The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC, pronounced ) is an organisation that processes applications for admission to tertiary education courses, mainly at institutions in

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and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

. A not-for-profit company incorporated in July 1995, it has offices located at Sydney Olympic Park.

Role

UAC calculates the

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the primary criterion for domestic student entry into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities. It was gradually introduced to most states and territories in 2009–10 and has sinc ...

(ATAR) of NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) students, and processes applications to its participating institutions based on the selection rank of prospective students. A student's selection rank for each subject is composed of their ATAR, plus any adjustment points individual institutions may offer for reaching certain targets in specific subjects. Students rank tertiary courses in order of preference, and if a student reaches the required selection rank for any of the courses in their list, the student receives an offer of admission for the course ranked highest in the list. This process occurs over multiple rounds, such that if a student misses an offer in one round, they may receive an offer in subsequent rounds. In addition, UAC: * processes applications for Educational Access Schemes (EAS), and for some Equity Scholarships and Schools Recommendation Schemes. * produces a range of print and online publications including admission requirements and course information for potential applicants. UAC is a member of the Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres (ACTAC).

Scaling

In order to calculate the ATAR for HSC students, UAC adjusts students' HSC marks in a process known as scaling. Given the lack of comparability between subjects of different difficulties, the

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of students' marks in each individual subject is adjusted so the

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, the standard deviation and the maximum mark in each course are equivalent. UAC then shifts the mean mark and spread of marks in each subject to equal the mean mark and spread of marks that the students of that one subject attained in all other subjects. Finally, UAC aggregates scores into a single mark out of 500 for each student, and then gives students a percentile ranking in increments of 0.05 based on this aggregate. This percentile ranking is the ATAR. In practice, this means that if two students receive the same HSC marks for each subject, but one student takes more higher-scaling subjects, and the other takes more lower-scaling subjects, the student who took higher-scaling subjects would attain a better ATAR. In a 2018 survey, 35.8% of HSC students said they chose one or more subjects because they believed it would help them achieve a higher ATAR.

Participating institutions

UAC acts on behalf of 18 universities in Australia, primarily located in New South Wales and the ACT: * Australian Catholic University *

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with a main campus in Darwin and eight satellite campuses in some metropolitan and regional areas. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Territory University ...

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explore ...

Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

* Macquarie University *

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

Torrens University Australia Torrens University is an Australian international private, for-profit university and vocational registered training organisation, with campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Blue Mountains, Australia, Auckland, New Z ...

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

* University of New England * University of Newcastle *

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

UAC also administers applications on behalf of eight other accredited tertiary education providers: * Australian College of Applied Psychology * Australian College of Physical Education *

International College of Management, Sydney The International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) is a higher education provider offering degrees at the diploma level and above. ICMS offers diplomas and degrees in a variety of fields related to business, hospitality and international tou ...

Macleay College Established in 1988, Macleay College is an Australian accredited higher education provider located in Chippendale, New South Wales. It offers two-year Bachelor degrees in advertising and media, digital media, journalism and business; and one-ye ...

* Melbourne Institute of Technology *

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

SAE Institute The SAE Institute (SAE, formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College) is a private for-profit college with campuses and facilities, including licensed franchise operations, in 50 cities in 20 countries. It was found ...

* Sydney Institute of Business and Technology

References

External links

Universities Admissions Centre website

Universities Admissions Centre Facebook page

NSW Education Standards Authority website
{{Authority control Australian tertiary education admission agencies Education in New South Wales Education in the Australian Capital Territory Higher education in Australia