Equity schemes level the playing field

UNIVERSITY admissions equity schemes are a vital part of ensuring fair access to higher education. They are designed to remove barriers that prevent capable students from reaching their full potential.

The Educational Access Scheme (EAS) operated by the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC), supports students dealing with circumstances beyond their control such as financial hardship, a medical condition, difficult personal circumstances, or who are impacted by natural disasters such as flood.

Equity schemes do not override merit and are not automatic bonus points, but they do take personal circumstances into account when institutions select applicants for courses.

UAC Interim Managing Director Kim Paino says, ‘Equity admissions don’t lower the bar, they remove the barriers. EAS ensures that students facing serious hardship can still compete on fair terms. These are evidence-based, rigorously assessed adjustments, developed in consultation with education experts and universities. In a world with unequal opportunities, equity schemes help level the playing field, not tilt it.’

EAS also includes students with limited access to resources such as those in low-socioeconomic or regional and remote areas. Students such as Alexandra O'Neill from Tamworth who received consideration for disruption to her schooling in Year 12 and for living in a regional area. She is now studying a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Canberra. She says she wouldn’t have been able to apply to her preferred uni without this assistance. ‘My choices would have been limited but now I’m exactly where I want to be,’ she says.

Students in these circumstances are less likely to progress to Year 12, to attain an ATAR and are less likely to enrol at university. However studies show that students from disadvantaged backgrounds do as well as other students, if not outperform them, once they are at university.

Equity schemes are also key parts of adopted government strategies such as the Federal Australian Universities Accord and the NSW Higher Education Strategy.

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For further information (media only) email media@uac.edu.au or contact:
Diane Jardine, Communications Coordinator, UAC on 0436 459 603, or
Kim Paino, Interim Managing Director, UAC on 0409 155 112.