The Australian | 6 December 2013
There’s been a big increase in direct applications to universities, with the total number of direct applications to universities having increased from 61 805 in 2010 to 82,890 in 2013 (plus 34.1%). The increase in 2013 was 12.6%.
______________________________________________________________
Peter Lee, chairman of the Regional Universities Network RUN, has defended a 6% drop in applications this year to regional unioversities, saying a “massive increase” in direct applications by both school-leaver and mature-age students more than compensated for the fall in official applications data. The official data only counts applications via state tertiary admission centres (TACs). Lee said
“There is a growing trend across the sector for students to apply directly to universities rather than going through a TAC. While the Department’s figures show a decline in students applying to RUN universities through a TAC of 5.8%compared to an increase of 0.8% for the sector as a whole, direct applications to RUN universities in 2013 increased by 23 %.
The Applications Offers and Acceptances 2013 report released by the Commonwealth education department in early December shows that RUN universities received 14,561 applications via TACs and 14537 directly.
Lee said growth in direct applications was across the sector. Since 2010, there has been a 34.1 % increase in direct applications. In 2013, direct applications and offers across the sector grew by 12.6% and 8.3% respectively.
Among school leavers, 97.6% of applicants to RUN institutions were made an offer but only 67.6% cent accepted it.
See
