Last Friday I was part of a round-table discussion with staff from UTas who were reviewing the School Recommendation Program, introduced last year as part of a response to the potential for COVID to disrupt learning. The program uses the recommendations from schools that assess Year 12s against criteria designed to predict success at tertiary studies. UTas provided feedback on how the program worked and provided comparisons between their 2021 intake and those from previous years. We also received de-identified, global feedback for our SBSC students. The feedback was all very positive. Comparisons between our 2019 SBSC graduates and those from 2020 showed:
- Applications were up 26%,
- Acceptances up 89%,
- Those still enrolled at the first-semester census was up 118%, and
- Those still enrolled at the second-semester census was up 122%.
Furthermore, the average student pass rate for first-semester SBSC graduates enrolled at UTas was above that of all Tasmanian first-year students in both 2019 and 2021. In addition, the average Grade Point Average (GPA) is also higher for first-semester SBSC graduates.
In relation to the Program, itself, UTas has shown that the School Recommendations is a very reliable measure of success in tertiary studies. I fully expect that the SRP will continue and further diminish the reliance on ATAR's and see increased wellbeing of students. It is worth noting that students who have secured early entry to a course that is not their first preference under the program may still receive an offer of a higher preference based upon the results achieved at the end of the year. There is no downside to applying under the SRP. The feedback to UTas included a different name for "Pathway" courses. These contribute to achieving a Bachelor Degree.
Earlier this week we underwent a preview of our compliance with the Schools Registration Board's Standards and were complimented by how we are managing this process.
Stay safe, keep happy and I'll keep you in my prayers.
Frank Pisano
