School Access

SRS ratings in School Access closed at 11.59pm Sun 29 Sep 2024

EAS document upload in School Access

  • Upload EAS documents by 11.59pm Thu 21 Nov 2024 to have them assessed for Dec Round 2 offers
  • Closes at 11.59pm Fri 7 Feb 2025
  • Please email questions to equity@uac.edu.au

School Access is where you rate your school's Schools Recommendation Scheme applicants and upload educational impact statements for Educational Access Scheme applicants.

School Access allows for three types of users: Admin users, SRS users and EAS users.

Admin users can:

  • invite up to four new staff members (including yourself in addition to your existing role as Admin) to act as SRS and/or EAS users and rate students
  • update other user accounts
  • delete your own or other user accounts
  • transfer your admin ownership.

SRS users can rate SRS applicants.

EAS users can upload educational impact statements for Educational Access Scheme applicants.

For detailed instructions on using School Access, download the User Guide.

How do I get access to School Access?

Schools in the UAC system are invited to register for School Access. Most of these schools already have existing accounts.

To get access:

  • If you know who the Admin user is for your school, ask them to create or manage an account for you.
  • If you don't know who the Admin user is, email your query to srs@uac.edu.au.

There are three user roles in School Access:

  1. Admin user (one per school)
  2. SRS user
  3. EAS user.

Each school can have up to five users, and users can hold multiple roles. The Admin user can manage all accounts, assign roles and transfer the Admin role to another existing user. Note: Admin users must assign themselves the SRS user and EAS user roles to perform these tasks.

Why doesn’t my username and password work?

Ensure you are using the correct login details for School Access – these are different from your login details for School Hub. Also, remember that usernames for School Access are case sensitive.

How do I find my username and password?

Your School Access username is usually your work email. It’s case sensitive. If you've forgotten your password:

  1. Go to the School Access login page.
  2. Click the Forgot password link.
  3. Enter your username (your email) to receive a reset link.

Where do I find the ‘Forgot password?’ link on the School Access login page?

The link might be hidden due to a zoom or scaling issue. Zoom out or reduce the page scaling and you’ll find the link at the bottom of the page.

What do I do if the ‘Create password’ or ‘Reset password’ link expires?

Request a new password reset link by clicking the Forgot password link on the School Access login page.

Enter your case-sensitive username (your email).

How do I get the ‘Create password’ or ‘Reset password’ button link to work?

If the link isn’t working, it could be due to a zoom or scaling issue. Zoom out or reduce the page scaling, then try clicking the button again.

What do I do if the Admin user is no longer at our school?

Email srs@uac.edu.au and ask for assistance with transferring the Admin role.

Why can't I see the SRS ratings section in my account?

You might be logged in as the Admin user without the SRS user role. Admin users need to assign themselves the SRS user role to access the ratings section.

Alternatively, ask your school’s SRS user to provide the ratings. If you're the Admin user, you can check who the SRS user is in the 'Staff member' section of your Admin account.

Why are some SRS applicants missing from my ratings list?

First, confirm that you are logged in as an SRS user. If you're logged in as an Admin user, make sure you've assigned yourself the SRS user role.

Reasons applicants may be missing:

  • The student hasn’t applied for undergraduate courses via UAC.
  • The student hasn’t applied for or fully submitted their SRS application. (SRS is a separate application on top of the undergraduate application.)
  • Schools with both HSC (or equivalent) and International Baccalaureate (IB) student groups have separate School Access accounts: one for the HSC group and one for the IB group. You’ll need to log in using the appropriate username for each group to rate applicants.

If needed, reset your password using the Forgot password link.

Are there guidelines for how to rate SRS applicants?

We don’t provide strict guidelines. Schools should rate applicants based on their personal, social and academic aptitudes. Ensure you apply a consistent approach for all students.

Can I change submitted SRS ratings?

No. Once submitted, SRS ratings cannot be changed, removed or replaced.

Why can't I see the Educational Impact Statement (EIS) upload section (for EAS applicants) in my account?

You might be:

  • logged in as the Admin user without the EAS user role. Admin users must add the EAS user role to access the EIS upload section.
  • logged in as an SRS user without the EAS user role. Ask your Admin user to add the EAS user role to your account.

Alternatively, ask your school’s EAS user to upload EISs. If you're the Admin user, check the 'Staff member' file in your Admin account to see who the EAS user is.

How do I find a list of EAS applicants and upload EISs for them?

For privacy reasons, we don’t display a list of EAS applicants in School Access. Instead, you can search for specific applicants.

First, confirm that you are logged in as an EAS user. If you’re logged in as an Admin user, assign yourself the EAS user role to access the upload section.

Search for applicants by their exact first name and family name or student ID.

Reasons applicants may be missing:

  • The student hasn’t applied for undergraduate courses via UAC.
  • The student hasn’t applied for or fully submitted their EAS application. (EAS is a separate application on top of the undergraduate application.)
  • The search terms (first name, family name or student ID) don't match the applicant's details in the UAC system.
  • Schools with both HSC (or equivalent) and IB student groups have separate School Access accounts: one for the HSC group and one for the IB group. You need to log in using the appropriate username for each group to search for EAS applicants and upload EIS documents.

Can I remove submitted EIS documents?

No. Submitted EIS documents cannot be changed, removed or replaced. However, you can upload additional EIS documents and the EAS application will be reassessed. There’s no limit on the number of EIS documents you can upload.

Is there an EIS template?

Download an EIS template

When using this template, please note:

  • When an EAS applicant gives you an EIS form to complete, it will specify the EAS circumstance being claimed. The EIS template is a generic form. Please enter the code and description of the EAS circumstance your student is claiming (eg H03A: Carer responsibilities).
  • Ensure you respond to questions 1 to 3. Question 4 is optional.
  • If an applicant has claimed multiple circumstances, you are welcome to upload a letter on school letterhead: please be as detailed as possible.

Are late SRS ratings or EIS documents accepted after the deadline/s?

No. Late submissions are not accepted.

Please check the deadlines for SRS ratings and EIS document uploads on this page or in School Access.

Schools Recommendation Scheme

The Schools Recommendation Scheme (SRS) gives Australian Year 12 students who have applied for undergraduate admission through UAC an opportunity to be assessed on criteria other than, or in addition to, the ATAR.

Institutions use a wide range of selection criteria, including school recommendations and senior secondary studies. They have their own policies on determining SRS eligibility and making offers. Institutions can, for example, make early offers based on:

  • SRS criteria only
  • SRS criteria and ATAR (or equivalent)
  • SRS and equity criteria.

Institution-specific SRS criteria

If you have any questions about SRS or rating students, please email srs@uac.edu.au.

Logging in

Admin users and SRS users will receive an email from UAC every time an SRS application is submitted by a student at your school.

  1. Log in to School Access using your email address and password. (You can reset your password, if required, after you enter your email address.)
  2. You will be taken to the SRS dashboard. From here you can navigate between the following sections:

    SRS applications
    View the list of all the students at your school who have submitted an SRS application. Locate the student you want to rate and click the Rate button. Enter ratings against each of the four aptitudes. Ratings range from 'inadequate' to 'exceptional'.

    My account
    Update your personal information, reset your password and delete your SRS user account.

Rating students

  1. Navigate to 'SRS applications'.
  2. Locate the student you want to rate and click the Rate button in the Action column.
  3. Enter ratings against each of the four aptitudes. Ratings range from 'inadequate' to 'exceptional'.
  4. If you start to rate a student and need to finish later, click the Save and finish later button. The 'SRS applications' page will display the status 'Partially rated' next to the student's name and the Rate button will remain active.
  5. When you have selected a rating for all four aptitudes, click the Submit rating button. A confirmation dialog box will be displayed.
  6. Click the Submit rating button. Once submitted, ratings cannot be edited.
  7. The 'SRS applications' page will display the status 'Rated' next to the student's name.
  8. Finalise all your ratings by 11.59pm 29 September 2024.
The four aptitude categories

You will be asked to rate each SRS applicant's aptitude in four categories:

  1. capacity for abstract thought and analysis
  2. ability to organise ideas and articulate a position orally and in written form
  3. ability to work and learn independently
  4. motivation to achieve long-term goals.
Aptitude rating scale
  • Exceptional
  • Very good
  • Good
  • Adequate
  • Inadequate

Deleting your School Access account

  1. Navigate to the 'My account' page.
  2. Click the Delete account button. A confirmation dialog box will appear.
  3. Click the Delete account button.

You will be automatically logged out of your account.

School Access Admin users can download SRS reports from the 'Students' page. SRS users do not have access to this page.

Column Explanation
A to D These columns contain details about your current Year 12 students: name, student number, date of birth).
E Undergraduate application status
This column tells you if the student has submitted an application for undergraduate admission through UAC.
Applicants must submit an application for undergraduate admission through UAC before they can apply for SRS.
F SRS submitted
This column tells you if the student has submitted an SRS application in addition to their UAC undergraduate application for admission.
G SRS rating status
This column shows whether the student has been rated, partially rated or is unrated.

Educational Access Scheme

The Educational Access Scheme (EAS) helps UAC applicants who have encountered significant educational challenges. It gives them the opportunity to have their circumstances taken into account when institutions select applicants for courses.

An important part of the EAS application is the educational impact statement. It needs to confirm or qualify the information in the applicant statement and provide independent evidence:

  • that an applicant has or hasn’t faced educational challenges
  • of the extent of the educational impact of any circumstances experienced.

The educational impact statement is usually written by a school/college principal, counsellor, year adviser or careers adviser.

UAC encourages all schools to return the completed educational impact statement to the applicant to upload to their application. If this is not possible, you can upload the statement to School Access.

If you have any questions about EAS or uploading statements to School Access, please email equity@uac.edu.au.

  1. Search for the EAS applicant
    - from the dashboard search box
    - from the EAS applications page.

    Search using one of the following:
    - first name and family name (must be exact match, including spaces and hyphens
    - student ID.
  2. Once the search result is returned successfully, click on Upload EIS button.
  3. Select documents to upload.
  4. Click Upload button.
  5. A success message will display. You cannot view or delete uploaded documents.

Document privacy

To ensure the privacy of EAS applicants, documents uploaded by EAS user A will not be visible to EAS user B.

Information required in an educational impact statement

When an EAS applicant gives you an educational impact statement form to complete, it will specify the EAS circumstance being claimed. You can also download a generic educational impact statement template, which is a generic form. If you use the template, please enter the code and description of the EAS circumstance your student is claiming (eg H03A: Carer responsibilities).

The educational impact statement must:

  • indicate that the EAS circumstances claimed have, or have not, affected the applicant’s studies
  • indicate the level of impact of the circumstances by ticking the relevant impact box (see definitions below)
  • include the duration of disadvantage (years/months)
  • include any additional information about the educational impact.

What your school writes in the statement must be specific to the applicant and indicate if the circumstances described in the applicant statement are accurate. Vague and generic statements are not helpful in the assessment process.

Please write a personalised statement for each student and each circumstance claimed.

Definitions of the level of impact on a student's studies

Slight
  • Not very noticeable or significant.
  • Small in size or degree; not much, or not great.
Moderate
  • Average or middle of the road in terms of intensity, degree or amount.
  • Not extreme or excessive; within the middle range of a scale.
Considerable
  • Large or significant in amount, degree or size.
  • Implies a noticeable amount or degree; not insignificant or trivial.
Extreme
  • Far beyond the norm or average, or at the very highest level.
  • Very intense or severe; at the limit of what is considered normal or acceptable.
  • Dangerous or unusual; a situation or condition that is very hard to deal with or endure.
  • Unusual or exceptional; outside the range of typical or normal experience.

Applicants with claims for multiple circumstances

Schools are welcome to supply a letter on school letterhead for applicants who claim multiple circumstances.

The letter must cover all the claimed circumstances. Please ensure the duration and level of impact/severity of each circumstances is clearly stated.

EAS assessors rely on the information provided in the school letter to verify each circumstance claimed and to gain an understanding of its impact on the applicant.

Tragic circumstances affecting a number of students

Every year a small number of schools experience tragic circumstances that affect more than one student; for example, the death of a Year 12 student.

In these circumstances schools are advised to provide an individual educational impact statement for each student in order to explain the educational impact the tragic circumstance has had on that particular student. It’s expected that the impact will vary among the student body. It doesn’t help assessment outcomes for students if the school provides the same statement for each of them.