Higher Education experts comment in The Conversation (3.3.16) about proposals to modify or abandon the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) system, and what might replace it.
‘The value of the ATAR is being called into question. Many Australian vice-chancellors have urged for the university admission system to be scrapped, saying it’s “meaningless” and “too simplistic”.
‘Universities set an ATAR cut-off according to what they believe is the minimum academic standard required to complete a course. But a Fairfax Media investigation revealed that some universities were selecting students with much lower ATARs than required – as low as 30 in some cases – raising questions about the ethics behind enrolling students with such low scores.
‘But is scrapping the ATAR the answer? Does it really penalise disadvantaged students? And what are the alternative options? The Conversation speaks to experts from across the sector to debate how best to select students.’
- Should we scrap the ATAR? »
- Your ATAR isn’t the only thing universities are looking at »
- Crunching the number: Exploring the use and usefulness of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank »
- Students are more than a number: why a learner profile makes more sense than the ATAR »
- ‘Slow death’ of ATAR as school leavers head for jobs ‘cliff’ »
- Open access to higher education is about much more than axing ATARs »
- Students think the ATAR is ‘unfair’ but we need to be careful about replacing it