Prerequisites are tricky things…

On the one hand, it’s obviously great to impose higher standards for certain professions to ensure we’re getting the best of the best in terms of applicants. But on the other hand, a black and white view of ‘passing’ and ‘failing’ doesn’t always tell the whole story, and the thought of strict prerequisites preventing (or at the very least delaying) people from following their ambitions isn’t very appealing. In the midst of the current higher education debates and proposed university reform, there are a few things that most sides can agree on, like the fact that university being accessible to more people is a good thing for society as a whole.

Currently, most courses across Victoria require a pass in English (which is usually considered a Study Score of 25 or 30 depending on the institution, though this is sometimes upped to a 35 for EAL pupils) with a few select courses stipulating passing grades in certain Maths or Science subjects. In New South Wales, things work a little bit differently with some courses having ‘recommended’ HSC subjects for background knowledge (like an Engineering course reasonable expecting that the students have done Physics, for instance,) but very few having any formal prerequisites.

And apparently only 14% of tertiary science courses have Maths or Science prerequisites, giving rise to the fear that students are entering university ill-prepared for the challenges they face.

For the most part, universities are smart in the way they cater to these students. So called ‘bridging units’ that are offered to those who haven’t, for whatever reason, fulfilled the prerequisites provide a pretty decent fall-back option. Let’s assume you wanted to study Commerce at the University of Melbourne, for instance. That’s a course that requires a 25 Study Score in English (or 30 in EAL) as well as a 25 in Maths Methods. Now let’s say you make the English cut-off, but not the Methods one – maybe you were a few marks off that crucial pass, or maybe you never even considered Methods until you realised (too late) that it was a prerequisite for your desired course. The simplest way around this would be to enrol in another degree at that institution (say, a Bachelor of Arts which has an English prerequisite, but no Maths one, and would let you take Economics subjects anyway) for a semester, complete the university equivalent of Methods as a bridging unit, and then transfer into Commerce.

But not all pathways are so flexible. In the year below me at school, there was a girl who was one of the most incredible artists I’d ever seen. She had drawing skills that were so far beyond the rest of the Art and Visual Design kids to the point where we were embarrassed to hang our work up next to hers. It was assumed that she’d pursue this at a tertiary level since there was no way she could let those skills go to waste. She had her heart set on a Graphic Design course that would’ve opened up so many industry opportunities for her. All she had to do was compile a ‘selection kit’ or sample folio of her work to show them, which took her all of twenty minutes. Oh yeah, and she had to get a 30 Study Score for English.

businessman

But essay writing didn’t come very naturally to her. She was so right-brain oriented that any kind of analysis or fact-driven tasks were just frustratingly difficult, and the fact that she had an awful teacher and some pretty dodgy, uninteresting texts to write about meant that English was a real struggle.

She got a Study Score of 28.

What’s worse: when she spoke to her Design teacher and some of the people at the university, they complimented her talents and said she was one of the strongest, most impressive applicants they’d seen. But she was denied a place because she hadn’t made that cut-off.

Hearing a story like that, it’s hard to argue that prerequisites do much good. After all, if people can’t handle the demands of a course, they’ll just drop out or transfer on their own, right?

Perhaps the obstinacy of these prerequisites are the real problem, though. Technically speaking, there’s very little difference between someone who scored a 30 and a 28 in English, and such a disparity is so unlikely to impact job performance that it barely seems important at all. But there is a significant difference between a score of 30 and a score of 12. Or, for Maths and Science prerequisites, between a 30 and someone who hasn’t even done the subject. So it’s clear that some system needs to be in place to ensure that the people applying to certain courses have covered the necessary background information before they commence at a tertiary level. And it’s logical to have backup options for those who haven’t fulfilled those prerequisites to be able to eventually pursue their ambitions.

So perhaps these prerequisites could be treated as a more flexible entry scheme, much like how universities will specify a ‘clearly-in’ ATAR but will also allow for students below that cut-off point to be granted a place as part of second and third round offers. This might aid those who’ve missed the prerequisite by a few marks, whilst still ensuring that there’s some kind of hurdle to prevent courses from ending up with cohorts of vastly different skill levels.

If you have any questions about how prerequisites work or how you might be affected, feel free to comment below, or check out our Technical Score Discussion boards for all your study score related questions.