Pathway to Australian study

Pathway to Australian study

Outstanding pedigrees back Uniprep's core services of preparing local high school graduates to enter Australian universities.

Run by the private university UniSadhuGuna in Jakarta, it is a partnership with Monash University, Victoria, and The University of New South Wales (UNSW), two of Australia's most distinguished higher education institutions.

During a tour of its facilities located in Kuningan, South Jakarta, Uniprep's Director Mark Taylor said, "We're giving Indonesian and international students here the equivalent of the preparation they would obtain in Australia for entering university."

On site are a library, including audiovisual facilities, a staffed computer center, a student lounge and career counseling to steer students in the right direction for their future.

Students are allocated to one of the streams of study -- Business/Humanities, Science/Engineering/Computing and Design -- according to their study interest.

All students take Academic English, which provides them with an understanding of and proficiency in academic English to cope successfully with the demands of studying at an Australian university.

It covers oral presentations, tutorial discussions, note- taking in lectures, critical analysis and summarization of academic texts and writing academic essays.

Students are assessed throughout their courses, with an exam at the end of the first semester and a final examination. A letter grade or associated grade point is awarded.

All lecturers are expatriates, with several Indonesian tutors.

The quality of the education offered is verified by the two Australian universities by sending their staff to Jakarta twice a year for quality assurance. Students' grades are also determined by UNSW.

Statistics show the success of the program in preparing students for study in Australia -- since the program began in August 1994, 84 percent of Uniprep students have met Australian university entry requirements. Of this number, 84 percent were offered places at either Monash or UNSW.

Uniprep graduates also have gone on to study at The Australian National University, Curtin University, Deakin University, James Cook University, La Trobe, The Queensland University of Technology, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and The University of Melbourne.

In June, Uniprep will add a Design stream for students planning tertiary studies in Design or Architecture, for example.

While some people may say Uniprep is crazy to be starting up a new course at this time, Taylor believes Uniprep can better meet students' needs with such specialized courses.

With many parents and students concerned by the possibility of unrest in Indonesia, Uniprep is able to assure all its students they will be able to transfer to the equivalent program in Sydney, if necessary.

The Jakarta program also offers an important scheduling advantage over its Australian counterparts.

"We can offer the program to students as soon as they finish school in June and they are ready to start university in Australia in January. If they went to Sydney or Melbourne for the Foundation Studies they would start university one semester later," Taylor said.

Assistant Director of Studies John Olney added that Jakarta Uniprep students benefited from smaller class sizes.

"The programs are the same as those in Australia, but there is more personalized attention here," Olney said. "We encourage students to use critical thinking skills and to approach staff if they have questions, which may not be usual in the Indonesian education system."

Uniprep alumni praise the program for preparing them for the rigors of Australian academic life.

"Uniprep was a big help," said one graduate now studying Social Science and Policy at UNSW. "While all students feel confused about uni life, Uniprep had already told us what to do, such as how to listen to lectures, what to do in tutorials and how to communicate with lecturers and tutors."

For further information about Uniprep, please contact Ms. Surya at telephone: 5220533, fax: 5201431, e-mail: uniprep@unisad.co.id, or website: www.unisadhuquna.co.id.