The University of Wollongong has defended its early entry program, after admissions schemes which hand out offers before Higher School Certificate exams were labelled "an appalling practice" by high school principals.
At the weekend, Secondary Principals Council acting president Craig Petersen told the Sydney Morning Herald pre-exam offers caused students to lose focus and slacken off during exams.
"If some students pull up stumps in term three because they have their uni place, the pool of marks is affected," he said.
"We need all students in every class to do as well as we can to maximise their outcomes."
He said early offers should be limited to after exams, to prevent students from taking the HSC less seriously.
I think it helps HSC students to kind of forget about all the future pressures - like university and the ATAR - and just focus on getting through the next few weeks.
- Anna Tomlin
But a UOW spokesperson said the institution "considers it beneficial for the welfare of HSC students to be able to offer the security of a place in university as they enter their final exams".
The university has run an early admission scheme for close to 20 years, and says it has "continued to achieve sector-leading graduate outcomes, particularly in graduate employability and student satisfaction measures".
The early offers are conditional on students completing their HSC and gaining an ATAR, and students must also attain minimum standards in certain subjects.
Commerce and Law student Anna Tomlin got early entry into her UOW course five years ago, receiving news that she had been accepted into the degree just before her HSC exams.
Instead of "pulling up stumps", as has been suggested, the high achiever said she thinks the early offer may have helped to do better in her exams.
"I think it actually made me try a little bit harder, because it was recognition that I had already done well and it pushed me to keep going at a very stressful time," she said.
"Just knowing that you have an offer there for you - if that's what you want to do - definitely has a role in making you actually be able to focus on your exams.
"I think it helps HSC students to kind of forget about all the future pressures - like university and the ATAR - and just focus on getting through the next few weeks."
Ms Tomlin also said students still needed to work hard in exams in case they changed their mind about which degree they would study.
"You don't want to close off your options, and I don't think the people receiving early entry, who have a consistent record of working hard anyway, are going to stop that just before exams," she said.
UOW, which is one of several universities to offer early admissions before exams, said it had seen a 12.5% increase in applications for early entry schemes this year.