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Australian Qualifications Framework
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Education, with oversight from the States and Territories, through the Standing Council of Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. While the AQF specifies the standards, education and training organisations are authorised by accrediting authorities to issue a qualification.
The Framework is structured around levels of descriptive criteria, with formal qualifications aligned to the appropriate levels.
The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement of North America and the A-Levels of the United Kingdom. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for three years (years 10, 11 and 12 of schooling). In some states adults may gain the certificate through a Technical and Further Education college or other provider.
The curriculum, assessment and name of the SSCE is different in each state and territory. The government of each determines these themselves, although the curriculum must address mutually agreed national competencies.
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE student called the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Universities and other Higher Education providers typically use this mark as the main criterion in selecting domestic students. Prior to 2010, this was called the Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) in Victoria, the University Admissions Index (UAI) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) elsewhere.
Recognised competing qualifications outside the SSCE include the International Baccalaureate (IB). For school leavers, UAC scales a IB Diploma score to a published ATAR rank.
There has been growing overlap between the Vocational Education and Training (VET), organised under the National Training System, and Higher Education sectors in Australia. Courses are primarily taken by those aged over 18, however in some vocational and general academic courses a minority of students enter at the minimum school-leaving age of 16, although from May 2009 Federal Government policy calls for young people to be in education, gainful employment, or training until age 17 (Year 12 qualification) with tightening of income support payments to age 20 if not undertaking further training. This tends to happen particularly at Technical and Further Education colleges (TAFE), and is less likely to happen at a university or a private institution.
The two sectors form a continuum, with VET at the lower end and Higher Education at the higher. VET courses are typically short, practical in nature and delivered by a TAFE college or registered training organisation at a certificate to diploma level. Higher education courses typically take several years or longer to complete, are academic in nature and are delivered by universities and other higher education providers at diploma, associate degree, degree or higher level. There is significant overlap, however; a TAFE college may offer degrees and universities may offer certificates and diplomas (so called 'dual sector' providers).
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Australian Qualifications Framework
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Education, with oversight from the States and Territories, through the Standing Council of Tertiary Education Skills and Employment. While the AQF specifies the standards, education and training organisations are authorised by accrediting authorities to issue a qualification.
The Framework is structured around levels of descriptive criteria, with formal qualifications aligned to the appropriate levels.
The Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE) is the graduation certificate awarded to most students in Australian high schools, and is equivalent to the Advance Placement of North America and the A-Levels of the United Kingdom. Students completing the SSCE are usually aged 16 to 18 and study full-time for three years (years 10, 11 and 12 of schooling). In some states adults may gain the certificate through a Technical and Further Education college or other provider.
The curriculum, assessment and name of the SSCE is different in each state and territory. The government of each determines these themselves, although the curriculum must address mutually agreed national competencies.
The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) generates a nationally standardised final score for each SSCE student called the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). Universities and other Higher Education providers typically use this mark as the main criterion in selecting domestic students. Prior to 2010, this was called the Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) in Victoria, the University Admissions Index (UAI) in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) elsewhere.
Recognised competing qualifications outside the SSCE include the International Baccalaureate (IB). For school leavers, UAC scales a IB Diploma score to a published ATAR rank.
There has been growing overlap between the Vocational Education and Training (VET), organised under the National Training System, and Higher Education sectors in Australia. Courses are primarily taken by those aged over 18, however in some vocational and general academic courses a minority of students enter at the minimum school-leaving age of 16, although from May 2009 Federal Government policy calls for young people to be in education, gainful employment, or training until age 17 (Year 12 qualification) with tightening of income support payments to age 20 if not undertaking further training. This tends to happen particularly at Technical and Further Education colleges (TAFE), and is less likely to happen at a university or a private institution.
The two sectors form a continuum, with VET at the lower end and Higher Education at the higher. VET courses are typically short, practical in nature and delivered by a TAFE college or registered training organisation at a certificate to diploma level. Higher education courses typically take several years or longer to complete, are academic in nature and are delivered by universities and other higher education providers at diploma, associate degree, degree or higher level. There is significant overlap, however; a TAFE college may offer degrees and universities may offer certificates and diplomas (so called 'dual sector' providers).