Year 12 students will have the chance to sample university study early and be guaranteed entry into some of QUT's most popular courses, thanks to a new program starting in February.
Start QUT will give capable students who have been nominated by their school a scholarship to study two subjects at QUT during the 2002 school year.
The program allows students to choose from a range of subjects offered by each of the university's eight faculties, and will operate on all three campuses.
QUT director of student administration Ray Morley said students who successfully completed the subjects would be guaranteed entry into more than 15 courses in 2003, including popular offerings like engineering, education, psychology and business.
"The real advantage of this program is it allows students to get a feel for university study and see if they can identify the type of course they want to do," Mr Morley said.
"A lot of students enter the university system without a lot of knowledge of what's involved, and many end up changing courses.
"This program will give bright, capable students the chance to sample university study in real classes before making their decision."
Start QUT's introduction follows the success of a similar pilot program which was trialled at QUT's Carseldine campus last year, Mr Morley said.
He said a number of students who successfully completed that program had taken advantage of the guaranteed entry into courses at QUT Carseldine.
"For some students, an OP may not be a true indicator of their academic potential at university, so it really gives those students another way to prove themselves," he said.
"If they are hard-working, bright and can apply themselves to pass the two subjects in this program, we will guarantee them a university place and give them academic credit in many cases."
Year 12 students can apply for Start QUT from tomorrow (Thursday, January 31) by getting endorsement and assistance from their guidance counsellors.
For further information:
Ray Morley 07 3864 5598
