VCE Providers

Registered schools and providers

Schools wishing to offer the VCE must receive permission to deliver the course from the VCAA and be registered as a senior secondary education provider with the VRQA.

The term ‘provider’ is used here to cover any school or organisation registered by the VRQA as a senior secondary course provider. The contact details of schools providing the VCE can be viewed on VASS.

Any schools (including established schools) intending to implement an online or hybrid model for delivery of the VCE must also apply for permission to deliver. See the VCAA website for further information about this process.

Single study provider registration

A school wanting to provide only a single VCE study must receive permission to deliver from the VCAA and be registered as a senior secondary single course provider with the VRQA. Enquiries about registration should be directed to the VRQA.

Schools as registered training organisations

Schools may apply to the VRQA or Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) to become an RTO to deliver specified courses. A school recognised as an RTO is responsible for the delivery, assessment, certification and quality assurance of its courses. Schools as RTOs may contract other providers to deliver training and assessment; however, the school remains responsible for quality assurance and validating assessments.

All RTOs must comply with either the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 or the VRQA Guidelines for VET Providers.

Allocation of a VASS identity

Once the school has been registered and has been given permission to deliver the VCE, the VCAA oversees the allocation of its identity on VASS and contacts it to provide training, if required.

School–registered training organisation partnerships

A school may enter a partnership with an RTO to deliver VET to VCE students. An RTO may be a TAFE institute, group training company, industry training organisation, enterprise, school, or adult, community and further education (ACFE) provider.

An agreement between a school and an RTO enables a school to deliver components of the VET course or the whole course. Schools may contract an RTO to deliver the whole course. The RTO is responsible for delivering, assessing and issuing qualifications for the courses that it delivers. Details of partnerships are available through the Department of Education’s Student resource package – targeted initiatives webpage.

Both these options incur costs. Advice on eligibility for funding is available from the relevant advisory body – the Department of Education, Independent Schools Victoria or the Victorian Catholic Education Authority. Schools should confirm that the RTO with which they have an agreement has the scope of registration to deliver the VET programs offered.

Responsibilities of providers

School principals are the persons responsible for implementation of many important procedural and administrative processes for delivery of the VCE (including providing 50 hours of classroom instruction per unit). In addition:

providers must ensure teachers use the accredited VCAA VCE study designs
teachers must provide learning experiences and assessment opportunities that are in accordance with the intention of the currently accredited study designs and do not require undue assistance.

Each year schools must provide information to the VCAA on student enrolments and the VCE studies they intend to offer. This information is provided via VASS. Schools must also ensure that students have access to adequate facilities and resources to complete any VCE study offered by the school.

Communication from the VCAA to school staff

The VCAA uses email, Notices to Schools, the VCAA Bulletin (through direct teacher subscription) and its website for official communication with schools. Procedures should be in place for ensuring that VCAA communications are forwarded to appropriate school staff (such as VCE coordinators and VASS administrators). Teachers and VASS administrators must be kept informed of VCAA administrative and assessment requirements, including official notification of any changes to VCE procedures. Teachers must have access to copies of:

current versions of the relevant accredited VCE study designs
relevant VCE Support materials, Advice for teachers and Assessment handbook publications
assessment criteria sheets and assessment advice for VCE school-assessed tasks
relevant VCE VET program booklets, extracts or summaries
current UoCs
VCE VET Scored Assessment Guide
VCE Administrative Handbook
VCAA Bulletin
Notices to Schools.

Communication to students

Providers must ensure that students have access to accurate information about the course. They must provide information to students in writing about the following matters:

the VCAA’s rules and the school’s rules for participation in the course, including rules for assessment
eligibility for award of the qualification
that initial school assessments for Units 3 and 4 may change following statistical moderation of school-based assessments
procedures for requesting an extension of time for submitting school-based assessments
procedures for Special Provision.

For all VCE units, schools must inform each student in writing at the beginning of each VCE unit of the following:

all set work and assessment tasks they must complete to achieve an S for the unit and the conditions under which the work is to be completed
all school-based assessment they must complete for the assessment of levels of achievement and the conditions under which the school-based assessment is to be completed
instructions on how to submit work
timelines and deadlines for completing work.

Providers must also provide students with:

comprehensive course advice
information on the consequences of receiving an N or a J result for a unit
clear information on the processes for appealing an adverse school decision, including a decision on an assessment result
VCE examination timetables and, for all students enrolled in a Unit 3–4 study, a copy of the VCE Exams Navigator.

Monitoring student attendance

All VCE units involve at least 50 hours of scheduled classroom instruction. A student needs to demonstrate sufficient class attendance to fulfil the time and work requirements of the unit.

Each provider sets minimum class time and attendance rules. A school policy and set of procedures to cover absence from school-based assessment tasks must be published and made available to staff, students and parent(s) or guardian(s).

If a student has completed work but there has been a substantial breach of the provider’s attendance policy, the provider may be unable to authenticate the student’s work completed across the outcome. Where the provider assigns an N result for the unit because the work cannot be authenticated, the provider must assign an N for the outcome or outcomes that cannot be authenticated.

Special provisions for attendance

When a student is absent for prolonged periods or has been unable to complete all school-based assessment tasks because of illness or other special circumstances, the provider may, upon application from the student, grant special provisions for classroom learning and school-based assessments. In this case, the student should not be penalised for lack of attendance. Special provisions may allow a student to work from home for a period of time. Schools should retain documentation about any decisions relating to granting special provisions for school-based assessment, including supporting evidence. Advice about special provisions for classroom learning and school-based assessments is provided in the Administration of Special Provision section.

When a student is allowed to work from home, the school must have additional measures in place to be able to authenticate the student’s work as their own. Advice about authentication measures is provided in the section on Units 3 and 4 scored assessment.

VCE VM attendance

The VCE VM program often includes learning outside the school, including VET classes and Structured Workplace Learning Recognition for VET. The RTO or workplace sets attendance expectations related to these settings. A school policy and set of procedures related to VCE VM attendance should be published and made available to staff, students and parent(s) or guardian(s).

Integrity of school-based assessments

At the beginning of the academic year, schools must provide students with clear written details of both the VCAA’s rules and the school’s rules and procedures for VCE school-based assessments, including the rules for authentication of school-based assessments.

Principals are responsible for administering the VCAA’s rules and instructions in their schools and for ensuring teachers use only the currently accredited VCE study designs.

In addition, schools must:

carefully plan, develop, document and implement plagiarism, cheating and authentication policies, processes and strategies for their school to make sure that student work completed is the student’s own and completed without undue assistance from another person, including their teacher
develop a document that clearly states the school’s expectations about the development and delivery of school-based assessment and the steps teachers must take to ensure the security of the content
keep assessment tasks, including tasks in development, out of the reach, view and access of students until they are delivered
avoid storing assessment tasks on open school networks and unsecured media such as USB sticks where possible, and avoid sending assessment tasks by unsecured means such as emails
ensure teachers understand their professional responsibility to ensure the integrity and security of school-based assessments
have students sign a declaration that they will abide by their school’s policies and rules relating to the appropriate use of technology, including the internet
minimise the time lag between classes when delivering the same school-based assessment across several discrete classes. If this is not possible, the assessment task should be suitably modified for each class
make sure that tasks are not recycled from one academic year to another, to prevent student use of other student work from previous academic years, including previous assessed tasks that were not returned to students
suitably modify commercially produced materials and publicly available materials to ensure the school can authenticate student work
have procedures for students to request an extension of time to complete an assessment task
provide students with information on the requirements for class attendance
have procedures for lodging an appeal against school decisions related to assessment and make these procedures accessible to students.

For all VCE units, schools must inform each student in writing at the beginning of each VCE unit of the following:

all set work (learning activities) and assessment tasks (including school-based assessment) they need to complete in order to achieve an S for the unit and the conditions under which the work is to be completed
all work they need to complete for school-based assessment for the assessment of levels of achievement and the conditions under which the school-based assessment is to be completed
requirements for class attendance
rules on plagiarism, cheating and authentication of school-based assessments
instructions on how to submit work
timelines and deadlines for completing work
procedures for obtaining an extension of time
procedures for lodging an internal school appeal.

The school is solely responsible for deciding about the satisfactory completion of a unit. Decisions about satisfactory completion are informed by VCAA guidelines, including the requirements of the study designs and the assessment principles.

To provide students with maximum opportunity to achieve a satisfactory result, schools should have an established process to support the delay of satisfactory completion decisions that is applied consistently across studies and units.

A teacher’s judgement on whether the student has satisfactorily achieved the outcomes for a study must be consistent for all students. This includes those who are being assessed for levels of achievement in the study and those who are not.

Each VCE unit results must be determined based on evidence of achievement of outcomes completed during the academic year in which the student is enrolled. The VCAA recognises that some schools will begin teaching programs in the last weeks of the academic year before enrolment in the study. These programs are generally no more than 3 weeks in length and, for Units 3 and 4, must not include formal school-based assessment for the assessment of levels of achievement or to determine a unit result.

Administration of Special Provision

Schools must develop procedures to identify students requiring Special Provision and ensure that consistent and fair decisions are made about appropriate assistance for those students. Procedures to apply for Special Provision must be given in writing to all students and the school must retain all documentation used to support decisions.

Students may apply to their school for Special Provision for both classroom learning and school-based assessment. Schools are responsible for making an application to the VCAA on behalf of a student for Special Examination Arrangements (SEAs) for external assessments. Students are responsible for applying for a Derived Examination Score (DES).

If a student’s application for Special Provision for classroom learning and school-based assessment is rejected, either in full or in part, the student should be advised in writing of the reasons for the decision within 14 days. The student has the right of appeal to the school within 14 days of receiving the decision.

School name changes and closures

Schools that change their name must advise the VCAA in writing and provide proof that the relevant governing body has endorsed the name change.

Schools that cease delivering the VCE should notify the VCAA in writing.

School address, telephone and coordinator changes

Schools must ensure that their address, telephone number and the details of their principal and coordinators are correct and confirmed on VASS. Schools must also contact the VCAA Student Records and Results unit if the school email address has changed.

Certification of data

The principal’s signature or that of their delegate is required on some documents to certify that the information they record is accurate and complete. These documents relate to:

making amendments to results
providing confirmation of grades
awarding credits
confirming a student’s status as a First or Second Language Learner through the Declaration for enrolment in VCE Modern Languages Units 3 and 4 form
certifying DES
carrying out inspections of examination response materials
addressing matters concerning IB students
certifying a student’s Interrupted Studies status
acknowledging late entry of data on VASS
certifying a student’s EAL status
outlining SEAs.

Other documentation requiring principal or delegate verification includes:

agreements to conduct and administer VCE external assessments
accurate identification lists of fee-paying international students
forms for GAT and VCE written examination centres
material related to the appointment of supervisors and delivery of all examination materials
partnership agreements
endorsed lists of VCE VM-eligible students at midyear.

Small-group partnerships

The VCAA recommends that all schools with fewer than 5 enrolments in any VCE Unit 3–4 study (note that English and EAL are separate studies) form a partnership with at least one other school to ensure the quality of curriculum provision and assessment arrangements for students. Possible formal arrangements include small-group partnerships for statistical moderation of school-based assessment, and informal VCE partnerships for the extension of learning programs and resources.

Forming and documenting a small-group partnership

Schools can search for potential partner schools through VASS.

Once schools have formed a partnership, the details should be entered on VASS and approved by each school in the partnership. A VCAA partnership agreement form is available on VASS.

Once partnership details are entered on VASS, schools must check that each school in the partnership has checked/ticked the approval button. The VCAA cannot consider a partnership valid unless all schools in the partnership group have approved their involvement. In addition, the statistical moderation process cannot run for partnerships in which one or more schools have not checked the approval button. Partnerships cannot be entered directly on VASS after the published closing date.

Schools must first exchange partnership agreements and then enter the details directly in VASS. Each school is required to keep its own copy of the partnership agreement, and each copy must be signed by the principal of each participating school. Schools are not required to provide a copy of the agreement to the VCAA but must retain a copy for possible audit purposes.

Procedures for managing small-group partnerships

To ensure consistency of implementation, the VCAA recommends that schools adopt the following procedures to manage small-group partnerships.

Communication

Principals should receive timely information on the formation of the partnership, its ongoing maintenance, and the resulting moderation of school-based assessment scores.
Teachers in the partnership should make contact as early as possible in the academic year and keep emails and written records of meetings, telephone calls and any other relevant interaction.
Principals must be kept informed of any conflicts that arise and the measures taken to resolve issues.
An initial meeting is conducted to determine the requirements of the study design for each of the chosen assessment tasks, assessment criteria and learning tasks.

Assessment

Teachers agree on the procedures for ensuring comparability of assessment tasks as well as the selection of tasks done in common.
Teachers are clear about the consistent application of any mandated criteria and descriptors for SATs.
Each school marks the assessment tasks of its own students and selects student tasks for moderation.
Each school enters the scores for its own students on VASS.
Each school sends a copy of the VASS printout of the scores for all school-based assessment tasks to its partner schools to verify that scores have been entered correctly.
If a Score Amendment Sheet (SAS) is subsequently filed with the VCAA, it must be signed and dated by the principal of each school in the partnership.
Schools can run the School scores by partnership (ranked) report on VASS to maintain correct rank order of students in the partnership. The report can be used to verify that scores have been entered correctly by each partner school.

Refer to the Initial school-based assessments in partnership with another school section for information on producing a combined set of comparable school-based assessment scores.

Small-group moderation

Each partnership school must retain a copy of a single list of the moderated scores for all students in the partnership.

Schools with moderation groups that comprise fewer than 5 enrolments at the time of moderation should retain all student work contributing to school-based assessments and make this work available to the VCAA if requested.

The VCAA provides a wide range of resources to support schools and teachers engaged in small-group partnerships, including access to professional development and examples of best practice.

Record-keeping

Each partnership school must retain copies of the following documents:

a signed copy of the partnership agreement
a single list of the moderated scores for all students in the partnership
a copy of the partner school’s VASS printout of the assessments for all SACs.

Exemption from partnership requirement

Exemption from the requirement to form a partnership may be granted following a written request to the VCAA outlining why the formation of a partnership is impossible or undesirable. The exemption request letter must be endorsed by the school principal. Exemption requests can be accepted up until the submission of student results in any given academic year.

Exemption requests will be processed within 10 working days. The outcome of each request will appear in the status column on the VCE Partnerships screen on VASS. If an exemption request is unsuccessful, the principal will be notified in writing.

Dissolving a small-group partnership

If a school in a partnership deems the partnership to be unsatisfactory, it may be in the best interests of the students that the partnership is dissolved.

Unsatisfactory partnerships can occur when:

regular and sufficient communication is not maintained
teachers do not agree, or a compromise cannot be reached, on such matters as the standard of set tasks and assessment, the outcomes of moderation, or the level and spread of student scores
a teacher feels pressured to agree to carry out assessments they believe do not best reflect student ability.

Partnership arrangements can be dissolved before student results are entered. Requests to the VCAA for dissolution of a partnership, stating the reason for the request, must be submitted in writing and endorsed by the principal of each school involved. These requests are to be addressed to Student Records and Results.

The VCAA will then remove the partnership from the database and, if necessary, award an exemption. Alternatively, any of the schools involved can form a new partnership with another school.

Maintenance of school records

Schools must establish procedures to keep records and documentation of decisions relating to:

unit completion and graded assessments (including VCE school-based assessments)
student appeals and resulting decisions
applications and decisions relating to VCE Second Language and EAL eligibility
VCE Modern Languages student declarations and statuses
agreements to work in partnership with other providers in determining initial school-based assessments
applications for extensions of time, with supporting documentation
applications for, and approvals of, Special Provision, with supporting documentation
student absences, and whether these have been approved
any interviews with a student and any resulting decisions.

Retention of school-based assessments

Students must be provided with a copy of each completed school-based assessment, and the initial school-based assessment results for each assessment task. In such circumstances, students should be advised that that initial school assessments for Units 3 and 4 may change following statistical moderation of school-based assessments. For SATs, the date on which they may be returned to students is published annually on the VCAA’s Important administrative dates webpage.

Schools must also have access to work completed for assessment until the end of the academic year in which the work was undertaken. Schools must maintain digital or physical copies of student work or supervise the storage of student work for this purpose. Schools who decide to return original copies of school-based assessments to students should advise students that they need to retain work completed for assessment until the end of the academic year in which the work was undertaken.

Work assessed as N, or is the subject of dispute, must be retained at the school. Such work may be retained in photocopied and digital or physical (original) form.
As part of the school-based assessment audit program, the VCAA may request copies of specific items of school-based assessment completed by students. The school-based assessment audit dates are published as part of the Important administrative dates.

Privacy

Laws relating to the privacy of personal information inform the collection, use, disclosure, security and storage of, as well as access to, information regarding each student and their parent(s) or guardian(s).

The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) set legal standards for how the Victorian public sector collects and handles individuals’ ‘personal information’ and ‘health information’. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) requires public authorities to act compatibly with human rights, including the right to privacy. Victorian government schools must comply with the Privacy and Data Protection Act, the Health Records Act and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act.

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and Australian Privacy Principles establish the standards for how applicable non-government schools collect and handle personal information about individuals. In instances where schools are required to have their own privacy policy, the school’s processes for the collection, storage and use of personal information must be consistent with the requirements of that policy and if applicable, the Australian Privacy Principles.

Access to student records and results

It is a condition of registration that a school provides each parent or guardian of a student enrolled at the school and the student with access to accurate information about the student's performance at the school This information must include at least 2 written reports per academic year on the student’s performance.

Schools should seek their own advice from the Department of Education, their relevant sector authority or their legal adviser about the most appropriate form in which to provide this information.

Schools are also required to ensure that upon request, copies of a student’s records are provided to the student or to a person authorised by the student to receive those records during the course of their study and, at the principal’s discretion, after completing the course.

Security and storage of student records

Schools should store personal information about students and their parent(s) or guardian(s) securely and protect it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure, and in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and school privacy policies and procedures. This may mean a locked filing cabinet or cupboard within a locked room that is accessible only to persons authorised by the principal, or secure data storage with appropriate access controls for digital records.

Copies of results should be held separately from collections of student work. Duplicate master records should also be stored separately. Information stored electronically, on databases or portable storage devices, should be kept securely and in such a way that records are not accessible by unauthorised persons.

Schools should seek their own advice in relation to compliance with legislation and good practice for the storage of personal, confidential and sensitive information, and digital and cloud-based storage. School privacy policies (if required) should address data security.

Freedom of information requests

At government schools, students and their parent(s) or guardian(s) have the right to request access to school documents by making a freedom of information (FOI) request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic). To find out how to make an FOI request for access to government school records, go to the Department of Education’s Freedom of information requests webpage.

The VCAA holds records relating to students’ personal details, enrolment and assessment. FOI requests for access to documents held by the VCAA should be sent to the VCAA Freedom of Information Officer. Schools must not process such applications.

Further information about FOI and the VCAA is available.

Specific provider requirements

Government schools/providers

Government schools are obliged to keep and dispose of school records in accordance with retention and disposal authorities (RDAs) made under the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic). RDAs describe the categories of records kept by schools and specify the minimum period for which they should be retained.
The relevant government school RDAs are:

PROS 22/06 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Schools
PROS 10/09 Retention and Disposal Authority for Records of Education and Early Childhood Development Functions.

RDAs can be viewed through the Public Record Office Victoria.

Non-government schools/providers

Non-government schools may be guided by the retention periods specified for government school records, or they may want to use the Records Retention Schedule for Non-Government Schools produced by the Australian Society of Archivists. Alternatively, they may have their own policy for the maintenance and disposal of records and may want to seek their own advice about record-keeping.

VASS

VASS is a database where schools maintain student details, assessment information and school details. It is imperative that the accuracy, privacy and security of VASS data is always maintained.

All schools offering the VCE are required to have access to VASS. Schools can apply to the VASS Operations Team for a user ID and password.

The VCAA and schools are jointly responsible for protecting the privacy of students’ personal information held in VASS. School-based authorised users of VASS are responsible for the use and disclosure of students’ personal information, including their academic record when it is extracted from VASS either in printed or electronic form. Schools should take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss or unauthorised access. Students’ personal information, including their academic records, must not be provided to staff, students or any other person with no legitimate reason to access that information.

Schools are responsible for respecting and protecting the privacy of students’ personal and academic information. VASS system security is designed so that schools can view students’ details only if the school is their ‘home school’, or if they are being assessed in at least one unit by the school.

RTOs that are not senior secondary course providers need to apply for read-only access to VASS. Once approved, they will be limited to viewing only the details of those students undertaking training at the RTO. RTOs should contact the VASS Operations Team to initiate access.

VASS users

Several school-based VASS user types allow each school to control and maintain the security of their students’ data. The VASS administrator has system control for their school and is responsible for setting up and managing other school-based users.

VASS administrators use their high-level access to administer the VCE for the school. This includes setting up the school’s programs, enrolling students, entering results and producing reports. Schools may have one or more VASS administrators appointed at the principal’s discretion. However, the VCAA recommends that each school have no more than 4 VASS administrators. Schools may apply to have many VASS users, for example, every teacher could be given VASS teacher (restricted) status to enter their own results.

Data security and VASS

VASS has a 3-layer security system. Users must have a username, password and passcode to access the authentication grid.

Schools must contact the VASS Operations Team to set up new VASS administrators or modify existing VASS administrators. VASS administrators can also set up other VASS users. All users should change their own password regularly. Other VASS user groups include Clerical (CL) and School Statistics and Results Group (SSRG).

VASS administrators should refer to the VASS New User’s Manual for comprehensive details on using VASS. If VASS administrators experience problems, including password and login issues, they should contact the VASS Operations Team.

Staff users must not share their VASS usernames and passwords. Each person required to use VASS must have their own username and password.

Data entry on VASS

Enrolment, unit completion and assessment data must be entered into VASS in accordance with the VCAA’s administrative requirements and critical dates. Penalties apply for late data entry.

The first enrolment deadline of each academic year is critical as the VCAA uses it to:

develop the VCE examination timetable
plan the GAT and VCE external assessments
identify schools for the VCE school-based assessment audit.

Schools can modify Units 3 and 4 enrolments up until the final enrolment deadline. Student transfers must be processed according to VCAA requirements and timelines.

Home schools

The home school is the student’s main school. A student can have only one home school at a time, and each home school is responsible for ensuring the program enrolments for each student are correct. This is achieved by printing and checking the Student full details report on VASS.

Only a student’s home school may enter or amend the student’s personal details. The home school or assessing school can enrol a student in a unit or units on VASS.
A home school that is not the assessing school can enrol a student in a unit if the assessing school has indicated on VASS that it offers the unit. If the home school is to enrol the student, the assessing school must complete the Assessing school enrolment notification form for that student and send it to the student’s home school. The correct VCAA school code for the assessing school for each unit must be entered on VASS.

The home school may view a student’s enrolments and results across all studies and all years. The assessing school may only view a student’s details, enrolments and results for units in which the student is enrolled at that school.

The home school is generally the assessing school for VCE enrolments. However, the RTO code must be entered against the enrolment if appropriate. The home school remains responsible for all data entry pertaining to enrolments and results for VCE VM and VET, regardless of delivery arrangements.

Assessing schools

The assessing school, usually the home school, is responsible for overseeing the assessment for one or more units and for fulfilling the requirements of the VCE school-based assessment audit. A student may have one or more assessing schools. The assessing school is usually the home school.

To ensure student data is secure, an assessing school other than the home school must have access to a student’s number and home school code before that student’s details can be viewed for the first time. The assessing school may then enrol the student in units that it offers.

The home school is responsible for ensuring that all its VCE and VCE VET students have been allocated an examination centre.

Timelines and summary of data requirements

Schools must adhere to published dates for entry of enrolments and results on VASS. Some dates are important for both school administration and the VCAA. Others are cut-off dates, and the VASS will not allow data entry after these dates. Due dates and warnings on the VASS home page prompt users to meet scheduled dates. School administrators should also refer to Important administrative dates.

There are 4 types of data required from schools:

programs – schools must identify the studies and units that make up their VCE program before enrolling students
registrations – these can be entered at any time but must be completed before the end-of-academic-year results processing
enrolments – refer to the Important administrative dates webpage for details. Changes to student enrolments after the due dates require VCAA approval. Late fees will be charged, except for late withdrawals approved on compassionate grounds. Schools cannot change the enrolment status of students who are in either VCE Unit 3–4 sequences or scored VCE VET Unit 3–4 sequences or both and who indicate that they no longer want to continue with a unit after the closing date for withdrawal
student result data – schools must provide data by the applicable dates.

Schools must set dates for students to complete school-based assessment that consider the effects of workload on students and teachers. Schools can access the Scored assessment schedule for guidance. The schedule provides information to schools on what school-based assessment scores are required for studies and cycles at various times throughout the year.

The list of completion dates can be entered on VASS. The dates should be distributed to students to ensure that deadlines are met. If students do not submit their work by the specified date, the school may accept the work and assess it in the usual manner or refuse to accept it and award an NA. Students should be awarded ‘0’ only if work was submitted and did not meet the specified criteria for that task. VCAA submission dates cannot be varied.

Principals are responsible for ensuring that all data required by the VCAA is entered into VASS by the relevant closing dates.

Teachers are responsible for ensuring that set submission dates for school-assessed tasks (SATs) and school-assessed coursework (SAC) allow adequate time for them to be completed and marked, so that the entry of results can be maintained within VCAA timelines. Teachers should not be scheduling SATs or SACs after a VCAA submission date.

Extensions of time to enter enrolment or results data

If a school does not meet deadlines for entering enrolment or results data due to unforeseen circumstances, it can seek permission from the Student Records and Results unit for an extension of access to VASS for a short period of time beyond the published submission date. This service is made available to schools only if the VCAA administrative processes are not compromised. An extension of time is not possible for the specific results deadline.

Special circumstances beyond a school’s control will be considered. Otherwise, schools will be charged a fee for this service (see Fees and charges).

Student data on VASS

Students’ personal details

Students must complete a VCAA Student personal details and declarations form that includes their personal details and program information for the year. This information should be entered on VASS.

Each student’s personal details, particularly their date of birth, consent permissions and subject enrolment details must be entered on VASS. Schools are responsible for issuing the Student full details report from VASS to each enrolled student to ensure all students have the opportunity to confirm that their personal details and program details are correct. Schools must ensure that eligibility reports for the VCE are run periodically and checked and signed by the students and their teachers. Failure to run these reports could severely affect students’ eligibility for satisfactorily completing their VCE. Students should be provided with a new Student full details report to sign at the end of each enrolment cycle to confirm that requested changes have been made. Students should also be advised that their Year 12 results will be mailed to the postal address on their Student full details report at the end of the academic year.

Students must be enrolled on VASS using their legally registered name as per the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, or the relevant state or national agency. When signing their personal details form under the General declaration, students attest that they are enrolling using their legally registered name.
All fee-paying international students must be correctly identified.

The onus is on VASS users to ensure that students’ personal details are entered accurately on VASS. Entering the correct date of birth is essential as without this, the system cannot accurately or efficiently match a student’s academic history with their current enrolment. A student’s date of birth should never be invented or guessed, as it cannot be changed later.

Gender-diverse students

A student who does not identify as male or female may elect to have ‘self-described’ as their nominated gender identity. The self-described gender category refers to anyone who does not identify as either exclusively male or female, including people who identify as non-binary.

Transgender students

Schools with students who are in the process of gender affirmation should contact the Student Records and Results unit for further advice relating to recording student details on VASS and reporting their results.

From 1 May 2020, a student who has legally changed their sex that is recorded on their birth certificate, through the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry process, may present their updated birth certificate to their school (if under 18 years of age and currently in school) or to the VCAA (if over 18 and no longer in school) so their record can be updated.

Student postal addresses

VASS only stores a student’s preferred postal address. It is mandatory to enter an address line, suburb, state and postcode. If a student’s postal address is unknown, home schools should enter the school address as the student’s address. The VCAA uses the postal address when mailing final results.

To ensure the successful delivery of final results, the VCAA will validate the postal addresses of all students enrolled in at least one Unit 3–4 sequence and all students who are claiming past results. If an error is detected, schools will receive an email that lists the affected students before results processing. Schools should then contact those students to amend the information.

Student email addresses

The VCAA requires schools to enter a non-school email address for each student in a senior secondary course. This will support results delivery (at Unit 3–4 level), enable post-results service statements to be provided by email, and support communication with students, including any communications about the Premier’s VCE Awards.

Changes to student personal details

Results will be printed using the student’s name as entered on VASS. The results for students with enrolments in any VCE Unit 3–4 sequence will be mailed to the student addresses as entered on VASS. The Important administrative dates webpage has deadlines for amending this information. The VCAA cannot accept changes of address after this date as results processing would have already begun. Students who have applied for tertiary studies through VTAC must notify VTAC directly of changes to personal details occurring after the deadline.

Matching students with previous results

Student details are matched based on name, date of birth and gender. Slight differences in spelling, an inaccurate date of birth or a change of name may mean that a student who has attended more than one school might be assigned multiple student numbers, each having only part of the student’s academic record.

As the matching process occurs as soon as a student is registered, it is essential that the personal details entered for the student are accurate. This ensures the system can match the student’s academic history with their current details. If a match is found on the database for a particular student, the student is allocated their previous student number and their previous results and enrolments for the current year are combined to make up a complete academic history.

Schools should not estimate dates of birth to enrol students. If details are not correct, these matches cannot occur and the student will have 2 student numbers, each having only part of their academic history. This may result in a student not being awarded the certificate in which they are enrolled.

Security of student data

All VCE data on VASS must be kept securely and the privacy of students’ personal and academic details must be protected (see the Privacy section).

Security of student numbers and results service password

The student number is a key identifier that allows the VCAA to securely maintain student result data and to identify students for VCE examinations. Students should have full confidence that the enrolment and result record maintained by the VCAA is accurate, complete and confidential.

To ensure the privacy of records, access to student records should be restricted to the student, and administrative staff at their home school and assessing school. Select VCAA staff have a specific role in maintaining this data, and VTAC uses the data for the purpose of calculating the ATAR. Any other access requires the written consent of the student.

Each student should be given a printed copy of their Student full details report so they are aware of their student number. Lists of student numbers and corresponding names should not be printed and published or displayed on school noticeboards or otherwise made available to members of the school community.

Students must create a password when registering for the VCE Results and ATAR Service, to access the VCE Results and ATAR Service website or app. Students should be advised to keep their password in a secure place to avoid unauthorised access to their results.

Accuracy of personal and enrolment data

The Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 require schools to maintain accurate student records, including records of student assessment. Data may be entered into the VASS database manually or by data import.

A student’s personal details and program information can be imported from other applications, including CASES21 for government schools. For advice on file formats, consult the VASS help screens and the VASS import document, which is available as a download through VASS.

Student number errors

If a student has either 2 VCAA student numbers in the current year of enrolment or multiple numbers across various years, schools should notify the Student Records and Results unit immediately so the issue can be resolved promptly.

If a student has not been enrolled before sitting an examination or the GAT or before submission of school-based assessment scores, schools are advised to register the student on VASS by entering the student’s personal details, so the student is assigned a student number. This allows students to use that number for their examination or other assessments. Schools should then email the Student full details report and the Late enrolment amendment form (both on VASS) and any related school-based assessment, to the Student Records and Results unit so the student can be enrolled in their required studies. Late fees for enrolment changes after published deadlines will apply.

Reporting the death of a student

Schools must communicate a student’s death to the VCAA by sending a letter signed by the principal to the Student Records and Results unit . The student’s record will be amended on the VCAA database accordingly. If the VCAA is not informed, the student’s data will be included in VCAA senior secondary data collections, which may result in the student’s family experiencing distress.

Student enrolment data

The Student full details report on VASS is the key report for checking students’ personal details and enrolments. For audit purposes, this report must be printed and given to students for checking and signing at the beginning of the academic year, and always when changes have been made to either a student’s personal details or enrolment details.

VASS-generated class lists should also be produced and handed to class teachers at the beginning of each unit. Class teachers should confirm the list against the students they are teaching. When a student’s enrolment changes, the relevant class lists should be produced and given to the class teachers for signing to confirm acknowledgement of the changes. These quality assurance processes are essential for ensuring the accuracy of students’ personal and enrolment data.
Schools should run student eligibility reports regularly to ensure eligible students can be awarded the qualification.

Accuracy and accessibility of results data

Schools are required to have policies and procedures in place to maintain accurate student records, including records of assessment. Schools must also comply with appropriate requests to provide copies of a student’s records to the student. Maintaining the accuracy of results data is a key school responsibility. Results data may only be entered into the VASS database manually.

Reporting unit results for the VCE and VCE VET

Schools report on student results as follows:

VCE results are reported as S (satisfactory), N (not satisfactory) or J (discontinued a study without formal withdrawal and no form of assessment has been completed)
VET UoC results are reported as S (competent) or N (not yet competent) for all certificate types
VET results entered as N (not yet completed) will appear on the Student full details report from VASS but are not printed on official documentation from the VCAA.

While VCE unit results are due to the VCAA by specific dates, the VCAA recommends that schools enter unit results as they are received to reduce data entry required close to the deadline.

Results for VCE school-based assessment (Units 3 and 4)

Results for VCE studies (excluding VCE VM studies) may be entered continually up until the relevant administrative date. If a student withdraws early in the academic year, the school should keep a local record of any results achieved by the student in that study. If the student re-enrols in that sequence, these results may then be re-entered.

Best practice supports checking all results thoroughly before they are entered. Schools can minimise the risk of errors by adopting the following strategies:

VASS administrators distribute class lists to teachers for entry of school-based assessment scores
teachers return completed lists to the VASS administrator for data entry
class lists that include the entered school-based assessment scores are distributed to teachers for checking
all teachers check the results, make any changes and return signed class lists to the VASS administrator
any required changes are made, and class lists are distributed to the teacher for final sign-off before collection.

Entered scores cannot be removed after the VASS due date. If a student no longer wants to be assessed for levels of achievement for all or any graded assessments, the school should ensure that NA scores are entered for the remainder of that study. The scores already entered will remain.

The student’s home school is responsible for entering results where the assessing school is a private single study provider, for VCE Dance and VCE Music.

Scores for VCE externally assessed tasks

Scores for externally assessed tasks in VCE studies (excluding VCE VM studies) may be entered on VASS until the date communicated on the Important administrative dates webpage. After this date. VASS will not allow schools to enter scores for an externally assessed task. If a student has withdrawn after the official VCAA closing date, the school should enter a result of NA. Blank records are not permitted, and scores not entered by the due dates will incur late fees.

Missing results and scores

VASS can be used to produce reports on input, summary and missing results for all types of results. Schools must check these reports to ensure all students’ results are entered. Failure to do so may lead to unit results or certificates not being awarded or a study score not being calculated for the student.

If results for a whole class are not available for entry by the scheduled submission date, contact the Student Records and Results unit for advice.

Data amendments and late fees

Procedure for amending enrolments after the due date

Data for enrolments in each cycle will be locked after the due date for enrolments in each cycle. The Student Records and Results unit must be notified of any errors that have occurred in entering VCE unit data as soon as they are detected. Schools are reminded that enrolment changes will not be accepted if students have indicated their intention to withdraw from the unit after the closing date or have left school without formally exiting or completing the process for withdrawal from the VCE.

An application for amendment is at the VCAA’s discretion. Applications for amendments must be submitted on the appropriate form, available in VASS downloads.

All requests for changes to VCE VET and VET UoCs should be made on the Application for late VET enrolment amendments form available on VASS. If the results submission date has also passed, the form must include the result for the new enrolment.

Requests to add UoCs to certificates or create a new certificate should be accompanied by the student’s training plan and scanned and emailed to the VET unit for approval.

If the request is made after the VCAA cut-off dates, the request must include:

a letter from the school principal explaining the reason for the error
evidence supporting the enrolment change, such as copies of a class attendance sheet, and evidence of the student’s intention to withdraw.

The application for amendment must be accompanied by the appropriate fee (see Fees and charges). No GST is payable on late fees.

After the deadline for withdrawing from a Unit 4 study has passed, the VCAA will only withdraw a student from that study if the student can provide evidence that they intended to do so before the cut-off date. Unit enrolments will not be withdrawn if the student’s notification was after the cut-off date or if the student has formally withdrawn from the VCE.

Procedure for amending results for VCE school-based assessment or externally assessed tasks after the due date

Student results for an assessment period will be locked after the due date for submitting results. The Student Records and Results unit must be notified of any errors that have occurred in entering results as soon as they are detected. Acceptance of an application for amendment is at the VCAA’s discretion.

The relevant results amendment forms are available on VASS. All requests to amend scores for the VCE should be made on the SAS generated through VASS.

If a request for an amendment is made after the final results have been released and it will change the course result or a VCE study score, the request must include:

the principal’s explanation for the error
evidence supporting the new result, such as copies of a class attendance sheet or a teacher’s mark book or both.

The application for amendment must be accompanied by the appropriate fee (see Fees and charges on the VCAA website).