being offered a place.

Both sections of STAT must be taken. This method of entry is only available to those who have never undertaken any tertiary-level study.

Marks required:  
STAT Multiple Choice (Verbal Component)  A mark of at least 150; AND
STAT Written English   A mark of at least 155.

This also satisfies the university's English language competency requirement.

Admission Based on a Four Course/Subject TER

  • This entry route is available to International Students
  • This entry route is available for ‘standard entry’ to MEDICINE and DENTISTRY for students who have never undertaken any tertiary study and have not previously qualified for entry to the university.

The admission requirements for mature age applicants who elect to take four TEE subjects/WACE courses are the same as those for school leavers (see University Admissions 2009 Admission Requirements for School Leavers), except that mature age applicants are exempt from the ‘WACE’ requirement.

The normal English language competence requirement must be met by the achievement of a final scaled mark of at least 50 in either English or TEE English Literature. Eligible candidates for whom English is a second language may obtain a scaled mark of 50 or more in English as an Additional Language/Dialect, a suitable level of achievement in English as as Second Language (achieved in a previous year) or another approved test of English.

Applicants who have met all other admission requirements and not achieved competency in English will be invited to sit an alternative test, for example STAT (if not already sat in the current STAT year) or IELTS early in January.

All prerequisites must be satisfied for a four course/subject TER. For prerequisite information refer to the University’s prospectus or Prerequisites on this site. Course marks that contribute to a four course/subject TER may be accumulated over five consecutive years.

Admission Based on a Two Course/Subject TER

  • This entry route is not available to International Students.
  • This entry route is not available for ‘standard entry’ to MEDICINE or DENTISTRY.

Refer to requirements outlined above.

Course/subject prerequisites are available from this website or are published in the University’s prospectus.

Applicants who sat TAE/TEE in a Prior Year
Those applying for courses on the basis of a TES/TER gained prior to 2004 will be considered on an individual basis by Faculty Selection Committees.

Mature-Age Access Scheme
In August 2008 the University of Western Australia introduced a trial program providing provisional entry to a range of degrees for mature-aged students with little or no previous study. Interested applicants should make contact with the University of Western Australia Admissions Centre for further information.

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Disclaimer

The universities reserve the right to change or withdraw any course that they offer and/or vary arrangements for any course.  Enquiries regarding university admission requirements should be directed to the individual university concerned.

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