UPDATE: 7.25pm:
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VTAC has released a statement following a blunder in which it accidentally released some VCE results weeks ahead of time.
“We understand there have been a lot of concerns about the premature release of VCE results and ATAR to around 2,000 of the more than 80,000 students eligible to receive results,” the statement reads.
“We know it may not seem fair for a small portion of students to have their results before others, but the infrastructure and support networks required to support the full VCE cohort will not be fully available until the scheduled release at 7am, Monday 12 December 2016.
“For this reason, the published date for the official release will not change.
“VTAC sincerely apologises to all VCE students for any distress or uncertainty caused.
“Thorough internal investigations in conjunction with the service provider are already underway, and VTAC welcomes the announcement of an independent Ministerial review.
“Any students with concerns about text messages received should contact the VCAA on 1800 134 197 or VTAC on 1300 364 133.”
Original story:
Students in Bendigo who received their VCE results ahead of time were left scrambling for accurate information about whether their university dreams would be realised this week.
Bendigo Senior Secondary College student Justine Whaley said the botched release had caused significant anxiety for her and her friends.
The 18-year-old said the group had nowhere to turn to confirm the accuracy of the text messages sent out between 7pm and 8pm on Wednesday, as internet message boards descended into “chaos”.
“I was very worried that some people were saying the score was unscaled or those were incorrect scores and it might turn out lower,” she said.
“We had no clue if it was right or wrong … everyone was just so worried.”
BSSC principal Dale Pearce said he contacted a number of students on Wednesday night, as the uncertainty surrounding the “embarrassing” bungle left them feeling concerned and anxious.
“My immediate concern was for the students and whether or not the information they were receiving was accurate because there was a lot of misinformation circulating on social media and from student to student,” he said.
“We were all unsure as to whether the information they received was accurate and so that created a great deal of anxiety and concern for students.
“It’s disappointing that this has happened and it will be embarrassing for [the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre] that the operator of their SMS service managed this process in the way they did.”
Mr Pearce said while the incident was “disappointing for everyone involved”, he would not be seeking assurances from VTAC about the ongoing security of students’ Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks, describing the incident as an “aberration”.
“I don’t think we need to go and seek that assurance, VTAC is very protective of the ATAR and as we’re all aware in schools there are very strict processes around the release of ATAR results and VCE study scores,” he said.
“This is an aberration and it’s an embarrassing one and it’s a reminder that we all need to be careful about how we handle such sensitive information.”
VTAC released a statement on Thursday morning confirming the results released on Wednesday night, saying it would contact each of the students affected “to confirm the accuracy of the information and provide further support”.
For Justine Whaley, whose ATAR was high enough to allow her to study international business at La Trobe University in Bundoora next year, the confirmation could not have come soon enough.
“They sent an email out last night or early this morning saying the results are accurate so now knowing that, I’m really happy with the result,” she said.
“I was a little bit worried that my score would drop but it seems to be all good now.”
Mr Pearce said he was “absolutely” confident the results were correct but any students who still had concerns about the early release should contact their school’s careers adviser or student support staff.
VTAC can also be contacted on 1300 364 133.