Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Science and Innovation Review of the Department of Education, Science and Training’s Annual Report 2002-2003 - Encouraging Student Participation in the Enabling Sciences

Sep 21, 2026

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Submission addresses the University of Melbourne Faculty of Science engagement in encouraging student participation in science, focusing on enabling sciences (physics, chemistry, mathematics). It summarizes analyses, recruitment-related actions, and recommendations from the Faculty’s Science Communication and Marketing unit and also reports joint programs and insights with the University’s Careers and Employment unit. The text examines factors affecting applicant quality and quantity for entry to the Bachelor of Science, including declining numbers of suitably prepared Year 12 students, changing prerequisite uptake, and visibility of science career pathways.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Factors affecting the quality and quantity of applicants for entry to University of Melbourne Bachelor of Science

Declining numbers of suitably prepared Year 12 students

Poor visibility of career pathways in science

Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Science and Innovation Review of the Department of Education, Science and Training’s Annual Report 2002-2003: Encouraging Student Participation in the Enabling Sciences The University of Melbourne Faculty of Science and Careers and Employment The Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne continues to commit significant resources to the encouragement of student participation in the sciences at university, in particular in the enabling sciences of physics, chemistry and mathematics. This submission summarises some of the analyses, actions and recommendations of the Faculty arising from its recruitment activities through the Faculty’s Science Communication and Marketing unit. The Faculty has an ongoing partnership with the Careers and Employment unit of the University of Melbourne, and this submission also summarises joint programs and insights from the unit. 1 Factors affecting the quality and quantity of applicants for entry to University of Melbourne Bachelor of Science 1.1 Declining Numbers of Suitably Prepared Year 12 Students The Bachelor of Science at Melbourne is now virtually unique in Australia in being a broadly based science degree which requires a strong school background in science by maintaining pre-requisite subjects for admission. In contrast, other institutions have reduced their requirements to “assumed knowledge”(eg UNSW and the University of Sydney) or removed many science prerequisites (eg Monash University requires only English) . All tertiary educators would prefer to ensure that first year students have an appropriately broad background in laboratory sciences and mathematics, but the dilution of the requirements has resulted from necessity – a reduction in the number of students undertaking the range of sciences and mathematics at secondary level as shown through the analysis of Victorian enrolments against the requirements of the University of Melbourne. The Bachelor of Science course at Melbourne requires1 applicants to have undertaken a combination of subjects at Year 12 Unit 3 and 4 level of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) -Mathematical Methods plus two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Specialist Maths.2 Data obtained from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority have allowed the trends in numbers of students undertaking combinations of subjects to be analysed, and in particular, the overall pool of students with a strong background in mathematics and sciences. The number of VCE students undertaking the prerequisites for the Bachelor of Science dropped from 11,528 in 1994 to 9,054 in 2003 (Table 1), representing a decrease of 21.5% in the pool of eligible students. However, over this period, enrolments peaked at 11,927 in 1997, representing a decrease of 24.1% from 1997-2003. Table 1 also shows the trend of entry level (Clearly-In-Rank ENTER) over the same time period. Table 2 takes the same cohort and shows trends of students taking particular subjects within the overall cohort defined in Table 1. Within this cohort of students, the trends for subsets undertaking particular subjects for the period 1994- 2003 are as follows: Chemistry Physics 26.8% decrease 17.5% decrease 1 Since 2003, the University has allowed students with a high ENTER to be eligible with Mathematical Methods and one laboratory science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) . This ENTER level was set at 96.00 in 2002, and reduced to 92.00 in 2004. 2 Further Mathematics is also allowed, however, numbers of students studying the combinations are low and unnecessarily complicate this analysis. Biology Specialist Maths 37.3% decrease 1.3% decrease Original data and graphs are given in Appendix 1. Table 1: Number of students undertaking specific subjects within the group of students undertaking a combination of Methods plus two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Specialist Maths | | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997

FAQs

What is the document’s main purpose regarding student participation in science?

It presents the University of Melbourne Faculty of Science submission summarizing analyses, actions, and recommendations aimed at encouraging student participation in the sciences, especially enabling sciences.

How does the document describe changes in Year 12 student preparation for BSc prerequisites?

It explains that the pool of eligible students declined between 1994 and 2003, with numbers of students undertaking required subject combinations dropping overall.

What eligibility subject combination does the Bachelor of Science require at Year 12?

It requires Mathematical Methods plus two of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Specialist Maths at VCE Unit 3 and 4 level.

Why does the document say the causes of entry-level decline are difficult to isolate?

Because the student cohort differs each year, it notes it is impossible to directly identify which students would have chosen the Bachelor of Science under prior-year conditions.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Đào