What is the QTAC process?

Power Point slides from the Terrace QTAC Information Evening

Undertake the following tasks to help you understand the QTAC process.

Read these topics:

• What is QTAC?
• Important dates in the QTAC process
• The QTAC Application
• Steps in the QTAC offer process
• What are cut-offs and how are they derived?
• Ordering your QTAC preferences
• How are applicants selected for courses through QTAC?
• Special consideration through QTAC
• The process for international students
• Upgrading for Year 12 students

• Read the QTAC Guide, which is given to all Year 12 students in Queensland in June/July. A copy is available in the career section of the Terrace library.



 

 

• Access the QTAC website.

www.qtac.edu.au

 

• Attend the Terrace QTAC information evening on 24 July 2008.

• If you have other questions about QTAC and the QTAC process contact your career counsellor at email: roslynlim@terrace.qld.edu.au.

What is QTAC?

The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation that administers the application and offer processes for selected courses from the following institutions:

• Australian Catholic University National www.acu.edu.au
• Australian College of Natural Medicine* www.acnm.edu.au
• Australian Maritime College # www.amc.edu.au
• Bond University * www.bond.edu.au
• Central Queensland University www.cqu.edu.au
• Christian Heritage College* www.chc.edu.au
• Griffith University www.gu.edu.au
• James Cook University www.jcu.edu.au
• QANTM* www.qantmcollege.edu.au
• Queensland Institute of Business and Technology* www.qibt.qld.edu.au
• Queensland University of Technology www.qut.com
• SAE Institute** www.sae.edu/
• Southern Cross University# www.scu.edu.au
• TAFE Queensland www.tafe.qld.gov.au
• The University of New England# www.une.edu.au
• The University of Queenslandwww.uq.edu.au/study
• University of Southern Queensland www.usq.edu.au
• University of the Sunshine Coastwww.usc.edu.au

* Private university or college
# Interstate university or college

** Has campuses in Brisbane and Byron Bay

Important dates in the QTAC process for 2008

See the following website for more information about the QSA Smart OP.

http://www.smartop.qsa.qld.edu.au/

The QTAC Application

You can apply for up to six (6) courses at different institutions on the one QTAC application. It is essential that you submit one application only.

The main way recommended for full-time Year 12 students to apply to QTAC is:

• The Twelve to Tertiary (TTT) online application service (at www.qtac.edu.au). Applying by TTT automatically gives you access to the QTAC current applicant online services which includes 3 free changes of course preferences.

The application fee for applying through the TTT is $26 in 2008. Closer to mid year, visit the QTAC site below for information about other QTAC fees.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Fees/Application.htm?
activeMenuId=Information_About.Fees&
activeItemId=Information_About.Fees.Application

In July, the following QTAC site will have instructions for using the TTT and a demonstration version of a TTT application you can practice on.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Apply_Now/Apply_Now.htm

Prepare for your application by completing the ‘Application planner for Year 12 students’ at the end of Section 1 in the QTAC Guide.

At the completion of your online application you will be given a QTAC application number. You can use this number or your QSA number when contacting QTAC about your application.

A list of QTAC applicant online services can be found in the QTAC Guide.

It is vital that you ensure both the QSA and QTAC are separately informed if you change your address .

During registration on the QSA’s Smart OP website you will be asked to change your PIN (initially the day and month of your birth). It is recommended that you also change your QTAC PIN (also the day and month of your birth). It is advisable to use the same PIN for your QSA and QTAC processes – put it somewhere safe so you can find it when you need it!

Steps in the QTAC offer process

1. Early offer round
2. The Student Education Profile
3. Final date for lodging changes to preferences for the January (major) offer round
4. Major offer round
5. Responding to the offer
6. 'February' offer round
7. Further course vacancies
   

Early offer round - December

In this round a small number of offers are made for:

• Creative/performing arts courses
• Selected external courses
• TAFE courses, if listed as a first preference
• Courses for Bond, QIBT, QANTM, and ACNM, if listed as a first preference.

If you are applying for a course that is offered in this round, you should put it as your first preference. It is important to respond to QTAC when made an offer in this round. If you do not, you will not be included in any future offer round for this application period. If you are offered a course in this round but it is not your ultimate first preference, you can conditionally accept the offer and change your preferences for the major offer round in January.

The Student Education Profile

In mid-December the QSA sends all Year 12 students a Student Education Profile (SEP) containing their Senior Statement, Tertiary Entrance Statement (if OP-eligible), and Queensland Certificate of Education (if eligible). The information on these documents is also sent to QTAC by the QSA. Any queries about these documents should be directed to the QSA (tel: 3864 0299).

You can access your Year 12 results early by registering on the QSA Smart OP website. Registration nstructions will be on this website later in the year.

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/for/students/smartOP.html

Final date for lodging changes to preferences for the Major offer round in January

As a current Year 12 student, you have until early January to review your preferences and make any changes that may be necessary after you receive your Year 12 results. Changes must be made by the due date for them to be processed in time for the major offer round. There are two main ways you can change preferences. These are:

• QTAC Current Applicant Online Services
• in writing (this is the most expensive method).
  

The major offer round

In early to mid-January, course offers are made in the major offer round. You can find out if you have an offer by:

• QTAC Current Applicant Online Services
• receiving an offer in the mail from QTAC
• reading the newspaper (offers are usually published in major newspapers such as The Courier-Mail). You may have your name withheld from publication if you wish (see the QTAC Guide for instructions).

If you have an offer, you will be sent an enrolment package or referred to an enrolment website by the institution that has given you the offer.

The majority of successful QTAC applicants will be given one offer only. Applicants who have applied for one or more Type 2 courses (full-fee (Dfee) courses at an institution that also offers Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) for the same course) may be given more than one offer, depending on their eligibility and the order of their preferences. In this situation, the applicant must decide on his/her preferred course as only one offer can be accepted.

Responding to the offer

Once you have received an offer, you are required to:

• respond to the offer through QTAC, using the Current Applicant Online Services or in writing
• complete the enrolment requirements of the tertiary institution at which you have been given an offer of a course place.

These two steps must be completed by the dates specified. If a response has not been received at QTAC by the specified date, you may automatically lose the place offered. When responding to your offer, you can select from the following options:

• accept, reject, or defer the offer
• accept, reject, or defer the offer but still be considered for higher preferences if further offers are made
• accept, reject, or defer the offer but be considered for new, higher preferences if further offers are made (for this option you need to change your preferences first and then respond to your offer).

If you do not receive an offer in the major offer round, QTAC will send you a letter about the status of your application. This letter gives information about whether you will be further considered for any of the courses on your preference list. This information can also be accessed from the QTAC Current Applicant Online Services. It may be wise to change preferences at this stage if you have not received an offer in the major offer round.

February offer round

Most places for tertiary courses processed by QTAC are filled in the major offer round. However, there may be some vacancies, particularly if the major offer round acceptance rate is lower than expected.

A February offer round is held to fill any vacancies. As in the major offer round, any course vacancies are allocated to applicants in order of merit. This offer round can be more competitive than the major offer round because usually there are fewer course places available. Consequently, cut-offs for courses in this offer round are sometimes higher than in the major offer round.

Therefore, it is important to make a wise selection of courses (including foot-in-the-door courses) on your application for the major offer round.

You may miss out on a course if you depend on the February round for an offer (especially for competitive courses)!!

Further course vacancies

Occasionally a few vacancies become available after the final offer round. If so, QTAC offers places to the next eligible applicants in order of merit.

Applicants could also approach institutions directly at this time of the year.

What are cut-offs and how are they derived?

Based on their funding and priorities, institutions allocate a number of places for each course. This is called a quota.

Cut-offs are the OP and rank of the last applicants to gain entry into a course before the quota for that course is filled in any given year.

Cut-offs are normally not predetermined by the institution offering the course. They are the result of:

• the number of places available (the quota),
• the number of applicants, and
• the OP or rank of those applicants.

Because of this, cut-offs can change from year to year. For example:

QUT B Health Science (Public Health)

• OP 13 for 2002 entry
• OP 6 for 2003 entry
• OP 12 for 2004 entry
• OP 11 for 2005 entry
• OP 13 for 2006 entry
• OP 13 for 2007 entry
• OP 13 for 2008 entry

The cut-offs in the QTAC Guide are for the last major offer period. They should be used as a guide when selecting your course preferences.

Some institutions publish an eligibility score. This IS NOT the cut-off from the previous offer period. It is the lowest score the institution is prepared to consider for entry. For example, the eligibility score for UQ B Laws is OP 13, but the cut-off for 2008 entry was OP 3.

Ordering your QTAC preferences

Because OP/rank cut-offs can change, it is important to include a range of courses when ordering your QTAC preferences.

The following ‘recipe’ is recommended.

See this site for advice from QTAC on ordering your preferences.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Applying/
Ordering_Preferences.htm?activeMenuId=
Information_For.Current_Year_12&activeItemId=
Information_For.Current_Year_12.Ordering_Preferences

How are applicants selected for courses through QTAC?

There are usually more applicants than available places for many of the courses you can apply for through QTAC. Consequently, entry to these courses is competitive.

To select students for their courses, institutions use specific selection criteria.

Selection is based on:

• meeting prerequisites, and
• merit.

Prerequisites can include:

• Year 12 Authority subjects or alternatives acceptable to the institution
• folio, interview, audition, and/or questionnaire
• completion of a specific course or access to a work environment
• age.

If a course has prerequisites (check the QTAC Guide) you must meet them in some way acceptable to the institution or you will not gain entry to the course (regardless of your OP or rank).

Some courses do not have prerequisites. They may have ‘Assumed knowledge’ or ‘Recommended study’. An assumed knowledge subject is not a prerequisite, however, you will find the course very difficult without it. Nevertheless, not having an assumed knowledge subject will not prevent you from being given an offer. A recommended study subject is one that would be helpful for the course.

Merit is:

• an OP and FPs for most current Year 12 students (FPs are only used in very competitive situations e.g., when the cut-off for a course is within an OP band), or
• a QTAC selection rank for all other applicants including OP-ineligible Year 12 students.

A QTAC selection rank:

• is a number given to a qualification (e.g., the Senior Statement for OP- ineligible students)
• is on a scale from I to 99 (highest)
• is usually derived from a QTAC schedule
• can be derived from an institution specific schedule.

An example of a QTAC schedule is on the inside of the back cover of the QTAC Guide. This schedule is one that converts an OP and interstate results to a QTAC selection rank.

At this QTAC site you can download a handout, which explains the calculation of a QTAC selection rank for OP-ineligible Year 12 students.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Publications/Information_Sheets
/Tertiary_Entry_Internal_Year_12_Students_without_OPs.htm

Through the QTAC process, eligible applicants (i.e., those who meet prerequisites) are considered in order of merit (i.e., OP or rank).

Because of this, it is important to list courses on your QTAC application in strict order of your preference. Other applicants, who have listed the same course as you but as a higher preference than you, will not be offered this course before you if:

• you have a better OP or rank than them, and
• the course is the highest preference for which you meet all the requirements (i.e., prerequisites and merit).
  

Special consideration through QTAC

There are a number of special consideration processes available for students who face extreme difficulty beyond their control during their Senior studies. Difficult circumstances include:

• circumstances relating to equality of opportunity (e.g., cultural, language difficulties)
• disability and health
• compassionate and other circumstances (e.g., trauma, bereavement, abuse).

Special consideration is given when the student’s results are not what would have been had the circumstances not occurred.

Special consideration is given by:

• the student’s school in the first instance
• the QSA for eligible students when sitting for the Queensland Core Skills Test
• tertiary institutions through the QTAC process.

For special consideration through QTAC, students are required to:

• indicate on their QTAC application that they plan to apply for special consideration
• complete a QTAC special consideration of disadvantage application form (obtained from the career counsellor or downloaded when making a QTAC online application)
• send the completed form and supporting evidence to QTAC by the beginning of November (this can be done through the career counsellor).

Download a handout on special consideration through QTAC from this site.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Publications/
Information_Sheets/Special_Consideration.htm

Contact your career counsellor on email: roslynlim@terrace.qld.edu.au if, after reading this handout, you believe you are eligible for special consideration through QTAC.

The process for international students

The tertiary application process for international students is different from the process for domestic students.

Download a handout on the process for international students from this QTAC site.

http://www.qtac.edu.au/Publications/
Information_Sheets/International_Students.htm

Upgrading for Year 12 students

There are many ways Year 12 students can upgrade if, in the first instance, they do not gain an offer of a course place in their preferred course. The following handout provides information about these pathways.

Another very useful resource on tertiary pathways is Pathways to tertiary study published by QTAC. You can purchase this booklet from QTAC.

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