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.