The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

VCE Requirements for satisfactory completion of the VCE

The Victorian Certificate of Education will be awarded to students who satisfactorily complete at least sixteen (16) units, including:

  • At least three (3) units of English Group, and
  • At least three sequences of Units 3 and 4, in addition to English
  • Units 3 and 4 are necessary for an ATAR
  • Meet the 95% attendance requirements

A Vocational Education and Training (VET) certificate can be incorporated into a VCE course and generally counts as four units of study. VET study scores can be included in the primary four subjects for ATAR calculations.

Requirements for Satisfactory Completion of a VCE Unit

Satisfactory Completion of VCE Units

In order to satisfy the requirements of VCE units at Mooroolbark College, students must meet each of the following requirements.

  • Satisfactory completion of Learning Outcomes

Each subject has clearly stated Learning Outcomes for each unit of study. Learning Outcomes describe the skills and knowledge students should have by the time they complete the unit of study.
In order to satisfactorily complete a unit, students must demonstrate achievement of each of the outcomes as specified in the study design and have a 95% attendance rate.

  • Timely submission of work

Students must submit work on the due date. Unit 3 / 4 SACs and SATs not submitted on the due date will receive ‘NA’ (Not Assessed). This will be reported to the VCAA and marked zero in the calculation of the student’s study score for that subject.

The ‘Application for a change in SAC/SAT conditions’ must be completed by all students submitting work late.

  • Meet the 95% attendance requirement

Students are required to attend a minimum of ninety five percent of classes in each subject, unless supported by medical documentation, or the absence has been approved under special provisions by the student’s House/Cluster Leader. Regular attendance is essential to enable coursework tasks to be completed, mainly in class time, thus ensuring authenticity of student work assessed.

  • Authentication of Work

Authentication is the process of ensuring that all work the student submits is genuinely their own. To meet this requirement students must ensure that all unacknowledged work submitted is genuinely their own.

Students who knowingly assist other students are breaching VCAA rules and will be penalised.

Students must not submit the same piece of work for the completion of more than one assessment in any subject.

Supporting VCE Students

Special Provision

If a student is:

  • significantly affected by illness (physical or psychological) or by factors relating to their personal environment or by other serious causes, or
  • disadvantaged by a disability or impairment, the College can apply Special Provision.

There are three forms of Special Provision for assessment available to students:

  • Alternative arrangements or variations to school assessment requirements
  • Special arrangements for external examinations
  • The calculation and use of Derived Examination Score

These circumstances do not include matters or situations of the student’s own choosing, such as involvement in social or sporting activities or school events.

Students who think they might be eligible for this Special Provision must apply to their VCE Coordinator. For a medical condition, students will need to provide their school with a current medical letter outlining their diagnosis, and the symptoms and issues which will impact on their school performance. Students who have experienced a recent personal trauma will require current external evidence. Long-term impairments/disabilities will require a medical statement or recent intellectual and educational testing evidence (learning disability) and a history of how they have been assisted at school over the years.

Delay of Decision

Students are expected to complete the Learning Outcomes for a unit during the semester in which the unit is undertaken. In exceptional cases the College may decide to grant a delay of decision about the satisfactory completion to allow time for a student who would otherwise receive a result of ‘N’, to complete work or resubmit work so that the student’s result may change from ‘N’ to an ‘S’. It is the College’s prerogative to grant a delay of decision. It is not a student’s right to be given it, and it will only be granted in very few cases.

“Students need to be aware of their responsibilities when undertaking either the VCE or VCAL. Students need to take time to make themselves familiar with the requirements of their course of study.”

What happens if a student is absent for an assessment or school assessed course work?

In this situation the student must seek permission to be allowed to complete the assessment. It is not automatic.

To be granted permission to complete the assessment, the student will need to fill in an ‘Application for an Alteration to SAC/SAT Conditions’. It requires the signatures of the appropriate House/Cluster Leader.

If you are ill, a doctor’s certificate is needed. Where absences are due to legitimate causes other than illness, then appropriate evidence will be required after discussion with the VCE coordinator and the Head of Senior School.

Use of study periods

VCE students are allocated study periods. These times are not designed for students to arrange part time work. Students will be required to be at school during some of these periods for compulsory activities. If students are completing a Unit 3 & 4 subject, SACs in multiple classes such as PE, Further Maths & Psych will also be timetabled into these periods.

The VCE panel

The panel is available for students who would like to appeal the decision of a teacher. Applications must be in writing. There is an application form that can be collected from the House rooms. Students may bring their parent/guardian. The parent/guardian’s role is to support their child, but not advocate for them. The student must present their own case and use their own words to describe what has happened.

SAC planner

A SAC planner is produced every year. The SACs that are running each week will be published on COMPASS.