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The information in this Official Notice pertains to credentialling for Year 10 students in 2012.

Further information relating to RoSA requirements in Stage 6 will be issued shortly.

The Record of School Achievement (RoSA) comes into effect for the 2012 Year 10 cohort. The following information regarding eligibility, credentialling and ‘N’ determinations is provided for schools.

Eligibility for the RoSA

The eligibility requirements for the RoSA are essentially unchanged from the School Certificate, except for the deletion of the School Certificate tests. Requirements relating to curriculum, school attendance and the completion of Year 10 are identical to those that previously applied for the School Certificate.

In summary, to qualify for the award of a RoSA, a student must have:

• attended a government school, an accredited non-government school or a recognised school outside NSW;
• undertaken and completed courses of study that satisfy the Board’s curriculum and assessment requirements for the Record of School Achievement;
• complied with any other regulations or requirements (such as attendance) imposed by the Minister or the Board; and
• completed Year 10.

Mandatory curriculum requirements

Students are required to complete the following mandatory curriculum for the RoSA:

School attendance

Rules relating to school attendance remain unchanged. Under these rules, the Board does not set a minimum attendance for the satisfactory completion of a course. However, a principal may determine that, as a result of absence, course completion criteria might not be met.

As was the case with the School Certificate, a requirement for the award of the RoSA is that students attend until the final day of Year 10 as determined by the school system concerned or by the principal of non-systemic schools. In all cases, schools are to ensure that syllabus outcomes and course study requirements, including indicative hours of study as specified by the Board are met.

Issuance of RoSA documentation by the Board of Studies

The formal Record of School Achievement credential will be awarded to eligible students when they leave school. Schools will be required to notify the Board of eligible students leaving school at the end of Year 10, 2012. The Record of School Achievement will be provided by the Board in printed format. Students leaving school who do not meet the RoSA requirements will be issued with a printed Transcript of Study.

In addition to students leaving school, transcripts for all students will be available in electronic format for schools to download and print.

Content of the RoSA

The RoSA will contain the following information:

• Stage 5 courses listed in a sequence consisting of English, Mathematics, Science, Australian Geography, Australian History, followed by other Board Developed Courses and then Board Endorsed Courses in alphabetical order with the student’s grade shown to the right of each course.
• All mandatory curriculum requirements (ie English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE, Languages, Technology, Music, Visual Arts, PDHPE) listed under a separate heading with an indication of completion by the student.
• A statement that the student is eligible for the award of a Record of School Achievement.
• VET courses will be recorded as ‘Completed’ with the footnote Refer to Vocational Documentation.
• Courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content will be recorded as ‘Completed’ with the footnote See Profile of Student Achievement.

(Where an ‘N’ determination is received in an additional study (elective), the course will not appear on the RoSA.)

Content of the Transcript of Study

The Transcript of Study will contain the same information as the RoSA for courses satisfactorily completed. 

Where an ‘N’ determination is received in a Stage 5 mandatory course it will be recorded on the Transcript of Study as ‘Not completed’. Where an ‘N’ determination is received in an additional study (elective) the course will not appear on the Transcript of Study.

The Transcript of Study will also include a statement that the student is not eligible for the award of the Record of School Achievement.

‘N’ determinations

‘N’ determinations are issued for the non-completion of requirements in a course.

The ‘N’ determination process for Year 10 students is unchanged from previous years. Schools should continue to issue warning letters to students who are in danger of not meeting course completion criteria. Warnings should be given in time for the problem to be corrected and should provide advice about the consequences of an ‘N’ determination in a course. A sample warning letter is available for schools to download from Schools Online.

Students who have not complied with the requirements for satisfactory completion of a course at the time of finalising grades cannot be regarded as having satisfactorily completed the course. The principal will then issue an ‘N’ determination. All students who are issued with an ‘N’ determination have the right to appeal against the principal’s determination. A flowchart detailing the determination and appeal dates is available on Schools Online.

Where a student fails to satisfactorily complete a mandatory Stage 5 course the student:

• is ineligible for the award of the RoSA if they leave school at the end of Year 10;
• may be ineligible to enter Preliminary (Year 11) courses.

Life Skills

The Profile of Student Achievement provides details of the specific Life Skills syllabus outcomes achieved by students undertaking Life Skills outcomes and content in Year 10. It will be printed and issued by the Board to school leavers, together with the RoSA (or Transcript of Study for ineligible students). In addition to students leaving school, the Profile for all students will be available in electronic format for schools to download and print.

Schools will report students’ achievement in Stage 5 outcomes through Schools Online in the same way as occurs for students undertaking HSC Life Skills courses.