Selecting University Students: Perspectives from Selection and Recruitment

I was reading the article in The Age reporting on a discussion paper at The University of Melbourne reviewing undergraduate entry requirements.

The discussion paper mentions other means for selecting students in addition to their performance in the final year of high school (ENTER).

I see the issue as involving two elements:

1. What criterion of an effective selection system does the university want to use?
2. What measurement system can be put in place to maximise this criterion?

The first issue is a matter of values and policy. The second issue is empirical.

From The Age article I gather that there is concern for: representation from disadvantaged student groups and academic potential.

Many other values could be mentioned, including transparency, procedural justice, cost of administration, and so on. No doubt any decision would be a synthesis of such concerns. However, if the choice of criterion could be resolved, the question of a measurement system is largely an empirical question.