Massive HSC change coming for early offers as up to half of students get uni places

Up to half of HSC students at some schools have received early uni offers, but strict new rules will soon govern how universities approach teenagers amid fears pupils are ‘slacking off’.

New rules will be introduced for every single university in the state to govern how early entry offers to Year 12 students are made because the practice poses a threat to the importance to the Higher School Certificate qualification.

It comes after tens of thousands of offers were made this year to the 67,327 students set to start their exams on Wednesday, angering school principals who said it meant students slacken off and stop studying.

NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) chair Prof Peter Shergold said he was working with university bosses to set the new rules which will be introduced to govern how early offers are made.

“Early offers from universities can play a valuable role in reducing stress on students,” he said.

“The danger is if they start to undermine the importance of the HSC. NESA is working closely with NSW Vice-Chancellors on a set of principles to guide the use of such offers.”

Sarah Mitchell said she wants to make sure early offers are reflective of a student's aptitude. NSW Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell on Monday signalled even further policy changes stipulating how early offers were made because she wanted to make sure they were “legitimate and are reflective of students’ aptitude and achievement”.

“For many students, particularly those who experienced lockdowns during their HSC years, early offers provide peace of mind and ease anxiety,” she said.

17-year-olds Gabriella El-Azzi and Charlotte Milbourn received early offers to university but Erik Patterson. Gabriella says her early placement “provides a bit of relief” heading into the HSC exam period.

“However, it is clear that university entry pathways have changed significantly in recent years.

“How early offers interact with the HSC will be something that we will consider further.”

The move comes after a Daily Telegraph audit of early offers made to the state’s universities revealed at least 39,001 early offers for study in 2023 were made this year to the 67,327 students on track to finish school. Some students have received more than one offer.

Mackellar Girls principal Christine Del Gallo estimated half of all students received early offers.

Mackellar Girls principal Christine Del Gallo. Picture: Elwenor Tedenborg

“I believe it has a really negative impact on the students’ performance, because once they have early entry, they don’t have any pressure or need to perform to their best or to continue working,” she said.

“Because by slacken off once they get the early entry, then they don’t perform well enough to get into a course that they really would prefer to do and is more suited to their interest and ability.

“Some of the students who were getting early offers will be their students whose ATAR will be really low. So there are some students who are relatively poor quality who are getting entry to university courses.”

Under the NSW University Admissions Centre’s school recommendation scheme, 24,417 students have applied for early offers.

Western Sydney University has made 11,270 offers to students, Charles Sturt has given out 5,313 while Australian National University has given out 5,041.

Australian National University vice-chancellor Prof Brian Schmidt said the early offers gave students certainty.

A Western Sydney University spokeswoman said offers were made on the condition that students successfully complete their HSC exams and they were monitoring how they performed throughout their studies.

Principal of the high performing non-selective girls school SCEGGS Darlinghurst Dr Jenny Allum also decried the early offer scheme. She estimated three quarters of students at her school had early offers.

“I think it makes them more likely not to try as hard as they can in exams,” she said.

“Universities claim that they’re trying to stop stress on kids, I think that’s ridiculous. It’s a marketing tool. It is a competitive market and they’re trying to lock in students.”