Danielle Meddemmen
27 September 2021: The University of Canberra will introduce several initiatives for its upcoming admissions round, to account for the delayed release date of the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR).
This month, the University Admissions Centre (UAC) announced the first ATAR-based offers for Year 12 students would now be delayed until 26 January, leaving only a short period of time before the start of the University’s first Semester.
As a result, the University has pivoted its admission process, including increasing the number of School Recommendation Scheme (SRS) rounds and adding an additional early offer round.
The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Professor Geoff Crisp said the reworked admissions process intends to bring more certainty to Year 12 students looking to apply.
“Here at the University of Canberra, we wanted to do everything we could to ensure Year 12 students in the region were not negatively impacted by delayed ATAR results,” he said.
“Applying for university is already a very stressful time for these students without the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, so we hope these initiatives bring a bit of relief to them.”
The University will participate in three SRS rounds – which see students apply based on criteria outside of their ATAR score – on 12 and 25 November, and 9 December.
It will also hold a special round of its own early offer program in January 2022, allowing students to receive an offer based on their Year 11 results, with those successful receiving offers on 13 January 2022.
All first-year domestic students, as well as new or continuing international students, will have a guaranteed place at UC residences regardless of when they receive and accept their offer.
Professor Crisp said the University would also accommodate commencing students who may not be able to attend Week 1 of semester.
“We know this is a very tight turnaround for commencing students moving to Canberra, and will be making, where practical, adjustments in teaching arrangements for these students,” he said.
“We believe all of these initiatives will ensure no students are disadvantaged by the delay of ATAR scores, and are actively supported in the start of their University journey.”
