Progressing your study
Accessing your results and maintaining your detailsAssessment
Carers
Data storage
Excursions
Folios for QCE students
Issuing awards
Issuing results
Progress of study
Student assistance/income support
Study hints
Referencing style guide
Training awards
Types of results
Vocational placement
Accessing your results and maintaining your details
You are able to access your results at any time via the Student Self Service facility on the Institute's website. http://www.widebay.tafe.qld.gov.au.
The link to the Student self Service is in the "Quicklinks" box. This facility will allow you to:
- maintain your own student details
- access enrolment information
- review your academic record
- review your student account
Once you have registered online, you can access your personal details at any time.
Assessment
Programs offered by TAFE Queensland incorporate competency based assessment. The purpose of assessing competency is to confirm that you can perform to the standards expected in the workplace. Assessment is defined as the process of making judgements about whether competency has been achieved. You will be given the option of providing evidence that you meet the requirements of competency through recognition of prior learning (refer Section 7.3) or you can undertake training and assessment against the competency.
The teacher will advise prior to the commencement of training how the competency is to be assessed. Assessment will generally be progressive and involve more that one assessment item for each competency. Assessment items may include, but are not limited to, projects, case studies, oral questions, assignments, portfolios, written examinations, role plays, practical demonstrations or observation of activities in the workplace or simulated work environment.
An assessment cover sheet must be completed, signed and attached to each assessment item.
Students studying externally must send the assessment by the due date to:
Wide Bay Institute of TAFE
Locked Mail Bag 279
MARYBOROUGH QLD 4650
Extensions must be applied for on Form 001 - Variation to an Assessment Date (available at http://www.widebay.tafe.qld.gov.au/about_us/forms.html or from your teacher). For Modification to Assessment please speak with Disability Support Staff. For further information regarding assessment requirements, refer to Section 16 of TAFE Queensland Student Rules.
Carers
As a carer there may be occasions when you need to negotiate flexibility in your studies with the institute. TAFE Queensland recognises the significant contribution made by carers and upholds the Queensland Government Carer Recognition Policy (available from Disability Services Queensland or on the Internet from
http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/community/carer-recognition/documents/carer-recognition-policy.pdf
Carers are defined as people of any age who, without being paid, care for another person who needs on-going support because of a long-term medical condition, a mental illness, a disability, frailty or the need for palliative care. A carer may or may not be a family member and may or may not live with the person. This does not include volunteers under the auspices of a voluntary organisation.
Under the Queensland Government Carer Recognition Policy, carers are entitled to suspend study or apply for a reduced study load without penalty.
Data storage
Students will need to provide their own USB drive, of an appropriate capacity, for use in their studies.
Excursions
During the course of your studies excursions may be organised to extend your campus-based learning or to provide learning opportunities that cannot be experienced on campus. It is your responsibility to meet all costs associated with excursions. Should an excursion conflict with assessment requirements in other studies, you should negotiate a variation to assessment date with your teacher using Form 001 - Variation to an Assessment Date, available from your teacher or at http://www.widebay.tafe.qld.gov.au/about_us/forms.html.
Folios for QCE students
Queensland Certificate of Education students may collect their subject folios at the end of March following the year they graduate. If the folios are not collected by the end of November the materials will be destroyed.
Issuing awards
This section relates to issuing of awards for accredited programs and nationally endorsed training package qualifications. These awards include statement of attainment, certificate, diploma and advanced diploma. A statement of attainment can also be issued for partial completion of an accredited program and successful completion of a short course that is assessed.
Note: If you complete a program that is not accredited you will receive a statement of attendance from the institute.
Your award will be issued within 21 days of the institute being aware that you are eligible to receive the award.
Awards are issued to students who complete the necessary requirements. However, if a financial debt is owed to the institute at time of issue, the award may be withheld until all outstanding fees are paid. This does not apply to apprentices or trainees - their award will be marked to indicate that fees are outstanding.
Awards will be reissued when the debt is cleared and a reissue charge may apply.
Replacement awards can be obtained to:
(a) recognise a name change
(b) replace a damaged award
(c) replace a lost award or
(d) replace an award marked to indicate outstanding fees.
Note: Additional copies of awards cannot be issued, that is, you can't have more than one copy of an award at any given time.
You must officially apply for replacement award(s) from the institute that issued the original award by completing Form TQISAS029 - Request for Reprint of an Award, available from http://www.widebay.tafe.qld.gov.au/about_us/forms.html. You must include the original award with your application or a witnessed statutory declaration declaring the circumstances if the original has been lost or destroyed. You will need to include a certified copy of evidence of name change if necessary.
Where appropriate stationery no longer exists for an award from a different era, an academic history will be issued in place of an award (charges apply).
Issuing results
Your results will be forwarded to you within 21 days of the institute being satisfied that you have or have not gained the necessary skills and knowledge for a competency.
Where additional or replacement copies of results are required, you can apply for an academic history or reprint of results (charges apply). You will need to complete Form TQISAS029 - Request for Re-Print of an Award available from http://www.widebay.tafe.qld.gov.au/about_us/forms.html and, if the results can not be returned to the institute (eg it is lost or stolen), a statutory declaration.
Progress of study
Note: Students in receipt of Centrelink benefits
If you extend the close of study date or change your enrolment pattern at anytime requirements for Centrelink may be affected. You will need to contact Centrelink or relevant agency to ensure that this does not affect any Austudy or other benefit requirements.
Student assistance/income support
Eligibility requirements for student assistance external to the institute (for example Austudy, Youth Allowance, and Abstudy) may vary across agencies (for example Centrelink and Veterans' Affairs); therefore prior to enrolment it is your responsibility to:
(a) discuss your study options with the relevant agency
(b) discuss your study requirements (for example attendance rates/study load) with the relevant agency.
If you are receiving student assistance from another agency you should notify them immediately of any changes to your study load or student status to avoid penalties.
Study hints
- Obtain a diary and use it to organise your studies.
- List assessment dates.
- Make daily 'TO DO' lists and follow them.
- Plan your time wisely - check daily with your diary to ensure that you don't forget anything.
- Include your important social activities in your planning. You don't have to sacrifice absolutely everything for your studies.
- When you commence a competency, read and follow the guide closely, underline and identify the tasks that need to be completed.
- Examine the assessment criteria for each learning outcome; turn it into a checklist to tick off before submitting assessment work.
- When you submit a piece of assessment, keep a copy for yourself. This is for your record and will make it easier if a staff member needs to contact you to discuss your work.
- Keep a record of the results you achieve and the competencies completed. Keep an eye on the big picture ie the whole of your training plan. You will experience the joy of seeing your goal in sight and remind yourself often of the benefits of study.
- Reward yourself after a productive session or when you are feeling pleased with your efforts. Accept that many adults, in particular, who return to study encounter some difficulties. Make sure that you know where you can get help and do so before small problems become monsters.
- Set clear goals for yourself that are designed to help you achieve success. Keep those goals in mind always.
- When you choose a study environment, make sure that it is comfortable, has adequate space and lighting, has an atmosphere that is pleasant and has minimal distractions.
- Recognise that feedback is designed to be a helpful learning device. If the comments you receive are not always to your liking, it is recommended that you see this as advice for how you can improve your performance and get it right.
Referencing style guide
Students writing assignments based on information contained in other sources should provide acknowledgments so that the reader can locate the source if required. Acknowledging other people's works in your own, otherwise known as referencing, has two components:
- In-text referencing, placed in parentheses within a paragraph, consists of the author's name, year of publication and page numbers.
- List of references section at the end of the essay contains an alphabetical list, including publication details, of all the sources cited. This section can be headed 'Bibliography' if you want to list sources that you have not included in the in-text referencing.
There are several different ways of providing acknowledgments. The most common one used in Australia is the author-date format based on the Harvard system. Tertiary institutions have their own adaptations of this system.
Details of Harvard referencing style can be found in the following:
1. Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley, Brisbane, Queensland.
2. Search the Internet for Harvard referencing styles used across the world. Examples include 'Harvard Referencing 2006', Library & Information Service, Curtin University of Technology [online], available at: http://library.curtin.edu.au/referencing/harvard.pdf (26th April 2006)
'References/Bibliography Harvard Style', The University of Queensland Library [online], available at: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/harvard_5.pdf (26th April 2006).
Training awards
The training awards are the state's most prestigious and recognised training awards. They are about rewarding and encouraging apprentices, trainees, vocational students, employers, schools, training providers and others that are committed to training. For more information on the awards and how to apply, contact your teacher or tutor.
Types of results
Statement of attendance
A statement of attendance is issued on the successful completion of non-accredited training.
Result of assessment
Your result of assessment will be issued to you on the completion of study for a competency or group of competencies. It will list the code and name of the competency and the result you achieved. One or more results may be listed on the result of assessment.
Academic history
You can apply to the institute to receive an academic history (charges apply). Your academic history will list all training you have undertaken at TAFE Queensland by qualification. It will also list any awards that have been issued.
Performance level assessment
Performance level assessment (PLA) is unique to the TAFE Queensland system. The PLA supplementary report provides additional information to students, employers and universities concerning student achievement demonstrated whilst undertaking TAFE training. It provides evidence of additional effort and performance against identified PLA criteria.
PLA does not apply to all training packages - refer to the program orientation booklet for further information. If you successfully complete your competency you will have two result codes recorded on your result of assessment:
- J Competency achieved
- And one of the following codes to notify the PLA achievement:
- PJ Pass: The student has demonstrated a proficient level of performance against a range of PLA criteria
- PC Credit: The student has demonstrated an advanced level of performance against a range of PLA criteria
- PD Distinction: The student has demonstrated an exceptional level of performance against a range of PLA criteria
Vocational placement
Vocational placement is an important aspect of many training programs. This on-the-job experience is aimed at providing you with a practical learning opportunity where you can develop and/or expand the skills and concepts learnt through your campus based studies.
The institute needs time to process applications for vocational placement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all signatures and dates have been completed on Form 092 - Vocational Placement Agreement, at least one week prior to the start of vocational placement.