Not all students achieve their QCE by the time they've finished school. The good news is you can keep working towards it.
If you didn’t achieve your QCE it may be because you didn’t have enough total credits, didn’t meet the set standard or set pattern requirements, or you may not have met the literacy and/or numeracy requirements.
How can I keep working towards my QCE?
There are a number of options to earn more credits towards your QCE, or help you meet the completed Core requirement or the literacy and/or numeracy requirement:
If you are considering a course to boost your total QCE credit, it’s a good idea to check the learning category. A maximum of 4 credits from Preparatory courses and a maximum of 8 credits from Complementary course can contribute credit towards a QCE.
There are lots of QCAA developed courses which may help you meet QCE eligibility requirements after you’ve left school.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to complete the course by enrolling in a state high school as an adult student or through a school of distance education .
Senior External Examinations
The Senior External Examination is a program of individual subject examinations offered to eligible Year 12 students and adult learners.
There are lots of courses available, including mathematics and sciences subjects, humanities, and languages.
QCAA General and Applied subjects
QCAA General and Applied subjects can contribute up to 4 credits per subject towards your QCE.
QCAA short course in literacy and/or numeracy
QCAA Short courses are one-unit courses of study that may contribute one credit towards a QCE.
The QCAA Short course in Literacy is one of the options to help you meet the literacy requirement for the QCE.
The QCAA Short course in Numeracy is one of the options to help you meet the numeracy requirement for the QCE.
Find out about other options to meet the literacy and numeracy requirements for the QCE.
As well as contributing credit towards your QCE, VET courses can help develop your skills and get you ready for work. There are lots of different courses offered by TAFE Queensland and other providers. You can search for courses on these websites:
Note: Certificate I qualifications are in the Preparatory category and you cannot exceed a maximum of four credits.
Recognised studies are courses that have been recognised by the QCAA as being eligible to contribute credit to the QCE.
They cover a range of different learning areas including business, mathematics, science, technologies, the arts and more.
The courses span the three categories of learning — Core, Preparatory and Complementary — and some courses are worth more credit than others.
Remember to give any new learning providers your Learner Unique Identifier (LUI) when you enrol to make sure credits for your learning are banked with the QCAA.
Once you meet the requirements, the QCAA will issue your QCE and a Statement of Results in the following July or December.