University applicant numbers are down 6 per cent across the board in Western Australia so far this year, but the figures have not stopped some of the state’s major universities from increasing their first-round undergraduate degree offers.
University of Western Australia recorded a 6.5 per cent rise in the number of undergraduate offers, up from 4,599 in 2011 to 4,896. Curtin will make more than 5,200 first-round offers, slightly up on the 5,100 offers it issued last year.
Curtin received its highest number of first-preference applications, topping the WA universities, with more than 7,100 while UWA said this year broke the records for its undergraduate offers.
Edith Cowan University made a total of 7437 offers, including offers to alternative pathway and conventional students entering tertiary education through high school, compared with 6733 in 2011.
Murdoch University issued 2672 offers, down 2 per cent on last year’s 2734.
Murdoch’s director of domestic recruitment and liaison, Tim Martin, said the slight fall in first-round offers was consistent with the decrease in applications to all WA universities.
Universities may have opted for a higher number of offers because of the relaxation of federal government funding and caps on placements.
Universities had been funded by a system that caps the number of publicly funded places but the model was changed in response to the Bradley review into the higher education system.
Caps were removed to encourage growth in universities in response to student demand.
UWA acting vice-chancellor professor Bill Louden said the overall number of offers represented a resounding endorsement of the new direction the university was taking with its course structure, which offered five undergraduate degrees followed by professional and other postgraduate opportunities.
“Universities are increasingly operating in a global environment where they must compete for the best students and offer the highest-standard degrees to attract students,” Professor Louden said.
Murdoch noted its courses across the schools of education and biological sciences had increased generally, both in preferences and offers this year. The school of biological sciences was up, while commerce, criminology and environmental science all increased.
Curtin said courses in engineering, applied geology, health, safety and environment, mining engineering and social work had all experienced increased interest in 2012, with the university making additional offers to meet increased demand.
