Student Data Capture System

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Key dates

Data submission 2 is due on Monday 28 May 2018.

Data submission 2 (Version 2) is due on Monday 23 July 2018.

Data submission 2 (Version 3) is due on Monday 20 August 2018.

General notes

• Use the latest 2018 SDCS software version, which can be downloaded from:

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/sdcs/software.

• Set SDCS to Disk #2 status (in the current Year 12 Cohort – File menu > Change Disk #).

• Information submitted in Data Submission 2 is used to produce Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test attendance reports and place cards.

• Data Submission 2 collects both Year 11 and Year 12 student and subject information. Both years’ data must be error-free. If you are having trouble producing an error-free disk, call us for advice. Please don’t send a backup file without prior approval from this office.

• Check the eligibility of all students and ensure all repeat, re-entry, interstate, overseas, Variable Progression Rate (VPR) and Visa students are flagged correctly and that the correct units of credit have been granted.

• Ensure all new students appear on the file and that all students who have left your school have a Left Early date entered against them so that their data can be transferred when they enrol at another school.

• If you have students participating in the Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement (QCIA), ensure to tick the QCIA checkbox on the Student Details tab. All comments and achievements are to be recorded in SLIMS/RABS.

• Upload files using the Submit files facility via the QCAA website

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/sdcs. Emails will not be accepted without prior approval.

Detailed help on specific situations are covered in the following pages:

• Procedures for ceasing students

• Students transferring from another Queensland school

• Recording VET results

• SDCS Checking Reports

• Common error / warning messages.

Data submission 2

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Procedures for ceasing students

In order for an exiting student to be ceased in SLIMS and the appropriate learning and results to be banked into their learning account, all provider enrolments for the student at your school need to be ceased via SDCS. These provider enrolments will cease when the QCAA receives and processes a SDCS data submission that contains:

• accurate recording of completed semesters for all subjects

• a provisional Level of Achievement (LoA) and result for each subject and/or competency enrolment

• a Left Early date

Enter the following data to cease provider enrolments

For Authority and Authority-registered subjects:

• Enter the provisional Level of Achievement (LoA) and update the semester units studied to accurately reflect only the completed semesters.

• If a student can’t be graded with a Level of Achievement (LoA) for any semester of a subject, that subject is to be deleted, to enable a Left Early date to be entered.

• Students should not be enrolled in semester units beyond their Left Early date.

For school VET courses and competencies:

Year 12, 2018

Enter a Left Early date

Enter a provisional Level of Achievement (LoA) for each subject

Match the number of completed semesters

30/03/2018

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• The competency End Dates must be the same, or earlier than, the general Left Early date for the student.

Failure to enter the Left Early date and cease all VET enrolments will prevent any transfer of data for a student who enrols at another school and will make the Main Learning Provider (MLP) status incorrect.

Students transferring from another Queensland school

Where students transfer to your school from another Queensland school, the Start Semester remains the semester in which the student started their Year 11 studies in Queensland.

For Authority subjects:

• Enter all current and previous semesters studied, both at your school and at previous schools.

This is needed to calculate OP eligibility correctly.

For Authority-registered subjects and VET:

• Only enter the semesters studied at your school

• The previous school/s are responsible for recording semester units, courses, competencies studied and the results for those completed with them.

For each competency, enter an Outcome

For each competency, enter an End Date (the same or earlier than the Left Early date) For each competency,

enter Yes in the Competency Completed column

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Recording VET results

SDCS must only be used to record VET activity where the student’s current school is the Registered Training Organisation (RTO).

All VET delivered by schools that are RTOs are to be reported under the School VET tab on the Student Details page.

Refer to Entering VET data into SDCS - VET data reporting guide:

www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/vet_sdcs_handbook.pdf.

For competency results to be reported and banked correctly in students’ learning accounts, you must complete the Outcome, Competency Completed, Start and End Date fields. Pay careful attention to the entry in the Course Completed field. Only select Yes when the student has achieved all units required by the qualification packaging rules. Awarding and issuance of a certificate and QCE credit calculations are determined by this field.

SDCS Checking Reports

The SDCS Checking Report is published on the school specific reports page on the QCAA website approximately one week after each Data Submission:

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/secure_site/secure/schools/reports/schoolSpecificReports.jsp.

This report is produced after SDCS data collection processing to highlight SDCS data elements that may need checking and correction. This report is designed to detect common errors

identified through the SDCS data collection process and to aid in the continual data flow between schools and QCAA.

It is imperative you download this report and action as required. These errors will prevent a student’s learning account being populated with enrolment and result details from SDCS and may also prevent your school from becoming a student’s Main Learning Provider in SLIMS.

Check the data in both SDCS and SLIMS and amend one or both to reflect the correct details prior to the next SDCS data submission.

Common error / warning messages

To view the error / warning message, click on the Student Details tab (for that particular student) then click on the Messages tab.

Symbol Explanation

Validated, no errors or warnings

Errors exist in record; data cannot be submitted with errors

Invalidated state; changes have been made but not validated; left students are always in this state

No errors or warnings; an information message

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Solutions

Message Explanation Solution

Error Message 309:

Your school is not listed as participating in this restricted subject

The version of SDCS you are running does not have a record of your school participating in this restricted subject. Restricted subjects are usually trial pilots.

You must apply to the QCAA to participate in the trial pilot.

Invalid study pattern for Variable Progression Rate

The subject noted needs to have the semester units showing the actual pattern of study. If only two semesters of the subject are to be studied, then remove the semester units that are not being studied.

For example, when Semesters 1 and 2 are being studied, delete the 3 and 4 in the columns next to the When column.

Check that the entries for the student in the Start Semester and Cert Year fields are correct.

VPR must do at least half the workload (Authority subjects) in the final year

It is a requirement for Variable Progression Rate (VPR) students to complete at least half of their Year 12 studies of Authority subjects in the final year.

This error indicates that this requirement has not been met.

SDCS and/or the student’s course of study will need to be updated to meet this requirement.

For example, if a student is studying a total of four Authority subjects, they must complete at least two in the final year of the VPR.

Error Messages 404–406:

ATSI/Country of

Birth/Language spoken at home may not be empty

These fields appear on the Students tab and can be bulk- filled with a default value.

Click on the column header, e.g. Language, to get the option to Fill the column with default value.

Warning Message 413:

Both home phone and home email may not be blank

Enter a home phone number, a home email address or both.

Warning Message 430:

Student does not have a Learner Unique Identifier (LUI)

If possible, enter the LUI for the student as created in the

Registration and Banking System (RABS).

The LUI is not unique

There is a student, in any cohort on SDCS, with the same LUI.

Check the students and correct or remove the LUI.

The Local Student Number is not unique

There is a student, in any cohort on SDCS, with the same School Student ID.

Check the students, and correct or remove the ID.

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Unit of Competency start and end dates cannot be blank

These fields must never be blank. The enrolment activity Start Date is the date that training activity commences for a unit of competency; that is, the date of the first class or the date the student engaged in learning activity. If the date is unknown, the expected Start Date must be reported.

The End Date is the date that training activity ends for a unit of competency. In the first instance, the expected End Date for the training course is entered. In the second instance, the date a result for the Unit of Competency was entered in the Outcome column should be entered.

Outcome is 'CONT' when Unit of Competency has already ended

The End Date for the Unit of Competency has passed and the outcome is still CONT (continuing).

You should update the Outcome to something other than CONT or extend the End Date for the Unit of Competency.

Year 12 student does not have a LUI

These fields must never be blank. To resolve this warning or error, if possible, enter the LUI for the student as created in the Registration and Banking System.

Unit of Competency End Date is prior to Unit of Competency Start Date

These fields must never be blank. Update the Start Date or End Date for the Unit of

Competency to accurately reflect when training began or finished.

More information

If you would like more information, please visit the QCAA website

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/sdcs. Alternatively, phone 07 3864 0278 or email the Helpdesk at [email protected].