Admission Policy

ADMISSION PRINCIPLES

1. Candidates for the award of an NTI degree must be admitted to NTI before commencing study for that degree.
2. NTI admits applicants based on merit and makes offers of a place to applicants assessed as having a reasonable prospect of succeeding in their chosen course.
3. NTI admission criteria are determined by the NTI’s Academic Board and require applicants to achieve the specified minimum academic and English proficiency levels.
4. NTI admission processes and admission requirements are transparent, applied fairly and consistently and are clearly communicated to prospective applicants.
5. Course admission requirements for international students will be equivalent to the minimum requirements for domestic students.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

6. To be eligible for admission, an applicant must satisfy:
    a) the minimum academic requirements for the selected course, including any course prerequisites;
    b) the minimum English language proficiency requirements for the selected course.
7. To be admitted to a course, an applicant must lodge an application for admission by the specified closing date, with specified supporting documentation.
8. Eligibility for admission, or submission of an application for admission, does not guarantee selection into a course.
9. NTI reserves the right to vary the arrangements for any course or subject for reasons including, but not limited to:
    a) legislative or regulatory requirements;
    b) commitment to ensure courses can be completed within a reasonable timeframe;
    c) natural disaster or pandemic.
10. With reasonable notice, changes or variations to arrangements for courses and subjects may include:
    a) imposing limitations on admission to any course and on enrolments in any subject;
    b) changing the content, assessment and method of delivery of any course or subject;
    c) varying tuition fees for any course or subject, or
    d) withdrawing a course or subject or changing its availability

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

11. Following the Education Committees endorsement, the Academic Board approves course admission requirements for a maximum period of five (5) years. Course admission requirements include minimum academic requirements and minimum English language requirements.
12. Some courses may have additional admission requirements, including but not limited to, prerequisite study or assessment of suitability via portfolio or interview.
13. Admission requirements for each course are published on NTI’s website and in the NTI Student Handbook.
14. Admission requirements for each course are reviewed at least every five (5) years. Any variations to admission standards must be endorsed by the Education Committee and approved by the Academic Board.

GENERAL ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS (POSTGRADUATE COURSES)

15. Applicants for admission will generally be required to have completed a Bachelor degree (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 7), a higher level qualification, or an equivalent overseas tertiary qualifications. Variations to this requirement are at the discretion of NTI’s Dean of Studies.
16. NTI has absolute discretion to determine whether an overseas qualification submitted for admission is equivalent to the required admission standard.
17. Applicants who have completed a lower level qualification and substantial relevant professional experience, or a combination of formal and informal learning including substantial relevant professional experience, as specified for the course, may be considered for admission by the Head of Program on a case-by-case basis.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

18. All subjects and courses at NTI are offered in English and NTI’s standard English language proficiency requirement is set at an IELTS overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0 (or equivalent).
19. All applicants for admission to an NTI award course, whether domestic or international, must provide evidence that their English language ability meets the minimum requirement for admission.
20. Domestic students whose qualifications presented as the basis for admission were not studied in English will be asked to provide evidence of English language proficiency with their application form.
21. English language requirements for each course are recommended by the Education Committee and approved by the Academic Board. They are formally reviewed every five (5) years and any variations outside the five-year review cycle must be endorsed by the Education Committee and approved by the Academic Board. Further information about the English language requirements for admission is provided in the Admission Procedures.

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

22. All applications for admission into a course or a subject at NTI must be lodged directly to NTI using NTI’s online application system. NTI will not accept or assess applications for admission received in any other way. Further details about lodging applications for admission are outlined in the Admission Procedures.
23. Where false documentation is identified on the application, the applicant will not be admitted. Where a student is found to have been admitted on the basis of false documentation, the student will be immediately suspended from NTI. The student may appeal the facts of the matter under the provisions of NTI’s Student Grievance Policy.

ADMISSION

24. As specified in NTI’s Delegations Policy, only Heads of Program and the Dean of Studies (in the relevant Head of Program’s absence) may make offer of admission into NTI courses.
25. All applicants will receive a formal notification of the outcome of their application for admission in the form of:
    a) an unconditional offer (Letter of Offer); or
    b) a conditional offer (Letter of Offer); or
    c) a packaged offer (Letter of Offer); or
    d) no offer (Application Outcome Letter).
26. Where NTI attaches conditions to an offer of admission, the conditions will be clearly identified in the Letter of Offer

27. NTI may make a packaged offer to an applicant, which is an offer of admission to two (2) or more courses.
28. If an applicant wishes to accept an offer of admission, they will do so in accordance with the process specified in the Letter of Offer.
29. NTI reserves the right to set expiry dates on offers.

DEFERMENT

30. An applicant, who has received a Letter of Offer, may request to defer the commencement of their studies for up to twelve (12) months.
31. Deferred entry is not transferable from one course to another, and applicants who do not take up the deferred offer within twelve (12) months will be required to submit a new application for admission.
32. An applicant taking up their deferred offer will be admitted to the current curriculum of their course, provided that the course has not been discontinued, in which case the applicant will be offered admission to a comparable course, where available. Students on international student visa can only defer their studies because of compassionate or compelling circumstances. Circumstances considered to be compassionate or compelling are detailed in the Admission Procedures.
33. Students on international student visa must state the reason and provide supporting documentation for deferring their studies, as NTI is obliged to report this information to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

RE-ADMISSION

34. If a student withdraws from a course or fails to enrol or re-enrol in subjects in the specified enrolment period, an application to resume their studies in the course will be treated as a new application for admission.

WITHDRAWAL OF OFFER

35. NTI may withdraw an offer of admission where the offer is made on the basis of incomplete, inaccurate, fraudulent or misleading information provided by the applicant.
36. NTI reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission made in error.

ADMISSION TO NON-AWARD STUDY

37. Individuals may apply to NTI to study one or more subjects on a non-award basis.
38. Any applicant who has been excluded from NTI will not be permitted to undertake non-award study during the period of exclusion.
39. Where an applicant does not satisfy the selection criteria for a course, the Head of Program may recommend that they be admitted to study a single subject on a non-award basis.
40. Satisfactory completion of a non-award subject may be used as a basis for determining eligibility for admission into a course but does not guarantee admission into that course.

ADMISSION TO CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL STUDY

Applicants from other higher education institutions who wish to undertake an NTI subject as part of their award course may apply to NTI to study cross-institutionally.

REFUSAL OF ADMISSION

41. NTI may refuse admission to an applicant, who otherwise meets the admission requirements for the selected course, on the following grounds:
    a) the applicant has previously been suspended or excluded from NTI or any other tertiary institution for academic reasons, including but not limited to academic misconduct or unsatisfactory academic progress;
    b) the applicant has outstanding fees owing to NTI;
    c) the applicant fails to meet the genuine temporary entrant requirements specified for international students;
    d) where evidence from the applicant’s history, as determined by the Head of Program in consultation with the Dean of Studies, makes them unsuitable to study the course for which they have applied on academic or non-academic grounds;
    e) the quota of available places for a course has been reached;
    f) the applicant fails to meet any of the standards or criteria as outlined within this policy.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

42. NTI staff responsible for making decisions and issuing Letters of Offer must not participate in any decisions affecting applicants where a potential or actual conflict of interest arises due to a close personal relationship with the applicant.

RIGHT OF APPEAL

43. An applicant refused admission has the right of appeal against the decision on the following grounds:
    a) the applicant satisfies all NTI admission requirements;
    b) the application for admission was lodged on time, in the correct manner, with all relevant documentation included to enable the application to be assessed;
    c) the applicant was not admitted due to incorrect application of the principles outlined in this policy; and
    d) the applicant believes NTI has not taken account of all relevant circumstances in arriving at a decision to refuse admission.
    Further information on the lodgement of an appeal and how it will be reviewed and determined is set out in the Admission Procedures.

RECORD KEEPING

44. NTI will maintain appropriate records of the basis of admission of applicants so that:
     a) the effectiveness of admission criteria can be evaluated; and
     b) the performance of student cohorts by admissions pathways can be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis.