The School Recommendation Program has returned for 2021 which provides an alternative pathway to get more students into tertiary education.
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The University of Tasmania program, students in year 12 can apply for university courses early and receive an offer in July based off their year 11 results and teacher's recommendation.
UTAS student Lauren Spencer gained admission to a Bachelor of Education (Primary) when she used the program last year as a year 12 student at Newstead college.
"[COVID] definitely made things a lot more stressful, completing courses that you weren't really sure of ... particularly with exams at the end of the year, you were a bit uncertain about how you were going to go," she said.
"The Schools Recommendation Program definitely relieved the stress from that and made it easier to complete the exams.
"Even though they were still stressful, you had that reassurance at the back of your mind that you had secured that place at university."
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University of Tasmania Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Geraghty said the program had given more students the confidence they could attend university.
"The school recommendation program really did attract students from schools that would have otherwise would not have applied, we've had students from extension schools, students from regional areas applying for positions," he said.
"I think it will be staying around for the foreseeable future, these schemes are being used around the country and it just goes to show the teacher knows the student best."
The program was instituted last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic to ensure students looking to enter university were not adversely affected by the disrupted learning.
In the inaugural year, 2300 students accepted offers through the program, which included 700 from the mainland.
Education Minister Sarah Courtney said the program, run in partnership with the state government, had produced positive results.
"Importantly this means that those students who do want to go to university and are somewhat worried on stressed by the impacts of COVID on their study still have a pathway," she said.
Year 12 students can apply via the program from May 31 onwards.
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