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3.2 Who receives a UAI?While UAIs are calculated for all UAI-eligible students,only students who indicate on their HSC entry formsthat they wish to be notified of their UAI receive a UAIAdvice Notice from UAC. These students will receivetheir written Advice Notices at the same time as theyreceive their HSC results from the Board of Studies.The UAI Advice Notice includes:n a student’s UAIn a list of the UAI courses which the student studiedand the categorisation of each course andn the number of units of each UAI course that wereactually included in the calculation of the UAI.There are two cases where a UAI will not be shown onthe UAI Advice Notice. The first is when a student receivesa UAI between 0.00 and 30.00, in which case the UAI willbe indicated as "30 or less". The second is when thestudent has not met the requirements for a UAI, in whichcase the statement "Not Eligible" will appear.3.3 Eligibility for a UAITo be eligible for a UAI a student must satisfactorilycomplete at least 10 units of UAI courses. These UAIcourses must include at least:n eight units from Category A courses andn two units of English andn three Board Developed courses of two unitsor greater andn four subjects.See Table 1 on page 10 for the definition of ‘course’and ‘subject’.If you want to receive a UAI, you must check yourprogram of study carefully to make sure that youwill be eligible.3.4 Categorisation of UAI coursesUAI courses are assessed by formal examinationsconducted by the Board of Studies and have sufficientacademic rigour to be useful as preparation foruniversity study.UAI courses are classified as either Category A orCategory B courses. The criteria for Category A coursesare academic rigour, depth of knowledge, the degreeto which the course contributes to assumed knowledgefor tertiary studies, and the coherence with othercourses included in the UAI calculations. Category Bcourses are those whose level of cognitive andperformance demands are not regarded as satisfactoryin themselves, but their contribution to a selection indexis regarded as adequate if the other courses includedin the aggregate are more academically demanding.Courses to be examined in 2011 and their categoriesare listed in Table 1 on pages 10–12. At present thereare few Category B courses.3.5 Calculation of the UAIYour UAI is based on an aggregate of scaled marksin 10 units of UAI courses comprising:n your best two units of English andnyour best eight units from the remaining units, whichcan include up to two units of Category B courses.Marks to be included in the UAI calculations can beaccumulated over a five-year period but if a course isrepeated only the last satisfactory attempt is used inthe calculation of the UAI.For students accumulating courses towards their HSC,scaled marks are calculated the year the courses arecompleted. Marks are not re-scaled each year.The UAI is a rank NOT a mark.3.6 What does ‘satisfactorilycompleted’ mean?You will be considered to have satisfactorily completeda course if, in your school principal’s view, there issufficient evidence that you have:1 followed the course of study prescribed by theBoard of Studies, and2 applied yourself with diligence and sustained effortto the set tasks and experiences provided in thecourse by the school, and3 achieved some or all of the course outcomes.Receiving a mark for a course on your Record ofAchievement issued by the Board of Studies is anindication that you have satisfactorily completed thatcourse.3.7 How is the UAI determined?The UAI is determined by:n scaling the raw HSC marks (which are the averageof the raw HSC examination marks and themoderated school assessments) provided by theBoard of Studiesn calculating an aggregate of scaled marks for eachUAI-eligible studentn ranking UAI-eligible students based on thisaggregate of scaled marksn determining rankings based on what the rankingswould have been if all students in the Year 10 cohorthad completed Year 12 and been eligible for a UAI.This ranking is expressed as a percentile roundedto the nearest 0.05. This is the UAI.Note that rankings depend solely on performancein the HSC, not on performance in Year 10.More detailed information on the scaling processis available from UAC (see 3.9 on page 6).Bonus points and UAI cut-offsThe UAI cut-off for a course indicates the minimum UAIrequired for selection into the course for most Year 12applicants. Some applicants may receive an offer eventhough they have a UAI below the published cut-off.Often this is because those applicants have beenawarded bonus points by a particular institution.Bonus points are allocated for things like strongperformance in HSC subjects, living or attendingschool in a certain area, and applying for considerationthrough Educational Access Schemes. Bonus pointsare not added to your UAI. Bonus points don’t changeyour UAI; bonus points change your selection rank.For most Year 12 applicants, their selection rank istheir UAI. But if you have been awarded bonus points,your selection rank = your UAI + bonus points.Introduction5