Key dates for WACE decisions

Key dates for WACE decisions

Did you know there is a difference between changing courses and withdrawing from courses?

The last date to change enrolments for Year 12 students was Thursday, 4 April. It is now time for students to decide whether they are going to withdraw from Year 12 courses.

Remember that you are able to check on your enrolment in courses by accessing the student portal via https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au. You should check the impact of your choices before going ahead.

Key dates for WACE decisions

Did you know there is a difference between changing courses and withdrawing from courses?

The last date to change enrolments for Year 12 students was Thursday, 4 April. It is now time for students to decide whether they are going to withdraw from Year 12 courses.

Withdrawing from or changing a course

When you change a course enrolment, you replace one course with another. Withdrawing means you are no longer studying a course. If you withdraw from a course, there will be no listing of your enrolment in the course for this year on your Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA). This means you will not receive any credit for the work you have done for this year’s units prior to dropping the course. It is important you take this into consideration.

Check carefully

Year 12 courses are studied as a pair of units. You must complete the pair of Year 12 units to receive credit for the grade to contribute towards meeting the WACE requirements.

If you are considering withdrawing from your only List B (mathematics/science/technology) course in Year 12, then you will be no longer eligible to achieve the WACE. Students are required to complete one pair of Year 12 units from each of List A (arts/languages/social sciences) and List B. Completing a List B course in Year 11 does not meet this requirement.

You also need to consider whether you will have enough units completed for the breadth and depth requirement for the WACE.

Deadlines

There are two key dates for withdrawing. This is because of the arrangements for ATAR course examinations. The Authority needs to be notified of withdrawals from student enrolments in

Year 12 ATAR courses with practical examination components by Friday, 26 July
Year 12 ATAR courses with only written examination components and other Year 12 General, Foundation, Preliminary courses and VET industry specific courses by Thursday, 15 August.

Note: schools may have earlier deadlines in order to manage the administrative work that goes with changes to enrolments. If you are thinking about withdrawing from a course, you should check with your school about their deadlines.

Think carefully

Withdrawing from a course is a significant decision. Talk about why you think withdrawing might be an option with your parents/guardians as well as your teachers, Year Coordinator or Careers Counsellor before you make a final decision. In particular, you should check (double check … triple check) that you will continue to be on track to meet the WACE requirements. Use the WACE Checker to test the possible impact of the options you are considering.

You will find the WACE Checker, and more information on how to use it, on the Authority website at https://wacechecker.scsa.wa.edu.au. If you test a number of options, print or save the reports as a PDF to use when you talk to your school.

WACE requirements

The full details of the WACE requirements for 2019 are listed in the Year 12 Information Handbook, on the Authority website at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information. Year 12 students should know what they need to do to meet the WACE requirements. Using the WACE Checker will help show where you are at in your progress towards the WACE completion requirements. To achieve the WACE in 2019, you must complete:

a minimum of 20 units (which may include unit equivalents attained through VET and/or endorsed programs), including ten Year 12 units
four units from an English course, post-Year 10, including at least one pair of Year 12 units from an English course
one pair of Year 12 units from each of List A (arts/languages/social sciences) and List B (mathematics/science/technology).

Completing an ATAR course

To complete a Year 12 ATAR course requires you to sit the ATAR course examination. For Year 12 ATAR courses with practical components, you must complete both the written and practical examinations.

If you do not sit an ATAR course examination, and you do not have an approved sickness/misadventure application for that course, the grade for the pair of units (Units 3 and 4) will not contribute to the calculation of the WACE.

You may be enrolled in ATAR course/s but may not need an ATAR for your future plans. Even so, you must sit the examination for that course for it to contribute to your WACE and for it to appear on your WASSA. This applies to anyone doing one, two or three Year 12 ATAR courses.

Consequences of not sitting an ATAR course examination – WACE requirements

If you stay enrolled in an ATAR course and then do not sit the ATAR course examination, the grade for the ATAR Year 12 course where you were absent for the examination (without an approved sickness/misadventure application), will not contribute to:

completion of a minimum of 20 units, including ten Year 12 units
completion of at least one pair of Year 12 units from an English learning area course (if the ATAR Year 12 course was either English, Literature or English as an Additional Language or Dialect)
completion of one pair of Year 12 units from List A (arts/languages/social sciences) or List B (mathematics/science/technology) {depending on the list of the ATAR Year 12 course}
achievement of at least 14 C grades or higher, including at least six C grades in Year 12 units
completion of at least four Year 12 ATAR courses.

Consequences of not sitting an ATAR course examination – certification

If you are enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course and do not sit the course examination (without an approved sickness/misadventure application) you will not:

have a course mark generated
have a grade for the Year 12 ATAR course recorded on your WASSA
receive an ATAR course report.

What it comes down to

If you are enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course, you need to know that withdrawing from a course is an important decision. Think carefully about what is right for you and work within the deadlines.

Availability of results

Your results will be available online via the Authority’s student portal (at https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au) on Thursday, 19 December 2019. If you sat the ATAR course examination as a non-school candidate, you will be able to also download your examination results from the student portal.

In mid-January 2020, you will be sent a copy of your WACE (if achieved), WASSA and ATAR course reports. To ensure that you receive these documents, it is vital you let your school know if you change address during the year.

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

Your ATAR is calculated by TISC on the basis of student achievement data provided to them by the Authority.

Your ATAR is not included on either your WASSA or your ATAR course report.

You will be able to obtain your ATAR at www.tisc.edu.au on Thursday,

19 December 2019.

To access your ATAR, you will need your WA student number and a password. Initially, the password is preset, with instructions on the TISC login screen. For advice regarding university admission, phone TISC on 9318 8000 or email info@tisc.edu.au.

It should be noted that the TISC and WACE portals have separate login accounts.

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