VTAC to Explore Potential Future Changes to Admissions Policies

The Australia, 11 August 2010

The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) has released a discussion paper outlining key indicators which show that VTAC may need to reconsider its policies and procedures post 2012.

The discussion paper suggests that VTAC implements the model used by the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre, whereby allowing universities, students and non-school leavers to make and apply for offers all year round.

Another proposed change would see universities given the opportunity to market high-demand courses directly to potential students. The discussion paper recognises that students may potentially face ‘unwelcoming marketing pressure’, but that ‘this is a necessary consequence of a demand-driven system in which applicants need to have access to as much information as they can work with’.

The Vice-Chancellor of Swinburn University of Technology, Mr Ian Young, has stated that ‘the switch to a student demand-driven model would lead to most universities aggressively competing against each other to secure students to reap economies of scale’. He also said that tertiary admissions centres of the future would be similar to recruiting agents acting as ‘brokers for students’.

However, Ms Elaine Wenn, VTAC’s Director, said that tertiary admissions centres would always be needed to allot places in ‘high-demand courses where places were limited’, and that having a centralised admissions centre would save students from having to submit multiple applications.

 

 

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