ANU has a new undergraduate entry system for students to use to apply for a study place, campus accommodation and scholarships. And the university asserts it is acting on its authority as a national leader in championing education opportunity.
“Democracy means decision by the people, and it is the purpose of education to help people to make the best possible decisions that they can about their country … Being the national university means giving students support and encouragement from their very first encounter with tertiary education: admissions,” says DVC A Marnie Hughes Warrington, quoting a 1946 parliamentary speech on the university’s founding legislation.
The university will also adopt a national approach to recruiting and “reach out to the top students in every school in Australia who meet our minimum admissions standards.
“Not all students will want to study with us, but it is the role of the national university to affirm the value of tertiary education—vocational and university—whether it is with a local institution or one far away.”
Professor Hughes Warrington commits ANU to:
* “a single, free platform” for study, accommodation and scholarships
* responding to applicants in the July prior to their intended first academic year
* continuing the use of “transparently published ATARS” with senior school maths and English mandatory for entry by 2023
* “asking students to tell us about their contribution to family, school or community” through a “published, minimum threshold co-curriculum schedule”
“Education is pivotal to democracy. It is the means by which communities, big and small, near or far, can become even stronger. We need to be a strong voice for that, and to show by our actions that students and their families are a key part in building a stronger Australia,” Professor Hughes Warrington says.
Word is that ANU will not withdraw from the NSW/ACT Universities Admission Centre process. However, establishing its own national process appears to address ANU’s 2016 experience, when it complained that state admission centres were not inclined to give ANU equal billing with local universities, (CMM, April 13 2016).
Details from Professor Hughes Warrington here.