School support
Recommendation and Assessment Guide 2022
What is Early Offer
The Early Offer program enables Year 12 students to gain an early offer on the basis of their high school grades and school recommendation. Our aim is to match an individual student to a particular course based on their demonstrated level of academic achievement and their likelihood of success in their chosen discipline.
Guide Overview
We have created new recommendation Tiers based on predicted student ATARS to ensure you have a clear framework for recommending students from your school.
The predicted ATAR is to be a guide only and allows a way to objectively assess a student for entry into their chosen course. Ultimately the responsibility for recommending a student into the appropriate Southern Cross University course is with the person completing the recommendation in the portal. The shared goal is to set a student up for success in an Southern Cross University program.
The exception is students wanting to study Business in Hotel Management will be required to attend an interview prior to entry into the course (Diploma and Bachelor).
Link list
- Pathway Program
- Education
- Media and Creative Arts
- Law and Justice
- Digital Media and Information Technology
- Indigenous Knowledge
- Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- Nursing
- Health Sciences
- Marine and Environmental Science
- Engineering
- Business and Tourism
- How to use this guide
|
Early Offer Tier |
ATAR / Predicated ATAR Guide |
SCU Course |
|---|---|---|
|
Tier 1 |
100-80 |
Bachelor of Laws |
|
Bachelor of Psychological Science, Bachelor of Laws |
||
|
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws |
||
|
Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Business and Enterprise |
||
|
Bachelor of Midwifery |
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|
Tier 2 |
79-75, Diploma |
Bachelor of Speech Pathology |
|
Tier 3 |
74-70, Certificate IV |
Bachelor of Biomedical Science |
|
Bachelor of Information Technology |
||
|
Bachelor of Nursing |
||
|
Bachelor of Education |
||
|
Bachelor of Science |
||
|
Bachelor of Business Enterprise |
||
|
Bachelor of Psychological Science |
||
|
Bachelor of Exercise Science and Psychological Science |
||
|
Bachelor of Engineering Systems (Honours) |
||
|
Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology |
||
|
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy |
||
|
Bachelor of Business and Enterprise, Bachelor of Arts |
||
|
Tier 4 |
69-65, Certificate III |
Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science |
|
Bachelor of Clinical Sciences (Osteopathic Studies) |
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|
Bachelor of Health Science (Health and Lifestyle) |
||
|
Tier 5 |
64-60 |
Bachelor of Early Childhood Education |
|
Bachelor of Arts |
||
|
Bachelor of Digital Media |
||
|
Bachelor of Community Welfare |
||
|
Bachelor of Social Work |
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Bachelor of Art and Design |
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Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge |
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Bachelor of Legal and Justice Studies |
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Bachelor of Contemporary Music (also requires audition) |
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|
Tier 6 |
59-55 |
Associate Degree of Engineering |
|
Associate Degree of Creative Writing |
||
|
Associate Degree in Law (Paralegal Studies) |
||
|
Tier 7 |
54-45 |
Diploma of Civil Construction (Engineering and Management) |
|
Diploma of Regenerative Agriculture |
||
|
Diploma of Information Technology |
||
|
Diploma of Science |
||
|
Diploma of Health |
||
|
Diploma of Business |
||
|
Diploma of Arts & Social Sciences |
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|
Tier 8 |
Under 45 |
Preparing for Success |
|
Transition to Uni |
Pathway Program
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Preparing for Success Program |
This award-winning 12-week program will teach students how to manage their time, write essays, undertake research and apply mathematical concepts — providing them with the skills needed to succeed at university and the confidence to progress towards their chosen career. |
|
Transition to Uni |
This intensive 6-week course is designed to provide required skills, confidence and an entry pathway into a Southern Cross University degree. Students will develop academic literacies, numeracies and time management skills as well as scientific and quantitative concepts. |
Education and Teaching
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Education (Primary) Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood/Primary) Bachelor of Education (Primary/Secondary) Bachelor of Education (Secondary) Bachelor of Education (Technology Secondary) Bachelor of Early Childhood Education |
Our education degrees ensure a comprehensive foundation for our education students in relevant discipline areas like mathematics, English and science. Applicants for initial teaching courses must submit a 1,000-word personal statement outlining their non-academic capabilities. See education non-academic requirements for further information. These entry requirements will ensure that our courses produce teachers with high levels of academic capability, literacy and numeracy skills and the personal characteristics required by contemporary teachers. |
Media and Creative Arts
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Contemporary Music Bachelor of Art and Design Associate Degree of Creative Writing |
Students recommended for Contemporary Music and Art and Design will have successfully undertaken a related course as a Year 12 subject, such as Music or Visual Arts. Students wanting to study Contemporary Music will be required to attend a Music Audition/Interview. The Associate Degree of Creative Arts a two-year (full time or part time equivalent) course whichoffers a rich blend of study across fiction and non-fiction, experimental writing, journalism, life writing, poetry, writing for stage and screen, and writing for young adults. Graduates of this degree may choose to continue to study a further year and complete their Bachelor of Arts. |
Law and Justice
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Laws |
The Bachelor of Laws, with its associated double degrees, is the accredited degree for admission as a lawyer. SCU’s School of Law and Justice is distinctive for its commitment to social justice. To succeed in the Bachelor of Laws students need to have demonstrated strong academic performance with excellent skill in English. In addition, students wanting to undertake a double degree with Law should also demonstrate skills in their chosen subject area. |
|
Double degrees with Law
|
|
|
Associate Degree in Law (Paralegal Studies) Bachelor of Legal and Justice Studies |
The Associate Degree in Law (ParalegalStudies) and theBachelor of Legal and Justice Studies provide a vocational qualification suitable for employment in law related areas (such as policy development and compliance) and as a Paralegal. These degrees also provide a pathway into the Bachelor of Laws. Students who have achieved good results in HSIE, Social Sciences and/or English/English Communication subjects can be recommended for the Associate Degree in Law (Paralegal Studies) or the Bachelor of Legal and Justice Studies. |
Digital Media and Information Technology
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Information Technology Diploma of Information Technology |
Students need strong analytical skills. The Diploma of Information Technology is a one-year (full-time or part-time equivalent) pathway course that equips students with foundational knowledge and skills in Information Technology. Graduates of this course will receive up to one year of advanced standing into their linked bachelor's degree. The course is offered through SCU College, which provides students with a highly supported learning environment. |
|
Bachelor of Digital Media |
Students interested in Digital Media will be adept at storytelling across a range of mediums, from text to web and video. |
Indigenous Knowledge
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge |
Students interested in studying the Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge are advised to have above average results in the HSIE or Social Sciences subject areas. |
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
|
Course |
Assessment Guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Community Welfare Diploma of Arts and Social Sciences (Education) Diploma of Arts and Social Sciences (Arts) Diploma of Arts and Social Sciences (Digital Media) Diploma of Arts and Social Sciences (Social Science) |
Students interested in degrees in Arts, Writing, Community Welfare require sound academic achievement. |
|
The Diploma of Arts and Social Sciences is a one-year (full time or part time equivalent) pathway course that equips students with foundational knowledge and skills in the arts, social sciences, and education. The diploma offers Streams in discipline areas for students to choose from, such as: Media Studies; Cultural Studies; Communication Studies; Politics and Society; English and Writing; Social Welfare; History; and Education. |
|
Nursing
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Nursing |
While strong interpersonal skills are an asset in many healthcare fields, students interested in studying Nursing must have strong results in English, Maths and Science. SCU’s Nursing degree requires high levels of numeracy and literacy. SCU does not accept Certificate III in Aged Care as a basis for admission into the Bachelor of Nursing. |
Health Sciences
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Biomedical Science Bachelor of Clinical Sciences (Osteopathic Studies) Bachelor of Speech Pathology Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science Bachelor of Exercise Science and Psychological Science Bachelor of Psychological Science Bachelor of Occupational Therapy Bachelor of Health Science (Health and Lifestyle) Bachelor of Social Work Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology |
While strong interpersonal skills are an asset in many healthcare fields, students interested in studying Health Science strong results in English, Maths and Science are recommended to succeed at University. |
|
Diploma of Health (Biomedical Science) Diploma of Health (Naturopathic Studies) Diploma of Health (Nursing) Diploma of Health (Occupational Therapy) Diploma of Health (Osteopathic Studies) Diploma of Health (Psychological Science) Diploma of Health (Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology) Diploma of Health (Community Welfare) |
The Diploma of Health is a one-year (full time or part time equivalent) course that equips students with foundational knowledge and skills in areas including a range of allied health disciplines, exercise and sports science, psychology and biomedical science. Eligible graduates can cross-over into the Bachelor Degrees in Clinical Sciences (Osteopathic Studies), Psychological Science, Sport and Exercise Science and Occupational Therapy with credit. |
Marine and Environmental Science
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Science
|
Environmental Science degrees require students to have strong analytical skills and competency in maths and science subjects. The Bachelor of Science prepares students for employment or research careers that address challenges in maintaining sustainable use and restoration of natural resources. Specialisations allow students to focus on a particular area of interest in Environmental Science, Marine Science, Forest Science or Regenerative Agriculture. |
|
Diploma of Science (Earth and Environmental Systems) Diploma of Science (Forestry Systems) Diploma of Science (Marine Systems) |
The Diploma of Science is a one-year (full time or part time equivalent) course that will prepare students with a solid grounding in scientific knowledge and skills, enabling them to explore the many opportunities that science provides from mathematics and the natural environment. Eligible graduates can cross-over to Bachelor degrees in science, environmental science, marine science and management, forest science and management with credit. |
|
Diploma of Regenerative Agriculture |
The Diploma of Regenerative Agriculture is a one-year (full time or part-time equivalent) entry level course that provides students with the opportunity to prepare to study for a professional career pathway in regenerative agriculture. The course develops students' knowledge, skills, and capabilities for further agricultural studies while immersed within the relevant disciplinary contexts. The Diploma of Regenerative Agriculture provides a pathway for eligible graduates into the Bachelor of Science, Regenerative Agriculture specialisation. |
Engineering
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Engineering Systems (Honours) - Civil Engineering Bachelor of Engineering Systems (Honours) - Mechanical Engineering |
Engineering requires excellent maths skills. |
|
Diploma of Civil Construction (Engineering and Management) Associate Degree of Engineering |
The Diploma is designed for school leavers and focuses on developing technical and practical skills needed by industry. This course is a pathway to further study in civil engineering at a Bachelor or Associate Degree level. The Associate Degree of Engineering is designed to meet the requirements for accreditation at the level of Engineering Associate by Engineers Australia. The course is structured around 16 key competencies identified by Engineers Australia as being essential to the graduating engineer, which are broadly grouped into knowledge and skills, application, personal and professional skills. |
Business and Tourism
|
Course |
Assessment guidelines |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Business and Enterprise Bachelor of Business and Enterprise (Accounting) Bachelor of Business and Enterprise (Financial Services) |
Business students require strong analytical and mathematics skills and sound literacy. |
|
Bachelor of Business and Enterprise/Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Business and Enterprise (Financial Services), Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Business and Enterprise (Accounting), Bachelor of Arts |
Students can undertake a double degree with Arts. |
|
Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management |
Students with an interest in studying Tourism degrees require sound analytical skills and would ideally have succeeded in Business Studies or Tourism or Hospitality VET courses in Year 12. Strong interpersonal skills are highly valued in the Tourism industry. Students wanting to study Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management will be required to attend an interview prior to entry into the course. |
|
Diploma of Hotel Management |
The Diploma of Hotel Management is a one-year (full time or part time equivalent) course that covers theory and practices within the industry, finance, management and communication, as well as food, beverage and accommodation operations. |
|
Associate Degree of International Hotel and Tourism Management |
This course is a pathway to the Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management. Students wanting to study the Diploma will be required to attend an interview prior to entry into the course. This degree will provide core knowledge in hotel and resort management including specialist industry skills in service design and innovation, accommodation operations, food and beverage management, asset protection and security. Graduates are eligible for entry to the Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management with two-year’s credit. Students wanting to study Associate Degree will be required to attend an interview prior to entry into the course. |
|
Diploma of Business (Business and Enterprise) Diploma of Business (Tourism) |
The one-year (full time or part time equivalent) course gives students the opportunity to develop their academic and business skills in areas that could include business, finance, management, economics, marketing and tourism. Completion of the diploma will guarantee entry into, and credit towards a range of Associate and Bachelor degrees. |
How to use the Early Offer recommendation portal
Welcome to the Southern Cross University school's recommendation of portal for our early offer program this video aims to give you some step-by-step instructions to use the portal and some of you may be familiar with our old portal and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to understand the new steps to go through to make your students the best possible offer with our University as we can he would have received an email from us with a link to the new portal with your username and password details if you don't have these please go ahead and send us an email or give your future students officer a phone call we can make sure that they reach you as soon as possible to log into the new portal all you have to do is type your username and your password and login you can stay logged in and we have accessibility mode as well a feature of the new portal is that you can now reset your password should you need to right here through the Forgotten password link and if you want to have a look at our turns and conditions they're here as well.
Once you've logged on to your portal this is where you'll have specific information relating to you your students in the school for you the most important thing will be here in the early offer recommendation dashboard if you need help if you want to click through and watch this video or find some more information you have the link here if you need to download and read the recommendation guide or go through what some of the more detailed information is go ahead and click through here for now we'll go in here to the earlier for recommendations dashboard.
Now we're going to go through the process of making a recommendation for your student so we're going to click on here going to go to the fourth student down and have a look at this student who's applied to study a bachelor of Education with Southern Cross University.
So it will take you through here and you'll find a lot of useful information some general details about what our portal is what our early offer is the great thing about our early Alpha program at Southern Cross University is that every single student will be offered a place in one of our programs so if a student doesn't quite have the background or the marks needed to get directly into a degree program of their choice we have three pathway programs that may go straight into a diploma or associate degree which actually gives them direct credit and they won't lose any time in their degree at all and they'll go straight into their program of choice be that business engineering health we also have two free pathway programs for atar students we have the transition to UNI which is a free six-week course so that students can do this before the university semester starts or the session starts and they can then go straight into their degree of choice and be fully prepared for the degree they want to do and for students who need a little bit more support or non-atar students we have a 12-week free preparing for Success program that students can take face-to-face or online and research shows that students who've successfully gone through this program have fantastic results in University and I'm really successful in their programs.
As we go down we're going to have a look at the student that we've chosen who wants to study a bachelor of education so it gives us their name what they want to study we know their current grade 12 student because that's what makes them eligible for this early offer program and next we want to know if they're eight are eligible or not is the student studying in atar the student is going to study a NATO and if you get this message pop up these notifications it'll disappear after a few seconds or you can X out of it.
So if a student is studying an atar like this student what we're interested in is their predicted atar what do we think their atar is going to be there's a number of calculators that are available that you may choose to use sometimes students already know what their predicted atar is and in your conversations with them you may know this and basically we trust you to make the assessment on behalf of the student as the person who knows the student better than anybody and we go in here and we put the associated score for this student which will help us understand in an objective way if the student is prepared for the study that they've chosen.
So this particular student is predicted to have an atar of 80 which means they can go ahead and be recommended into the early offer program before their degree of choice which is The Bachelor of Education which means you'll see them here if you have a long list and there's something that's gone wrong you can always go back you can always remove the last student but if you've gone ahead and done all your recommendations you can then submit.
And that's how you complete your recommendations if you want to do them one by one like I did that's great or you could do 10 or 20 at a time and submit at the end you can choose how it works for you and when you have completed them in your version you'll see the completed recommendations in this table here and you'll see any other student outcomes here in this table as well so what happens if a student doesn't have an atar or they may not have the score that we're looking for or you may feel they're not quite ready to take their degree of choice so if we go back to our Bachelor of Education student, we can see all the details here there's no difference you click on make recommendation is the student data eligible and we say yes they are and the student isn't quite on track to get the score they need to get in and they're headed for a lower
a low rata and in this case this would get them direct entry into a diploma which will give them direct credit into the Bachelor of Education degree on completion if that's not quite the best option for the student we have a lot even lower atar what we have is the transition to UNI program the free six-week program online for students before the University Academic Year starts and that student will be offered a place in that program and guaranteed entry into their bachelor of choice what if the students not taking an atar at all so we've ended up back at this student winning a bachelor of Education we've gone back to the drop down to say that they are not atar eligible, but a lot of students may have completed a certificate or a diploma while they've been at school and if that's the case you can choose these as the qualification instead of the predicted atar and it will go ahead and correlate to the degree or the program that they can gain entry to here at Southern Cross certificates roof in this case would let the student into our diploma of arts and social sciences a direct pathway into their bachelor degree with guaranteed entry and with credit if they've done a certificate for
the student would get direct entry into the bachelor degree so you can see here we'd recommend the early offer for them go ahead and offer them a place in The Bachelor of education and if a student's done a diploma while they've been at school there will also be granted direct entry into the bachelor degree the student has no waiter doesn't necessarily mean they have a certificate or a diploma they may have no additional qualifications then we would go ahead and have a look at putting them in our preparing for Success program the free 12-week preparation program where on completion a student can get direct entry into any degree of their choice at Southern Cross University so you would complete the recommendation you would see them here and you would submit that recommendation just like we did previously with a student got direct entry into the bachelor's degree so that's how you go ahead and do your recommendations you can download different forms here to keep a record for yourself you can log into this portal anytime and of course you can always contact one of us here at Southern Cross University for further assistance and we were more than happily walk you through the process talk you through over the phone or just answer any general questions you may have about the programs about the process we are here to help you at any time.
Overview and key dates
The Early Offer program enables Year 12 students to gain an early offer on the basis of their school Principal's recommendation. Our aim is to match an individual student to a particular course based on their demonstrated level of academic achievement and their likelihood of success in their chosen discipline.
We have created three program levels, providing students with more degree options and to ensure you have a clear framework for recommending students from your school.
The Early Offer Assessment Guide should be used in conjunction with the following program entry requirements to guide your recommendations.
* Please note STAR Early Offer does not include the Bachelor of Midwifery.
| Recommendation | Entry Requirements |
|---|---|
| Platinum | For students who are achieving average grades of:
|
| Entry | For students who are passing all their subjects and/or for whom you believe have the potential for strong academic performance and are well suited academically for their chosen discipline. |
| Pathway | For students who have not reached a level of academic achievement required to enter directly into an undergraduate degree. |
Key dates for 2021
| State | Applications open | Applications close | Recommendations close | Students advised of outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 5 May | 30 September (extended) | 13 October (extended) | from 9 November |
| QLD | 5 May | 10 September (extended) | 13 October (extended) | from 9 November |
The information contained in this document is correct at time of publication and the University reserves the right to make alterations to any information without notice.