ACER is a not-for-profit independent organisation and one of the world’s leading providers of research based educational advice, products and services.

ACER works with schools and universities to develop and deliver assessment programmes that are valid, reliable, relevant and fair. ACER has developed HPAT-Ulster and will administer the test and provide results to candidates and participating universities.

Equity and Fairness

HPAT-Ulster has been developed to assist universities in ranking applicants in a way that is valid and fair.

ACER tests are developed to rigorous professional and technical standards. Test questions are designed and developed by teams of ACER writers expert in their subject areas and in test construction. All test questions in development must pass detailed panelling, trial testing, analysis, and final review. All questions are carefully scrutinised in an ongoing attempt to minimise gender, ethnic or religious bias, and to ensure the test is culturally fair. The content, style, duration and sequencing of the tests are determined to ensure that the testing programme is relevant, fair, valid and reliable. After the test, candidate response data are analysed to ensure individual questions and the test as a whole have performed as expected. Any question considered at this stage to have performed in an unsatisfactory manner is eliminated from the scoring.

The test may contain a small number of trial questions which will not contribute to candidate scores. In addition to the routine analysis of test performance, ACER undertakes ongoing research to monitor the characteristics and quality of its tests. This research includes investigations of equity and validity. Appropriate and secure test conditions are ensured by ACER’s standardised test administration guidelines and procedures, to which all test centres and supervisors must adhere. ACER controls all quality aspects of the test, its administration and reporting.

Use of Personal Information

Information provided by you at the time of registration will be passed on, with your HPAT-Ulster results, via UCAS to the University of Ulster.

ACER will not disclose the personal information of candidates to any third party other than the University of Ulster and UCAS.

Candidates indicate their agreement with a statement acknowledging that their test results may be used by relevant authorities for research into the HPAT-Ulster programme. Candidates are assured that any use of their registration and test records for research purposes will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. Candidate names will be separated from data in any research undertaken.

Should you wish to find out how to access your personal information you can do so by visiting the ACER website: www.acer.edu.au and referring to the section ‘Accessing your personal information’.

Neither the University of Ulster nor ACER will accept any responsibility or liability to any HPAT-Ulster candidate in respect of the test, or test results, loss or damage arising from participation in HPAT-Ulster.

Communicating with the HPAT-Ulster Office at ACER

If you have any questions about the registration process, you may contact the HPAT-Ulster Office by email. You should contact the HPAT-Ulster Office immediately if any of your personal details, such as your address, change during the testing and reporting cycle.

HPAT-Ulster Office at ACER

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax: +61 3 9277 5757