Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» of Queensland (Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³») will give high school students new incentives to learn languages and advanced maths by launching a .
School-leavers will improve their entry rank by successfully studying year 12 advanced maths (Queensland’s Maths C or its equivalent) and/or a language other than English.
Successful completion of a university-level course through any Australian university will also improve entry ranks for the purposes of study at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³».
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) Professor Debbie Terry said the bonuses took effect immediately, starting with 2008 year 12s who want to enrol at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» in 2009.
“For some students, the extra points could mean the difference that gets them over the line into their Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» program of choice,” Professor Terry said.
"Students eligible for a bonus would not need to fill in any special application forms, as Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» will automatically recognise them and allocate the bonus points.
“We believe the bonus points will be a powerful incentive for senior high school students to take up advanced maths and languages other than English (LOTE).
“These two areas are key to ensuring that graduates have a competitive edge in an increasingly global and knowledge-based economy, but rates of study of them are low and not improving on a national scale.”
On the 1-99 university entry rank scale, to which all Australian Year 12 results can be converted, students will receive:
• 2 points for passing a Queensland Studies Authority or comparable interstate LOTE subject
• 2 points for passing Mathematics C or its equivalent*
• 1 point for successfully completing a university-level course such as Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»’s Enhanced Studies Program or a similar ‘enrichment’ program via another Australian university.
The maximum bonus for any one student is five, and the maximum LOTE bonus per student is two (irrespective of how many languages are studied).
The scheme will be open to school-leavers who complete year 12 in Australia. This includes students of the International Baccalaureate. It will also apply to Australian citizens who complete year 12 while living overseas.
Students who are awarded a place using the bonus scheme will be able to defer that offer for up to 12 months while they take a ‘gap’ year or a break between school and university.
Only 13 percent of Australian year 12s study LOTE, which is lower than comparable nations and compares to the 40 percent of Australian school-leavers who learned a language 30 years ago. Queensland has the nation’s wooden spoon, with only six percent of year 12s in LOTE.
A grounding in advanced maths is widely linked to future career success in science, engineering, technology and maths, yet it is studied by only about 12 percent of Australian years 12s. Queensland rates of year 12 study of Maths C sit below the national average, at about eight percent.
“Growing the number of high school students who have an advanced maths education is one path to tackling Australia’s shortage of scientists and engineers, which has been forecast to deepen to 20,000 over the next four years,” Professor Terry said.
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Media contact: Fiona Kennedy 07 3365 1384, 0413 380 012.
*ACT - Mathematics II; NSW - Mathematics 3U to 4U; SA/NT - Specialist Mathematics or Maths 2; Tas - Mathematics – Specialist; Vic - Specialist Mathematics; WA - Discrete Mathematics, Applicable Mathematics or Mathematics III; International Baccalaureate - Mathematics (HL); Mathematical Methods (HL or SL).
