Selection & Admission Appeals

Before you apply for a course you should understand the minimum entry requirements. Minimum entry requirements for consideration for selection including the University’s English language requirements are published in the Handbook.

It's important to understand that even if you meet the minimum entry requirements this does not automatically guarantee you will be offered a place in the course. Selection is a competitive process!

For example, if there are 50 places available for a course, and 150 prospective students who have applied for the course, then those 150 prospective students will be ranked according to their WAM and any other selection criteria, with the first 50 applicants being given an offer.

The University has published Resolutions on Selection guidelines on their website. This can help to inform you of the standards the selection committee considers for your particular degree.

Yes, if you are applying for an undergraduate course you can apply through Access Melbourne, where a range of circumstances are taken into consideration as part of the selection process. Eligibility requirements apply.

If you are applying for a graduate degree you can apply through Graduate Access Melbourne. Only some courses allow for graduate access applications.

There may be alternative study pathways available to get into the course you want. The best thing to do is get course advice to understand what options may be available, and what is needed to gain entry in future. You can speak to an advisor at Stop 1.

Please be aware that the Advocacy Service cannot provide course advice.

The University's Selection and Admission Policy provides a framework to ensure the integrity of selection and admission decisions, outlines the responsibilities of decision makers and promotes transparency, consistency, and fairness throughout the process.

The very first step is to find out the reasons for the decision. In order to do this, an applicant should contact the relevant selection staff to understand the selection process, and how their application was determined.

In order to streamline this process, the University has developed an online form that allows you to request feedback on your application. You can access the form here.

Once you have received feedback about your application, and why it was not successful, contact us for advice on whether there is basis to dispute the decision. Where there is a basis to pursue the dispute, the next step is to request a formal review of the decision. You can use the same form as above to do request a review.

Your request for a review is sent to the Academic Registrar via the online form, however in most cases a response is delegated to the Associate Director of Admissions, so it is likely you’ll receive a reply from them.

To request a formal review, you will need to set out the basis of your concerns. You should expect a formal response in a reasonable time, allowing for the conduct of a formal investigation. The response to this review should clearly set out the decision and its basis.

Yes, you need to complete the same online form to request a review of the decision. However, before you do this you need to check the University’s postgraduate study eligibility calculator and use this as a guide. You will need to include a screenshot of the calculator response as part of your review request.

If you remain unhappy with the outcome of the review, please contact us, and include all copies of this previous correspondence, so we can advise on the prospects of progressing the matter to an Academic Board Appeal.

The Academic Board can only consider an appeal if it directly addresses the grounds available under s 4.4 of the Student Appeals Policy, which for Selection Appeals is limited to:

4.4. An appeal made under 4.2(h) can only be made on the grounds that a procedural irregularity has occurred in the selection process.

This differs from other appeals where the full range of grounds are available.

For this reason Selection Appeals can be difficult to pursue, so if you remain dissatisfied with a decision following a review, it is best to contact us for advice.

When contacting us ensure you include all copies of the previous correspondence you have had about this decision, so we can advise on the prospects of progressing the matter to an Academic Board Appeal.