Subjects and courses
What categories of subjects/courses are available for study in the Higher School Certificate program?
In NSW a subject is the general name given to an area of study that may have several different courses. For example, within the subject Japanese there are four different courses that can be studied for the Higher School Certificate:
- Japanese Beginners
- Japanese Continuers
- HSC Japanese Extension
- Japanese Background Speakers.
Students normally study Preliminary (usually done in Year 11) and HSC (usually done in Year 12) courses over one or two years. They may accumulate HSC courses over a period of up to five years. Courses generally consist of two units per year. Each unit requires 60 hours indicative school time per year. Extension courses (except in the case of VET) can only be done in combination with a 2-unit course and carry an additional value of one unit.
There are two main types of Preliminary and HSC courses studied:
- Board Developed Courses
- Board Endorsed Courses
- School Developed Courses
- Content Endorsed Courses (CECs)
- VET CECs
- University Developed Courses.
| Courses accredited by the NSW Board of Studies | |
| Board Developed Courses | |
| Duration | 1 or 2 years |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | Yes |
| No of units/Length of study time | 1 or 2 units @ 60 hours per unit |
| Assessment methods | External exam at the end of the HSC course and moderated internal (school-based) assessment (except for VET and Life Skills Courses) |
| Developed by | Board of Studies |
| Delivered by | Schools, Colleges of TAFE |
| Board Developed TAFE Delivered VET Course | |
| Duration | 1 or 2 years |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | Yes |
| No of units/Length of study time | 2 units |
| Assessment methods | Assessed by TAFE, results accredited towards both HSC and TAFE studies |
| Developed by | Board of Studies/TAFE |
| Delivered by | Colleges of TAFE |
| Board Endorsed Courses – School Developed | |
| Duration | 1 or 2 years |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | No |
| No of units/Length of study time | 1 or 2 units |
| Assessment methods | Internal (school-based) assessment |
| Developed by | Individual schools or groups of schools, endorsed by the Board of Studies |
| Delivered by | Schools |
| Board Endorsed Courses – Content Endorsed (CECs) | |
| Duration | 1 or 2 years |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | No |
| No of units/Length of study time | 1 or 2 units |
| Assessment methods | Internal (school-based) assessment |
| Developed by | Board of Studies |
| Delivered by | Schools, colleges of TAFE |
| Board Endorsed Courses – VET | |
| Duration | 1 or 2 years |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | No |
| No of units/Length of study time | Varies |
| Assessment methods | Assessed by schools (school delivered) or TAFE (TAFE delivered), results accredited to both HSC and TAFE studies |
| Developed by | School or TAFE, endorsed by the Board of Studies |
| Delivered by | School or TAFE |
| Board Endorsed Courses – University Developed | |
| Duration | 1 year |
| Accepted for tertiary entrance? | No |
| No of units/Length of study time | 1 or 2 units |
| Assessment methods | Assessed by delivering University, results accredited to HSC study pattern |
| Developed by | Universities in conjunction with schools and endorsed by the Board of Studies |
| Delivered by | Universities |