Course Selection

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Stage 1: Subject Preferencing.

Our Altona College Pathways Guide (this website) is designed to provide students and families with comprehensive information to help create a well-informed pathway plan. It is essential that students list all subjects in order of preference. If a subject is cancelled, all preferences will shift up one place. The student will be notified, offered guidance, and an alternative subject will be added as their final preference. 

As a general checklist, students are encouraged to complete the following before moving ahead to Stage 2.

• • Browse this site and ensure you have discussed post school destinations, and the senior certificates required to get there.

  • Select at least 2-3 post school destinations that engage and motivate the student.

  • Identify and choose the most appropriate senior certificate (also consider if VET might be an appropriate or necessary addition).

  • Browse subject choices and consider any necessary pre-requisite subjects or requirements for tertiary entrance.

  • Consult with teachers and careers staff to clarify questions.

  • Complete the Course Selection sheet ranking all subjects in preferential order and submit to the Personal Development teacher.

  • Personalised emails are sent to each student in years 8-11 via their school email account. The email contains a copy of their course as identified on their Course Selection sheet. 

Stage 2: Course Revision (Internal) 

After the completion Stage 1, all students will have a set of preferences that they take into Stage 2, Course Selection. This preference list is checked and approved by the Engagement and Academic Teams prior to becoming the student’s course selection. If changes need to be made, the student will be notified, and preferences will be changed or altered.   

The key steps for course revision include:

• Note that fees are indicative only and are provided for family budgeting purposes only, confirmed fees are customized each year, once course selection is completed.

• 1:1 family appointments can be scheduled where additional support and clarity is needed to help students understand and complete course selection.

• Once submitted, students should retain a copy of their COURSE SELECTION receipt and await their COURSE OFFER.

• Subject viability is checked, classes with very low popularity maybe subject to removal. 

Stage 3: Course Offer

Once course selection closes, our team will immediately start timetabling for the next school year. This can be a long and arduous process, so your patience is appreciated. We will always aim to provide a personalised course offer to each student before the end of Term 3, although the timeline remains flexible depending on the complexity of each cohorts choices. 

Key points for the COURSE OFFER stage include:

1. Students will be provided with a COURSE OFFER before the end of Term 3 wherever possible, after all course selections are reviewed and processed.

2. Students and parents will have the opportunity to book an appointment and attend a course offer counselling session, during which subject changes can be explored before the course offer is signed by all parties. If counselling is not required, the signed form should be returned directly to the Engagement Team.

3. The admin team will use this signed offer to prepare student fee statements in order to confirm course placements.

How does the preference system for course offers work?

a. Course offers are developed based on a preference system. Complex algorithms are used to provide the best possible combination of student preferences, within the bounds of class size, staffing and specialist room requirements.

b. Priority 1 is given to year 12 students continuing a year 11 course of study.

c. Priority 2 is given to year 11 students continuing VCE Access programs and all other year VCE and VCE-VM programs (including year 10 VCE Access courses).

d. Priority 3 is given to all year 10 courses, starting from preference 1.

e. Priority 4 is given to all year 9 courses, starting from preference 1

f. NOTE: our program is customised every year to accommodate each individual cohort of students.

Stage 4: Course Confirmation

Having completed all of the planning for a senior pathway, families must now confirm the students course. Parents/Carers should ensure their Compass access and notifications are up to date, as students are NOT notified when a course confirmation request is sent to parents. The key steps for course confirmation include:

1. Parents should ensure they have Compass login credentials and can access the portal.

2. Altona College will send a notification to each family, including the following:

a. User agreements and general permissions for the following school year

b. Subject list and associated fees (if they apply)

c. Options for payment in full or payment plan

3. Once confirmed with a payment arrangement started, students will be placed into classes.

4. CAUTION: No student is guaranteed placement in a class until Course Confirmation has been completed by the parent/carer.

Stage 5: Timetable

1. Once course confirmations are finalised, our team will populate classes and finalise the timetable. Again, this is a customised process completed each year, depending on staff availability, student choices and room requirements. The task is arduous, so please be patient. 

2. Timetables will be loaded into COMPASS over the school holidays and will be available to students at least one week prior to the commencement of the school year.

Advanced Studies Requirements:  

All students have access to a standard curriculum across Years 7 to 10, with access to a preference-based system from year 9 onwards. In addition, students may express interest in extension pathways that are accessed by invitation only. 

Invitational extension classes include: 

1. Year 9 Advanced Mathematics 

2. Year 10 Advanced Mathematics 

3. Year 10 Specialist Mathematics 

4. VCE Psychology Units 1-4 

5. VCE Business Management Units 1-4 

6. VCE Health & Human Development Units 1-4 

7.    School-based apprenticeships and traineeships  

In addition, year 9 and 10 students may choose to express interest in VCE access courses, allowing them to access a select number of VCE courses 1 year ahead of their regular year level. In these cases, placements will be allocated on a preference basis as follows: 

Students already enrolled in a prior sequence of units (EG, satisfactory completion of Units 1-2, grants first preference into Units 3-4) 

Students of the designated year level for the subject. 

Students who have expressed interest in, and been invited to join an accelerated VCE pathway. 

Accessing an extension pathway 

There are four steps to enrolment in an extension pathway. They include; 

1. Invitation 

2. Course Selection 

3. Course Confirmation 

Expression of interest 

All students are welcome to express interest in an accelerated pathway when prompted and are not formally committed or obligated at this time. Expressions of interest open late in term 1, to allow our pathways team adequate time to support students who might not meet entrance requirements. 

Invitation 

All students (regardless of whether or not they have expressed interest) will be considered for entry into accelerated pathways, based on the following criteria: 

1. Academic Potential: 

1. NAPLAN results (Reading, Numeracy or both, depending on the subject) 

2. PAT results (Reading, Maths or both, depending on the subject) 

2. Academic Performance: 

1. CAT results 

2. Semester examination results 

3. Academic Engagement: 

1. GPA (attendance is part of GPA) 

2. Attendance (minimum attendance requirement of 90%, subject to principals’ assessment of extenuating circumstances) 

Course Selection 

All students will participate in course selection. Students who have received an invitation to apply for an extension pathway will be endorsed to enter the extension option as one of their course preferences. From this point, the standard course counselling and selection process will continue, with priority given to students based on their course preferences. Students who apply without invitation may have the selection removed from their preferences automatically. Complex timetabling constraints may result in an extension pathway clashing with a desired course. In these instances, priority will be given to the higher preference selected by the student.  

Course Confirmation 

The standard course confirmation process should be reflective of the courses selected by all students. At the time of course confirmation, students may request subject changes. In addition, updated academic results and GPA may be used to issue new invitations for extension where space permits, or revoke invitations in the case of declining outcomes or misconduct. 

Entrance Requirements: 

Invitations to extension pathway options will be based on student rank across a range of criteria. Minimum requirements for entrance are reviewed annually and are subject to statistical moderation at the discretion of the Student Achievement Team. An approximate guide is provided below to assist students in understanding approximate minimum requirements for entrance into extension courses. 

Achievement of minimum standards may not always result in the award of an invitation. Likewise, students who fall short of approximate minimum standards may still be eligible for invitation in special circumstances, at the discretion of the Student Achievement Team. 

Approximate Minimum Standards for invitation: 

MATHEMATICS 

Year 9 Advanced Mathematics: 

• Year 7 NAPLAN: Strong or Exceeding: Numeracy 

• Year 7 PAT: above 132 

• Year 8 PAT: above 135 

• CAT Results: 60% or higher (Year 8 Elevate), 75% or higher (Year 8 Core) 

• Exam Results: 60% or higher (Year 8 Elevate), 75% or higher (Year 8 Core) 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 90% or above 

Year 10 Advanced Mathematics: 

• Year 9 NAPLAN: Strong or Exceeding: Numeracy 

• Year 8 PAT: 135 

• Year 9 PAT: 137 

• CAT Results: 60% or higher (Year 9 Advanced), 80% or higher (Year 9 Core) 

• Exam Results: 60% or higher (Year 9 Advanced), 80% or higher (Year 9 Core) 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 90% or above 

Year 10 Specialist Mathematics: 

• Year 9 NAPLAN: Exceeding 

• Year 8 PAT: 135 

• Year 9 PAT: 137 

• CAT Results: 75% or higher (Year 9 Advanced), 90% or higher (Year 9 Core) 

• Exam Results: 75% or higher (Year 9 Advanced), 90% or higher (Year 9 Core) 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 90% or above 

VCE Mathematical Methods – Units 1-2 

• Year 9 NAPLAN: Strong or Exceeding: Numeracy 

• Year 9 PAT: 138 

• CAT Results: 60% or higher (Year 10 Advanced), 50% or higher (Year 10 Specialist)* 

• Exam Results: 60% or higher (Year 10 Advanced), 50% or higher (Year 10 Specialist)* 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 90% or above 

* Year 10 Specialist mathematics results are not available at the time of invitation, but may be used as an additional measure in extenuating circumstances) 

VCE Specialist Mathematics – Units 1-2 

• Year 9 NAPLAN: Exceeding: Numeracy 

• Year 9 PAT: 140 

• CAT Results: 80% or higher (Year 10 Advanced), 70% or higher (Year 10 Specialist)* 

• Exam Results: 80% or higher (Year 10 Advanced), 70% or higher (Year 10 Specialist)* 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 95% or above 

* Year 10 Specialist mathematics results are not available at the time of invitation, but may be used as an additional measure in extenuating circumstances) 

VCE ACCESS 

VCE Access Units 1-4 (Psychology, Business Management, Health & Human Development) 

• Year 9 NAPLAN: Strong or Exceeding: Reading 

• Year 9 PAT Reading: 136 

• CAT Results: 60% or higher (Year 10 English), 70% or higher (Year 10 English) 

• Exam Results: 60% or higher (Year 10 English – Sem 1) 

• GPA: 3 or higher 

• Attendance: 90% or above 

SBAT: School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships

When considering SBAT as a pathway option, students must meet the following criteria:

1. College Standing (GPA):
   Students must demonstrate satisfactory academic performance.

2. Work Experience:
   A positive reference from a prior work experience placement is required.

3. Vocational Study:
   Completion of at least 180 hours of satisfactory vocational study.

4. Headstart Application:

   • Submission and approval of a Headstart Expression of Interest (EOI).

   • Attendance at a Headstart interview.

5. Availability:
   The SBAT must be scheduled on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

6. Additional Considerations:
   These may include:

   • Family business involvement or personal connections relevant to the SBAT.

   • Individual student competencies.

   • Overall college standing and student readiness.