Admissions Policy
At a glance
Admission Overview
The Australian College of Physical Education endeavours to make admission accessible to a diversity of students who demonstrate potential for success in tertiary study. Special consideration is given to applicants who have been disadvantaged in their education but who exhibit good academic potential.
The processes for the selection and admission of students are governed by the overarching principles of fairness, consistency, transparency, timeliness, and merit.
General admission to the College is based on a combined range of factors, including merit, academic performance, and a student interview. The College recognises that some applicants are not able to demonstrate their full potential for success at tertiary level study through the normal qualifying examinations. The College, therefore, provides means for such applicants to enter courses and takes into account educational disadvantage experienced by a particular applicant when determining selection and admission.
General Admission Criteria
Applicants must meet at least one of the following criteria to be considered for admission.
(a) a minimum NSW HSC (Higher School Certificate) average of 65 (calculated from
the average of the highest 10 units completed), or a minimum ATAR of 68, or
equivalent International Baccalaureate; or
(b) a qualification from a recognised higher education institution; or
(c) a recognised TAFE or other recognised VET provider qualification, either an
Associate Diploma, Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Tertiary Preparation Certificate;
or
(d) completed at least one year full-time or equivalent in a degree course at an
Australian university; or
(e) satisfied entry requirements specified under formal articulation arrangements
determined by Academic Board at the time of approving the arrangement which
were designed to achieve comparability of admissions standards across the
various student cohorts admitted to an award course; or
(f) a recognised overseas qualification and can demonstrate proficiency in English (if
the qualification is from a country where English is not the standard language of
instruction) - (see the section on International Applicants below, for further details);
or
(g) demonstrated to the Deans satisfaction that he or she:
(i) has good selection prospects as a student (for example, relevant work
experience and motivation to study); and
criteria (a) to (f).
Additionally
- Applicants for admission to the College are required to participate in an interview and achieve a satisfactory outcome.
- Applicants for the Bachelor of Dance Education course are required to attend an audition and achieve a satisfactory outcome.
- An Applicant for an undergraduate teacher education degree course, such as the Bachelor of Education (Physical & Health Education) or Bachelor of Education (Dance Education), must provide evidence to the College that he or she has attained an English proficiency of Band 4 or higher in the NSW High School Certificate, or equivalent.
- An applicant who does not display this level of proficiency at the point of admission may be granted provisional admission on the understanding that he or she will only be permitted to progress into the second year of the course upon their provision of evidence to the College that he or she has achieved the required English proficiency level.
The College will provide only limited support to students who enter degree studies without the Band 4 English pre-requisite and who have been granted provisional admission as specified at Item 7.2. The onus lies with the student to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve the required level of performance.
Special Provision for applicants unable to meet the General Admission Criteria
An applicant seeking admission who is unable to demonstrate that he or she satisfactorily meets the General Admission Criteria may apply to the College to be considered for provisional admission.
An applicant should be aware that if he or she is being considered for provisional admission that he or she may be requested to:
- provide evidence that will demonstrate to the Deans satisfaction that he or she has a reasonable likelihood of success in their studies with the College; and
- attend an interview with the Dean.
An applicant should also be aware that conditions, as determined by the Dean, would normally be attached to a provisional admission such as:
- he or she must attain a minimum pass grade in all units of study undertaken in the first 2 semesters of enrolment in the course, based on a full-time study load. This is normally the equivalent of 8 units of study; and/or
- he or she shall only be permitted to attend a Professional Placement on successful completion of the first 4 units of study, which is the equivalent of one semester at a full-time load.
Special circumstances considered in the determining of provisional admission and the conditions of provisional admission, may include:
- Elite Athletes who can demonstrate that their training and/or competitive commitments have affected their academic achievement.
- Educational disadvantage due to circumstances beyond the applicants control. These disadvantages could be:
* serious or chronic illness;
* disrupted education;
* lack of support for study;
* serious family problems; and/or
* excessive family responsibilities.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in recognition of the past exclusion and current disadvantage in these peoples experience.
Elite Athletes or Performers
The Australian College of Physical Education is recognised by the Australian Institute of Sport and the New South Wales Institute of Sport as an Elite Athlete Friendly Institution. This is a component of the National Athlete Career and Education (ACE) program. It signifies that the Australian College of Physical Education has responded to the specific needs of elite athletes by developing and promoting policies and practices that assist these athletes to undertake sporting opportunity whilst pursuing and achieving academic excellence.
The College recognises elite athletes who have been identified and recognised by one of the following organisations as an Elite Athlete:
- Australian Institute of Sport
- State Institutes or Academies of Sport
- AFL Players Association
- Australian Cricketers Association
- Rugby Union Players Association
- Rugby League Professionals Association
- Australian Professional Footballers Association
- National senior squad members from ACE supported sports
An Elite Athlete, who falls outside of these organisations, may still request recognition by the College as an Elite Athlete.
An applicant seeking recognition by the College of his or her Elite Athlete status should indicate this at the time of applying for admission to the College. The National Coach and Athlete Career and Education (NCACE) manager will act as a representative from the Australian Sports Commission to investigate and verify the Elite Athlete status claims and will make a recommendation to the College.
Recognition of Prior Learning
An applicant may apply for an assessment of their prior learning at the time of applying for entry to an award course of the College. Normally, in order to qualify for an award a student must, for undergraduate award courses, complete a minimum of the equivalent of fifty percent of the award course at the College. It is normally expected that students applying for credit will complete at least 50% of the final year of the degree.
International Applicants - General Provisions
13.1 International Applicants General Provisions
(a) An international applicant must hold an appropriate immigration authority enabling
them to undertake courses of study in Australia.
(b) An international applicant will be considered for entry to the College on admission
criteria equal to that applying to local students.
(c) An international applicant must provide evidence at the time of application that will
demonstrate to the Deans satisfaction that he or she has a reasonable likelihood
of success in their studies with the College.
13.2 English Language Requirements
(a) An international applicant who has not completed an Australian educational
qualification must provide proof of proficiency in English through:
(i) a record of satisfactory achievement in secondary/tertiary studies in which the
language of instruction was in English; or
(ii) a record of the attainment of an overall band score of 6.5 in the International
English Language Testing System (IELTS), with a minimum of 6.0 in each band;
or an equivalent record of English proficiency attainment in an English language
test that is recognised by the College. (Scores older than two years are not
accepted).
(b) An international applicant who has completed the International Baccalaureate and
who has gained the diploma can be regarded as having met the Colleges
minimum English requirements, provided he or she has met one of the following
criteria:
(i) completion of two Languages A1 in English at Higher or Standard Level; or
(ii) completion of Language A2 English as a Group 2 subject at either Higher or
Standard Level; or
(iii) completion of Language B English at Higher Level with Grade 4 or more; or
completion of Language B English at Standard Level with a Grade 5 or more.
Applicants for Cross-Institutional Study (ACPE Host Institution)
The College may permit a student enrolled in an award course or program of study at an Australian Higher Education Provider other than the ACPE to complete a unit or units of study at the ACPE, where the student can provide evidence of his or her home institutions permission for cross-institutional enrolment into the requested unit or units of study at the ACPE.
The information above has been drawn from the ACPE Admissions Policy (6th November 2007; ID: ACAD/010)