The NSW Vice Chancellors’ committee will meet in December to decide on a new set of principles for early offers made to HSC students.

The NSW Vice Chancellors’ committee will meet in December to decide on a new set of principles for early offers made to HSC students.Credit:Photo:Glenn Hunt

NSW Vice Chancellor’s Committee chair Barney Glover,who is leading the review of the early offer program,said they will discuss concerns about the “proliferation of offers made before students get their ATAR” in December.

“Protecting the integrity of the HSC is critical. Early offer programs must be justifiable and transparent,” said Glover,who is the Western Sydney University vice chancellor.

Students and some principals say early offers can ease the stress of high-stakes exams,butcritics have warned it is increasingly leading to students slacking off before the HSC starts.

“We are looking to create a set of underlying principles that should guide all universities in their early offer programs,and admission requirements should ensure the students we admit have every chance of success.”

Western Sydney University vice chancellor Barney Glover will lead a review of the early offer program.

Western Sydney University vice chancellor Barney Glover will lead a review of the early offer program.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone

Students can apply for early offers directly through universities or via the schools’ recommendation scheme processed by the University Admissions Centre (UAC). Early offers have been made to students for about a decade,but numbers surged during the pandemic.

On Friday,UAC will hand out a single-round record 15,746 early offers - based on year 11 results and the school’s assessment of abilities and aptitude. These offers are only made after exams are completed.

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NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) chair Peter Shergold said the aim of the vice chancellors review is to “ensure that nothing that is done with early offers undermines the HSC,and it is imperative there be transparency about the way in which offers are made.”

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University bosses are expected to provide new guidelines to NESA before the end of the year.

UTS made 11,396 conditional offers before the HSC under its early entry program for study in 2023,up from 8200 offers in 2022.

“The program is designed for students who have excelled in year 11,recognising and rewarding the hard work they have put into their senior studies,while providing some certainty about their next steps after school,” a UTS spokesperson said.

UTS early entry applicants are still required to complete their HSC and meet the minimum ATAR requirements for their course area,the spokesperson said.

At Charles Sturt University,more than 5300 early offers have been made,rising 60 per cent when compared to last year. ANU has sent 5041 students early offers,up about 10.5 per cent from last year.

A spokesperson for Western Sydney University said it had a history of “opening up higher education opportunities for hard-working,talented students” via their true reward program which has “grown considerably” recently. The program has sent out 11,270 offers so far.

“HSC true reward recognises that HSC students are much more than their ATAR. The[program] makes offers to HSC students based on their subject results. A student’s subject performance reflects their strengths and areas of interest,and provides a robust indicator of a student’s success at university,” the spokesperson said.

Data shows a total 67,318 university applications have been made via UAC,down 4.3 per cent on last year. Of those 45,428 are from year 12 students,down about 2 per cent on last year.

ATARs for this year’s HSC students will be released on December 15.

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