Ranking burden lifted for students

Wimmera year-12 students navigating the impacts of COVID-19 are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel following a State Government change to tertiary rankings.

All year-12 students studying for their Victorian Certificate of Education, VCE, will be individually assessed to reflect COVID-19 impacts in their Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank, ATAR.

Education Minister James Merlino said the process would consider factors such as school closures and absences, increases in family responsibilities and the effect on students’ mental health.

For Horsham College student Darcie Colbert, the changes are a sigh of relief.

The VCE student plans to study a double degree in law and commerce next year and most universities require an ATAR of at least 90.

“It really shows the government is considering the impacts this pandemic has had on us,” she said.

“It’s good just knowing I don’t have to worry as much about my scores.”

Year-12 students, along with other year levels, learned remotely for much of term two.

Year-11 and 12 students returned to on-site learning on July 13 but went back to remote learning last week under the stage-three restrictions.

Darcie said despite the changes, she was staying positive throughout the second round of remote learning.

“I keep in contact with friends a lot and I know there’s people at the schools and other places in town who can help me if I need,” she said.

“I try not to focus on the bad things that are happening and hopefully I can get to the end of the year knowing everything is okay.”

Darcie said she was more disappointed to be missing out on all the experiences she expected in her final year of schooling.

“A lot of 18th birthdays are cancelled and a lot of people can’t get their licence with Vicroads shut down. It’s just a lot of small things that would be happening that have been cancelled,” she said.

Year-12 student Neve O’shannessy said despite changes to ATAR ranking, remote and flexible learning was still a major challenge.

“It’s a bit of a kick in the guts being sent back home. It’s just a lot harder to keep up motivation because it’s so easy just to walk away from the computer,” she said.

The Stawell Secondary College student had initially planned to travel overseas for a gap year in 2021.

But she said the pandemic changed her plans and she now looked to study occupational therapy at Deakin University next year.

“My original plans were to have a gap year and travel overseas, but because of the virus I don’t think that will be possible,” she said.

“Another big concern of mine is I might have to study university online next year, which is not something I would be keen on.”

Ararat Secondary College year-12 student Alex Pagett is feeling more confident for the second round of remote learning.

“This time I do feel more confident, especially when they said they would definitely re-consider our ATAR scoring at the end of the year,” he said.

“I think I’m gaining more initiative learning from home. You have to be more out there than usual.”

The VCE student plans to study a Bachelor of Arts next year and hopes to work in graphic design.

The Federal Government’s overhaul to the cost of university degrees will mean Alex is likely to face a fee-hike as much as 113 percent for his dream course.

He said it was big blow taking the news that tuition fees would more than double for what he wanted to do, but said it would not deter him from chasing his goals.

“I’m taking it day by day. I try not to feel impacted by it too much – I can handle this for the rest of the year and will still head to university and do what I want to do,” he said.

“I think everyone should stick to what they want do and not let the news get to them – that’s the mindset I’m keeping right now.”