Too much focus on HSC marks, says uni chief
STUDENTS should be considered for university on a broader range of factors than marks alone if the system is to be fair, one of Australia's most controversial vice-chancellors says.
Professor Steven Schwartz, of Macquarie University, said a more equitable way of choosing students would combine references, interviews and Higher School Certificate marks, which is how overseas universities run their admissions processes.
Otherwise disadvantaged students were being discriminated against, he said.
"You can make arguments on both sides," said Professor Schwartz, who oversaw a review of admissions at British universities in 2004, while vice-chancellor at Brunel University in London.
"You can say for marks, no other factors are taken into consideration and therefore it's fair competition. The argument on the other side is that's only true if everyone starts from the same place. My feeling is that the opportunity for mobility, to give people the opportunity to go to university and move up in society, is more important … we shouldn't ignore it."
Professor Schwartz, who took up his position at Macquarie in February, did not rule out choosing students for some courses on a combination of marks and other factors, but said it would be difficult for the university to overhaul entry requirements unilaterally.
Although the US and British higher education systems look at a variety of factors when accepting students, Australia has not held the same debate.
The most notable exception to the rule is medicine, for which applicants sit a separate exam and most universities run interviews. Other courses consider auditions or portfolios in addition to marks.
"I don't think anyone in the UK or US would want to go on with a system like [Australia's] because it's so mechanical," Professor Schwartz said. "It's hard to believe that [the difference between] a 99.4 and a 99.5 means anything and yet it changes your life."
The British review run by Professor Schwartz argued students' backgrounds should be taken into account in selection for university, because those from poorer backgrounds were less likely to achieve high grades. Admissions should not be biased in favour of students from certain backgrounds, but their achievements should be put in context, it said.
George Cooney, a professor in education at Macquarie and chairman of the NSW University Admission Index scaling committee, said many faculties were already considering factors other than marks and offering programs to disadvantaged students. University admission procedures in Britain and the US were markedly different to those here, so they should not be compared, he said.
