Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre

The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) is the administrative body that processes tertiary course applications for universities (and other tertiary institutions) in the state of Victoria, Australia. Incorporated in 1967, it has offices located at South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is a member of the Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres (ACTAC).^[1]

Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre

Abbreviation	VTAC
Formation	1967 (1967)
Purpose	Higher-education application processing
Location	40 Park Street South Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Region served	Victoria, Australia
Key people	Teresa Tjia (Chief Executive Officer)
Website	www.vtac.edu.au
Formerly called	Victorian Universities Admissions Committee (VUAC)

History

Before 1967, all universities in Victoria had their own application systems, and students can only directly apply to them. To simplify this process, VTAC was formed in 1967^[2] by three Victorian universities: The University of Melbourne, Monash University and La Trobe University as the Victorian Universities Admissions Committee (VUAC). They started coordinating offers of places to students for the first time in the 1968 academic year.^[3]

In 1972, VUAC was expanded to include processing applications for the then four members of the Victoria Institute of Colleges: the Physiotherapy School of Victoria, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Swinburne College of Technology, and the Victorian School of Speech Science.^[4] In 1986, it was renamed to its current name.^[5]

Application system

Course requirements

All courses listed on VTAC have their own prerequisites and requirements, which are published on the CourseSearch website.^[6]

Most courses will require a minimum ATAR before an offer is even considered. Some institutions publish a guaranteed ATAR, where if the applicant achieves higher than the ATAR and preference appropriately they will be secured a place in their chosen course.^[7] For those who score between the minimum and guaranteed ATAR, personal statements will also be a part of the screening process. Not all courses judge their applicants solely using ATAR. Some courses require an audition or a folio, while some courses will require an admission test before applying, notably the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT)^[a] that is needed for undergraduate medicine/surgery courses.^[8] Other tests include:

• International Student Admissions Test (ISAT), for international students applying for Type 3 places in medicine/surgery courses at Monash University
• VETASSESS
• Casper, for initial teaching education courses

The ATAR profile for all undergraduate courses is also published on the VTAC website, acting as a guide for students if their score is enough for being considered for the course.^[9] A sample ATAR profile is as follows:

		ATAR (excluding adjustment factors)			Selection rank (ATAR plus any adjustment factors)
Course code	Campus	Highest	Median	Lowest	Highest	Median	Lowest
1200345678	Melbourne	99.95	91.25	75.55	99.95	92.75	83.35

Where it indicates the student with the highest and lowest ATAR that was made an offer in the previous year, as well as the median ATAR of all students that entered the course. The right column shows the ATAR data after Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) adjustments.^[10]

Preferencing

VTAC processes applications from suitably qualified students, which may list up to 8 preferences for tertiary courses in the state of Victoria. Tertiary institutions determine whether the applicant is given the offer to undertake a course – VTAC then informs students of the highest preferred course they have been offered, if any. Universities do not consider the order of preferences when making offers, so all courses listed on an applicant's preferences will be treated equally and making sure that no applications are disadvantaged.^[11] Some courses have early closing dates, where after the date students will not be able to add them to their preferences. This mainly includes courses that require interviews or auditioning, particularly in areas such as medicine, music or fine arts.^[12]

After the release of VCE and ATAR results, applicants will still be able to adjust their preferences for a few days before the closure of the system.^[13] Students are able to change their preferences for any reasons, including a change of mind, adding a newly available course or if the course applied has been cancelled and needs replacement.^[14] There are no additional fees for change of preference, provided that they have already paid the application fee.^[15] After the release of offers for each round, the system will reopen to allow for preference adjustments before its closure again for the next offer round.

Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS)

The Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) is the umbrella program run by most institutions to which students will be applying for courses through VTAC.^[16] There are four categories in SEAS. Students can apply for any categories they have experienced education disadvantages in, including:

• Category 1: Personal information and location. This category includes age, living or school location, under-represented gender in a course or field of study, recognition as an Indigenous Australian, from a non-English speaking background and being the first in the family to attend tertiary studies.^[17]
• Category 2: Disadvantaged financial background
• Category 3: Disability or medical condition
• Category 4: Difficult circumstances (including COVID-19 related difficulties)

Only the Selection Rank that is used to determine higher education applications will be adjusted after applying for SEAS, while the ATAR will remain unchanged. Different institutions may also have different methods of SEAS adjustment due to differences in the calculation method, and the under-represented groups in each course are different.^[18]

In 2020, more than half of all Victorian Year 12 students have applied for special consideration in their university applications, due to the impacts of remote learning, the COVID-19 pandemic and bushfires. This is categorised as “difficult circumstances”, which applies to their university entry. More than 30,000 students have applied for special consideration, which is tripled from 2019 when only 10,016 students applied for SEAS.^[19]

Offers

There are two types of intake: the Semester 1 intake and the mid-year intake. Not all institutions participate in the mid-year intake, and is a less popular option due to Australia having its academic year starting in January.^[20]

There are many offer rounds for the Semester 1 intake, which most high school leavers apply to.^[21]

• November round offer, only available to non-year 12 applicants
• December round offer, new in 2019, only for applicants who have already received their ATAR (Current students in Victoria, New South Wales and ACT)^[22]
• January round offer, for all other applicants (including students completing the IB Diploma)^[23]
• Multiple subsequent offer rounds in January through March, for New Zealand applicants and applicants who have received a better preference

Note: Domestic and international applicants receive offers at different dates

Students can only receive one offer in each round, with the option to accept, defer or decline. An offer from a course with a higher preference can be received in subsequent offer rounds. However, it is strongly recommended not to decline as it is not guaranteed that an offer from a higher preference can be received, and students are allowed to withdraw from their previous offer if they change their mind.^[24] For domestic applicants who stil have not receive any offers after the first February round offer, they may receive a supplementary offer from courses they did not list on the preference list but have vacant places, provided that they had given the permission to release their application to all courses with vacancies.^[25]

Score calculation

VTAC is responsible for calculating VCE study score scaling and ATAR, and releasing the results to students online on the VCE Results and ATAR Service by coordinating with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).^[26]

VCE scaling

Main article: Victorian Certificate of Education § Scaling

This section is an excerpt from Victorian Certificate of Education § Scaling.[edit]

Scaling is the process that adjusts VCE study scores into ATAR subject scores. The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) adjusts all VCE study scores to equalise results between studies with stronger cohorts, and those with weaker ones. Contrary to common perception, scaling is not based on the difficulty of the subject, as each study score is in fact a ranking. The score adjustment ensures that in those subjects where it is easier to overtake the cohort, the score is adjusted downwards, while in subjects where it is difficult to score highly, it is moved upwards. This makes sure obtaining the average score in one study required the same level of achievement as every other study.^[27]

Mathematics subjects and language subjects have additional scaling rules. In mathematics subjects (General Mathematics, Mathematical Methods and Specialist Mathematics), all three studies are scaled against each other in addition to being scaled against all other studies, then the higher of the two scaling scores will then be used. This is due to mathematics having a distinct hierarchy of studies with varying difficulties, so students studying the harder subjects will not be disadvantaged by the level of difficulty. In LOTE (Languages Other Than English) subjects, study scores are adjusted by adding up to five to the initial scaled study score average. This adjustment is different for each subject and score, and decreases as the study score moves away from 30.^[28]

ATAR calculation

Main article: Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

ATAR in Victoria is calculated by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) every year using student results provided by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). VTAC will combine the student's results into an "aggregate" which is a sum of selected (scaled) results from eligible subjects:^[29]

• the student's best score in one of English, English Language, Literature, or English as an Additional Language (EAL),
• the student's next three best scores; along with the English score form the "primary four" results,
• 10% of the next two best scores, known as "increments" (where available).

The aggregates, which can range from 0 to over 210 (in exceptional cases), are then mapped to percentiles for conversion to an ATAR. Students must pass an English subject in order to qualify for an ATAR as well as the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).^[30] The primary four results must be taken from VCE or Vocational Education and Training (VET) Units 3 and 4 sequences, while the increments can also include other results, such as interstate study or university extension studies. There are also other rules, such as only two studies from the same subject area can contribute to the "primary 4". For example, if the student completed Unit 3/4 for all General Mathematics, Mathematical Methods, and Specialist Mathematics, the one with the lowest study score must be an increment, even if the score is higher than all other studies outside of mathematics.^[31]

The group of students with the highest aggregates will be assigned the highest ATAR of 99.95. ATARs below 30.00 are reported as "less than 30" on printed ATAR statements, however the actual ATAR is available online.^[32]

Participating institutions

As of 2023, VTAC acts on behalf of 13 universities in Australia, located in Victoria (or interstate universities with campuses in Victoria):^[33]

• Australian Catholic University
• Charles Sturt University
• CQUniversity
• Deakin University
• Federation University Australia
• La Trobe University
• Monash University
• RMIT University
• Southern Cross University
• Swinburne University of Technology
• The University of Melbourne
• Torrens University Australia
• Victoria University

VTAC also administers applications on behalf of 32 other tertiary education institutes, including TAFEs and independent tertiary colleges.^[33]

Participating institutions
Academy of Interactive Entertainment	LCI Melbourne
Academy of Interactive Technology	Longerenong College
Australian College of Applied Professions	Marcus Oldham College
Australian Institute of Music	Melbourne Institute of Technology
Box Hill Institute	Melbourne Polytechnic
Cairnmillar Institute	Monash College
Chisholm Institute	Northern College of the Arts and Technology
Collarts (Australian College of the Arts)	Open Universities Australia
Deakin College	Ozford Institute of Higher Education
Elly Lukas Beauty Therapy College	Photography Studies College
Endeavour College of Natural Health	SAE Creative Media Institute
endota Wellness College	Southern Cross Education Institute Higher Education
Holmesglen Institute of TAFE	The Gordon
JMC Academy	Victorian Institute of Technology
Kangan Institute	Whitehouse Institute of Design
La Trobe College Australia	William Angliss Institute of TAFE

See also

• Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
• Victorian Certificate of Education
• General Achievement Test
• List of state-level unified TACs (Tertiary Admission Center), domestic students must apply once to the relevant TAC for admission to all the universities within that state.
• Tertiary education in Australia

Notes

1. Previously the Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT)

References

1. "Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres (ACTAC) Submission". Department of Education. Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
2. Best, Kylie. "Research Guides: School and education history in Victoria: Past exams & results". guides.slv.vic.gov.au. State Library of Victoria. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
3. "Report of the Council 1967" (PDF). Monash University. Monash University. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
4. "Sound: The Official Broadsheet of Monash University No. 37" (PDF). Monash University. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
5. Musgrave, P. W. (1992). From humanity to utility : Melbourne University and public examinations, 1856-1964. Hawthorn, Vic., Australia: ACER. ISBN 0864311184. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
6. "CourseSearch". delta.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
7. "Guaranteed ATAR". www.rmit.edu.au. RMIT University. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
8. "Other admissions tests". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
9. "Things to consider when weighing up a change to your course preferences". The Age. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
10. "ATAR profile". Victoria University, Australia. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
11. "How do VTAC preferences work?". The University of Melbourne. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
12. "List of courses with early closing dates". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
13. "University 'wait-and-see' game begins as VCE students receive scores". ABC News (Australia). 12 December 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
14. "Changing course preferences". www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au. Youth Central. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
15. "How to apply for courses". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
16. "Special provision for other circumstances". www.vcaa.vic.edu.au. VCAA. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
17. "Special Entry Access Schemes(SEAS)". www.latrobe.edu.au. La Trobe University. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
18. "ATAR & SEAS CALCULATOR". Monash University. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
19. Zhou, Naaman (10 November 2020). "Victoria coronavirus disruption causes leap in university applicants citing 'difficult circumstances'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
20. "Applying to study mid-year". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
21. "Dates 2022-23". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
22. Andrews, Daniel. "New December Round Offers For Victorian VCE Students | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Premier of Victoria. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
23. Davies, Philippa (8 March 2023). "VTAC key dates". Information on December, January and February offer rounds. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
24. "A guide to Victorian university offers". Herald Sun. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
25. "Supplementary offers". Federation University Australia. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
26. "FAQs - VCE Results and ATAR Service". VCE Results and ATAR Service. VTAC, VCAA. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
27. "ABC of Scaling" (PDF). Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre. p. 4. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
28. "VTAC ATAR and Scaling Guide 2023". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
29. "How the ATAR is calculated". The Age. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
30. "About VCE results and ATAR". www.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
31. "VTAC ATAR and Scaling Guide 2023". www.vtac.edu.au. VTAC. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
32. "What is an ATAR score & How is it Calculated?". Deakin University. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
33. "Institutions 2022-23". www.vtac.edu.au. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

External links

• VTAC website