Australian university doors are wide open for IB students

For more than 50 years, students in Australia and around the world have benefited from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and its superior preparation for university study. Through the DP’s rigorous structure, students aged 16-19 get a taster of university life – they work independently, they juggle multiple deadlines and subjects and they work on long-term independent projects. As such, when DP students arrive at university they are ready to hit the ground running – so much so that research demonstrates that IB students are more likely to complete their studies than students coming from other curriculum frameworks, because they are already well adjusted to the challenges and demands of university life.??

But, despite DP students being so well equipped for university life, the university application process in Australia can sometimes be less than straight forward for DP students due to the national conversion process for a notional ATAR value.?This is now changing. Recognising the range of capabilities that the IB fosters in young people, universities across Australia are updating their admissions policies to not just make it easier, but often to favour DP students.

At Griffith University in South East Queensland, for example, a new admissions policy has been introduced that provides a range of incentives for IB students to apply to its university. Firstly, students who have an IB score of 28 points or above are able to gain guaranteed admission to many of the university’s courses, alleviating some of the stress of applying to university and giving students more certainty about their future. In addition, the policy recognises that some IB students may experience circumstances that prevent them from being awarded the full IB Diploma. If this is the case, the university allows students to apply for a place based on the studies that they have completed. ?

For Griffith University, the change in admissions policy came about in 2021 when the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) became the admissions criteria for Queensland universities. Unfortunately, only students who have successfully attained the IB Diploma are eligible for the notional ATAR. Students who have been awarded the DP Course Result may receive admissions depending on the university’s admissions policy.?

Professor Liz Burd, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education), Griffith University, explains: “Our new admissions policy is really important for recognising the strengths of IB students, even if they have unfortunately not been able to get their full Diploma. IB students study a whole range of skills-based programmes and have a very in-depth view of many disciplines - very like in university study, in fact. So, it actually prepares students really well and we often find that IB students, when they do come, perform better than the other students who have similar or equivalent ATARs. ?

“Our university’s values are about encouraging participation and recognising skills, while understanding that sometimes things don't go well in your last year of study at school. Through our policy, students are given a second chance and it ensures that those who have performed well can still come to Griffith University.”?

Many universities, including Griffith University, are also introducing schemes which recognise equivalency between DP courses and first year university courses. Through a new scheme introduced in 2021, the University of Adelaide, for example, recognises equivalence between many IB courses and its first year courses and now enables IB students to apply for credit or exemption from those courses based on their academic achievement. This gives students more time to focus on their other subjects or commitments, or they could opt to study a wider range of topics by replacing exempted courses in their schedule with others that appeal to them.?

The scheme at University of Adelaide acknowledges IB students’ “unique international perspective, academic preparedness, critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills” and that “the academic rigour, teaching format and extended learning opportunities available as part of the IB are similar to those in the tertiary sector”. ?

Speaking about the University’s robust approach to developing the new policy, Luke Thomson, Principal of Pembroke School, a school which worked with the University of Adelaide to support the development of its equivalency policy, says: “What was really encouraging about our engagement with the University of Adelaide is that they actually audited the DP course. They audited the syllabuses, they checked how it is that the course is put together, its holistic nature, and they were able to convince themselves fairly quickly that this was a course that developed students who have a great sense of academic depth and breadth, and who have all been engaged in service and creative activities.” ?

So, with more and more universities introducing new pathways for DP students, what does the future look like for IB schools supporting their students with university applications? Firstly, it’s clear that schools will be able to better support their students in the university application process, giving them more confidence in their applications to Australian universities. Secondly, schools now have another lever for promoting the benefits of the DP to prospective families – recognition is key, and if top universities appreciate the value of the IB, so will students and parents. ?

For IB students, the opportunities are endless. While there has been so much uncertainty over the past couple of years with the changes to the notional ATAR value and with exam cancellations due to COVID-19, the new policies mean IB students can feel fully-confident in their applications and fully-recognised for their capabilities.?

Learn more about the DP here: https://ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/