Viewbank College Year 10-12 Pathways Handbook

VCE Information

Organisation of VCE Studies 

The VCE is awarded on the basis of satisfactory completion of units according to VCE program requirements as set out in accredited study designs. 

  • The minimum requirement is satisfactory completion of 16 units, which must include: 
  • three units from the English group, including a Units 3 & 4 sequence 
  • at least three other sequences of Units 3 & 4 studies, which can include further sequences from the English group. 
  • All Units 3 and 4 studies must be done as a sequence. There are some studies where it is strongly recommended that Unit 1 and/or Unit 2 be completed before attempting Units 3 and 4. If students wish to select Unit 1 of a study, they must also select Unit 2 of that study as part of their program. Unit 2 subject changes will be considered only in extraordinary circumstances and cannot be guaranteed due to timetabling constraints. 
  • Students are required to attend 90% of scheduled classes (‘VCE Compliant Percentage’) in order to successfully complete a unit of study. 

The following guidelines should also be considered: 

  • It is recommended that students only undertake one folio subject in any year of VCE. Two folio subjects will be assessed on an individual basis.  A study of three or more VCE folio subjects is not permitted.  
  • Students seeking to undertake a VCE study outside of the College will need to seek permission from the VCE Panel. 
  • Subjects will be offered according to viability of staffing and student enrolments. 

Choosing VCE Studies 

The best advice is to choose studies: 

  • which the student enjoys 
  • which the student achieves well in 
  • that the student may need for future study or work 
  • which maintain and develop the student’s special skills and talents. 

When selecting Units 1 & 2 subjects, students should be careful to have in mind that some tertiary courses have prerequisite Units 3 & 4 studies and this, in turn, may affect course selection. Advice on prerequisites may be sought from the Careers Counsellor.  

 

The ATAR is designed so that it should not affect a student’s choice of VCE studies. While scaling may raise the study scores in some subjects, the increase occurs only when the strength of competition is high. Scaling lowers the study scores of other subjects where the strength of competition is low. The strength of competition is measured by the total VCE performance of the students taking the study in that year. 

  

Scaling and strength of competition thus balance out. This leaves students free to choose their studies on the right kinds of educational grounds: what they enjoy, what they are interested in, and what they need as prerequisites for their intended future studies or careers. 

The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking) 

The ATAR is developed for the purposes of tertiary selection. It is not a reflection of performance in individual studies, but of overall performance in all studies compared with all other VCE students. Approximately 50% of tertiary courses use the ATAR as the sole method of selection; the remaining courses use one or more criteria including interviews, folio, and additional forms.   All extra requirements are clearly listed in the VTAC Guide. 

  

The ATAR is calculated using:  

  • a student’s study scores in their Units 3 and 4 subjects  
  • the scaling of these study scores to reflect the relative difficulty of students’ differing study programs 
  • adding together the scaled study scores for each student to create their ‘primary four’. An English study must be included in this primary four  
  • 10% of a student’s fifth subject will then be added  
  • 10% of a student’s sixth subject will also be added 
  • Total scores are then ranked across the state with the highest possible ATAR 99.95 indicating that the student achieved a tertiary score that placed them in the top 0.05% of the state. 

The Victorian Baccalaureate 

The Victorian Baccalaureate is an additional award recognising students who have undertaken a broad study plan. To be eligible for the award of the VCE (Baccalaureate), students must satisfactorily complete 16 units of VCE study and meet the following requirements: 

  • complete a Units 3 and 4 sequence from English or Literature or English Language with a minimum study score of 30 or English as an Additional Language (EAL) with a minimum study score of 33 
  • complete a Units 3 and 4 sequence in either Mathematics Methods or Specialist Mathematics 
  • complete a Units 3 and 4 sequence in a VCE Language. 

Students meeting the requirements of the Victorian Baccalaureate will have this recorded on their senior secondary certificate indicating they have successfully completed the VCE and met the requirements of the Victorian Baccalaureate. There is no application process. 

 

CHES and Higher Education Studies

 

Students may be interested in doing further study at Year 12 if they have accelerated in an area of study in Year 11. We recommend students to have a look at the following options and discuss with their House Leader during course counselling. Higher education studies can add to a student's ATAR.

 

Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) - www.ches.vic.edu.au 

 

VCAA Higher Education Studies - Pages - Higher education studies in the VCE (vcaa.vic.edu.au)