Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

Easier access to VCE results

The Board of Studies and Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) will combine their annual results and tertiary entrance information services for the first time this year, providing VCE students with a "one-stop shop" for end of year results.

The development of the new service was initiated by the Minister for Education, Phil Gude, who asked the two groups to consider providing a joint service following technical problems with VTAC’s phone hotline last year.

Mr Gude, said the combined telephone hotlines and Internet sites would provide a cheaper and more convenient service for students.

"The new service will enable students to get both their Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) and VCE study scores from the one source, rather than having to contact two separate organisations,'" he said.

The Board and VTAC will also combine for a single post-results inquiry service, providing free advice to students on matters relating to both VCE scores and ENTER, which should help eliminate the confusion that has occurred in past years about which number to ring for a particular inquiry.

The combined phone service will cost $1.50 a minute, compared to last year’s charges of $2.40 a minute for VCE results and 75 cents a minute for the ENTER. Students’ ENTERs will be read first to reduce the cost for students who only wish to access their tertiary rank.

Free Internet access to ENTER scores will continue to be provided to all students who have a VTAC pin number. Students who wish to access their VCE results on the Internet will be required to pay $5 for unlimited hits, compared to $7.50 last year.

Last year about 36,000 students used the Board’s information services.

Details of the new service will be published in the new VTAC Guide.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Education, July 26, 1999)