Universities Admission Index (UAI)

Reports and articles on the 2008 UAI

In the tables below, courses that have less than 10 students are not included.
Table A1	Gender, UAI eligibility and maximum UAI, by course.
Table A2	Distributions of HSC marks, by course.
Table A3	Descriptive statistics and selected percentiles for HSC marks and scaled marks, by course.
Table A4	Distributions of HSC marks, by course: 2007 - 2008.
Table A5	Distributions of scaled marks, by course: 2007 - 2008.
Table A6	Courses that contribute to the UAI.
Table A7	Number of units completed, by UAI.
Table A8	Relationship between UAI, percentile and aggregate: 2004 - 2008.

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Important information about the release of the 2008 UAI

2008 NSW HSC students

Release of 2008 UAI
You will be able to access your UAI from 9am on Thursday 18 December 2008. Follow the online instructions to access your UAI. You will need your UAC application number or HSC student number and UAC PIN.

You will receive written advice of your UAI from UAC on Friday 19 December 2008.

You and your UAI
You will receive a copy of the booklet You and your UAI in the mail in early December. This booklet answers many of the questions that are asked about the UAI and how it is calculated.

Institution contact details during December–January
Included with the booklet You and your UAI will be contact details for each of the participating institutions during December–January and information about special advisory days for HSC students.

You must contact the institutions directly for information about your course options.

UAI Enquiry Centre in December – (02) 8736 5900
If, after reading the booklet You and your UAI, you still have questions about your UAI call the UAI Enquiry Centre on (02) 8736 5900 during business hours from Thursday 18 December 2008. The UAI Enquiry Centre will be available for a few days after the release of the UAI.

Detailed information about the UAI Enquiry Centre, including hours of operation, will be sent to you in early December with the You and your UAI booklet.

2008 ACT Year 12 students
The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies will issue the ACT Year 12 Certificate and Tertiary Entrance Statement (including UAI) to ACT students on Wednesday 17 December 2008. Students should collect their certificates from their college on or after this date.

You will also be able to access your UAI from 9am on Friday 19 December 2008 through Online applicant services. Follow the online instructions to access your UAI. You will need your UAC application number or Year 12 student number and UAC PIN.

Information about the calculation of the ACT UAI is available from the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies. Call (02) 6205 7181.

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What is the UAI?

Tertiary institutions in Australia have found that a selection rank based on a student's overall academic achievement is the best single prediction of tertiary success for most tertiary courses.

The Universities Admission Index (UAI) is a numerical measure of a student's overall academic achievement in the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) in relation to that of other students. This measure allows the comparison of students who have completed different combinations of HSC courses. The UAI is calculated solely for use by institutions, either on its own or in conjunction with other selection criteria, to rank and select school leavers for admission. For information about UAI cut-offs read Australian secondary studies.

Other criteria such as a portfolio, interview, audition, questionnaire or test may also be taken into account in conjunction with the UAI for certain courses. Details of any additional selection criteria are outlined in the course descriptions on this website.

Calculation of the UAI is the responsibility of the Technical Committee on Scaling on behalf of the NSW Vice-Chancellors' Committee. Students who indicate on their HSC entry forms that they wish to be notified of their UAI will receive a UAI Advice Notice from UAC. UAIs are also made available to institutions for selection purposes. The UAI is reported as a number between 0.00 and 100 with increments of 0.05.

Specifically, a UAI indicates the position of a student relative to their Year 10 cohort. That is, a UAI of 80.00 indicates that students with that UAI have performed well enough in the HSC to place them 20% from the top of their Year 10 cohort, had all the Year 10 students completed Year 12 and been eligible for a UAI.

UAI courses UAI courses are Board Developed courses for which there are formal examinations conducted by the Board of Studies that yield a graded assessment. These are the only courses that can be included in the UAI calculations.

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Who receives a UAI?

While UAIs are calculated for all UAI-eligible students, only students who indicate on their HSC entry forms that they wish to be notified of their UAI receive a UAI Advice Notice from UAC. These students will receive their written Advice Notices at the same time as they receive their HSC results from the Board of Studies.

The UAI Advice Notice includes:
• a student's UAI
• a list of the UAI courses which the student studied and the categorisation of each course, and
• the number of units of each UAI course that were actually included in the calculation of the UAI.

There are two cases where a UAI will not be shown on the UAI Advice Notice. The first is when a student receives a UAI between 0.00 and 30.00, in which case the UAI will be indicated as "30 or less". The second is when the student has not met the requirements for a UAI, in which case the statement "Not Eligible" will appear.

Students can access their UAIs from this website - read Important dates.

Note: Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) and Open Foundation students do not receive a UAI.

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What if I have lost my UAI Advice Notice?

If you have lost your UAI Advice Notice, UAC can issue you with a UAI confirmation letter. The fee is $45 (the original UAI Advice Notice is free). To order a UAI confirmation letter, call UAC on (02) 9752 0200.

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Categorisation of UAI courses

UAI courses are assessed by formal examinations conducted by the Board and have sufficient academic rigour to be useful as preparation for university study.

UAI courses are classified as either Category A or Category B courses. The criteria for Category A courses are academic rigour, depth of knowledge, the degree to which the course contributes to assumed knowledge for tertiary studies, and the coherence with other courses included in the UAI calculations. Category B courses are those whose level of cognitive and performance demands are not regarded as satisfactory in themselves, but their contribution to a selection index is regarded as adequate if the other courses included in the aggregate are more academically demanding.

In 2008 the Category B courses are:
• Accounting
• Business Services Examination
• Construction Examination
• Entertainment Industry Examination
• Hospitality Examination
• Industrial Technology
• Information Technology Examination
• Metal and Engineering Examination
• Primary Industries Examination
• Retail Operations Examination
• Tourism Examination

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Eligibility for a UAI in 2008

To be eligible for a UAI in 2008 a student must satisfactorily complete at least 10 units of UAI courses. These UAI courses must include at least:
• eight units from Category A courses
• two units of English
• three Board Developed courses of two units or greater
• four subjects.

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Calculation of the UAI

A student's UAI is a rank which is based on an aggregate of scaled marks in 10 units of UAI courses comprising:
• their best two units of English
• their best eight units from their remaining units, which can include up to two units of Category B courses.

Marks to be included in the UAI calculations can be accumulated over a five-year period but if a course is repeated only the last satisfactory attempt is used in the calculation of the UAI.

For students accumulating courses towards their HSC, scaled marks are calculated the year the courses are completed. Marks are not re-scaled each year.

The UAI is a rank NOT a mark.

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How is the UAI determined?

Scaling is the first step in determining the UAI. It is necessitated by the fact that individual course candidatures can be very different, and a student's performance in a course will not necessarily have the same significance across different courses.

The scaling process takes raw marks provided by the Board of Studies and estimates what these marks would have been if all courses had been studied by all students. The scaling algorithm is designed to encourage students to take the courses for which they are best suited and which best prepare them for their future studies; the underlying principle is that a student should neither be advantaged nor disadvantaged by choosing one HSC course over another.

The scaling model assumes that a student's position in a course depends on the student's developed ability in that course and the "strength of the competition". Since the UAI is a rank that reflects academic achievement, "strength of the competition" is defined in terms of the demonstrated overall academic attainment of the course candidature.

Scaling modifies the mean, the standard deviation and the maximum mark in each course. Adjustments are then made to the marks of individual students to produce scaled marks, which are the marks the students would have received if all courses had the same candidature. Although scaled marks are generally different from the raw marks from which they are derived, the ranking of students within a course is not changed.

Once the raw marks have been scaled, an aggregate is calculated for each UAI-eligible student. In most cases, the ranking or order of merit based on this aggregate is quite different from the order of merit using an aggregate based on the HSC marks that are reported to students.

Percentiles, which indicate the ranking of students with respect to other UAI-eligible students, are then determined on the basis of the aggregate of scaled marks.

The penultimate step is to determine what the percentiles would have been if all students in their Year 10 cohort completed Year 12 and were eligible for a UAI. The last step is to round these percentiles to the nearest 0.05. These are their UAIs.

Each UAI corresponds to a range of aggregates and the number of students with each UAI varies. Students who received a UAI of 100 in 2007, for example, had aggregates spread across the range 482.5 to 490.5.

The scaling process is carried out afresh each year. It does not assume that one course is intrinsically more difficult than another or that the quality of the course candidature is always the same. All students who complete at least one UAI course in a given year are included in the scaling process for that year. Students who are accumulating courses towards their HSC have their scaled marks calculated in the year the courses are completed. Marks are not re-scaled each year.

Further information about the UAI can be found in the Report of the Scaling of the 2007 NSW Higher School Certificate and You and Your UAI.

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Repeating courses

You are considered to be repeating an HSC course if you:
• repeat the same course or
• study a different course in the same subject area, apart from an Extension course.

Within a five-year period there are no restrictions on the number of times you can repeat a course. If you repeat a course only the marks for the latest satisfactory attempt will be available for inclusion in the calculation of your UAI.

Repeating the same course

Example: You studied Biology in 2007 and you decide to repeat Biology in 2008. Only your 2008 Biology marks will be available for inclusion in the calculation of your UAI in 2008 even if they are lower than your 2007 Biology marks.

Repeating a component of a subject that has an Extension course

Example: In 2007 you studied 2 unit Modern History and the History Extension course.
In 2008 you could repeat:
• just the 2 unit course
• just the Extension course or
• both the 2 unit and the Extension courses.

In the first case, you would keep your 2007 mark in the Extension course. Your 2 unit mark from 2007 would be replaced by the 2 unit mark achieved in 2008.

In the second case, you would keep your 2 unit mark. Your 2007 mark in the extension course would be replaced by your 2008 Extension mark.

In the third case both marks would be replaced.

Studying a different course in the same subject area

A different course in the same subject area is considered to be a repeat course and completely replaces the previous course in the calculation of the UAI. The repeat course may have a different unit value from the previous course.

For some subject areas the Board of Studies rules on repeating are complex. It is essential that you consult with your school to determine the impact of repeating a course or replacing one course with another.

Example: You study a beginners language course and the following year complete the continuers language course in the same language - the mark in the continuers language course replaces the mark in the beginners course.

If you enrol in a repeat course and subsequently withdraw, either officially by advising your principal or the Board of Studies, or unofficially by non-attendance at the appropriate examination, you will be considered as not having completed the course and it will be regarded as a non-satisfactory attempt. In this case, the marks from your previous satisfactory attempt in the course will be available for inclusion in the calculation of your UAI.

You can withdraw from a repeat course at any time up to and including the HSC examination paper, but you should notify your principal or the Board of Studies of your withdrawal.

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Limited UAI

Under certain circumstances you may be eligible for a Limited UAI.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Limited UAI based on your 2008 HSC studies you must meet all three of the following conditions:
• be at least 20 years of age on 1 March 2008
• be taking between five and nine units of UAI courses in 2008 that include at least two units of English.

You cannot accumulate a Limited UAI.

Calculation of a Limited UAI

The Limited UAI is calculated using scaled marks from UAI courses comprising:
• at least one unit of English and
• the best four other units of Category A courses.

If you are eligible for a Limited UAI you will be sent a separate advice by UAC at the same time as the HSC results and UAI Advice Notices are posted.

Some institutions use the Limited UAI in conjunction with other criteria for selection purposes - see below. For further information, read the institution entries.

Institutions that use the Limited UAI Australian Catholic University Australian Maritime College Australian National University Charles Sturt University La Trobe University Macquarie University Southern Cross University University of Canberra University of New England1 University of New South Wales2,3 University of Newcastle4 University of Technology, Sydney University of Sydney3 University of Sydney, Faculty of Health Sciences University of Western Sydney University of Wollongong 1 Limited UAI is not accepted for admission to 780000 Medicine. 2 Limited UAI is not accepted for admission to 428000 Medicine or 429025 Optometry/Science. 3 Limited UAI is used in conjunction with other criteria for selection purposes. The Limited UAI will not be the sole criterion used for selection; each application will be considered individually. 4 Limited UAI is not accepted for admission to 780000 Medicine or 480650 Law (Graduate Entry).

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Can you receive a UAI and a Limited UAI?

Yes. If you meet the criteria to receive a Limited UAI as outlined above, and also meet the criteria to receive a UAI, both will be calculated and sent to you.

Example: If a student aged over 20 years studied eight UAI units (including two units of English) in the 2007 HSC, he or she would have received a Limited UAI in 2007. If the same student decides to study two additional UAI units in the 2008 HSC, he or she would be eligible for a UAI in 2008.

Under some circumstances it is possible for a student to receive a UAI and Limited UAI in the same year.

Each institution decides whether to use the UAI or Limited UAI for selection purposes. Some will use the Limited UAI in conjunction with other criteria – read 'Institutions that use the Limited UAI' above.

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The ACT UAI

Information about the calculation of the ACT UAI is available from the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies. Call (02) 6205 7181.

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UAI cut-offs

The course descriptions in the course search list the UAI cut-offs from the Main Round in 2008. The UAI cut-offs for entry in 2009 will not be known until selection is actually made during the offer rounds.

Some applicants receive an offer to a course even though they have a UAI below the UAI published as the cut-off for the course. This does not mean that their UAI has changed or increased – their UAI stays the same.

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