The quarterly collection windows open four weeks after the end of the quarter, and remain open for a two week period. The collection periods for 2018 are available here on the NCVER website.

The table below indicates when the reporting periods occur and when training data will become available in USI Transcripts. If you report your AVETMISS data quarterly, you can expect your student’s transcripts to be updated in May, August & November each year.

More information on submitting quarterly date is available here on the NCVER website.

Collection period	Collection opens	Collection closes	USI transcript updated no later than
January to March 2018	1 May 2018	15 May 2018	End May 2018
January to June 2018	1 August 2018	15 August 2018	End August 2018
January to September 2018	1 November 2018	15 November 2018	End November 2018
January to December 2018 (Annual)	2 January 2019	28 February 2019	Early May 2019

You will be able to view, via the Organisation Portal, the transcript of any student who has given your provider permission from within their USI account. 

A partial transcript allows students to create or download their transcript with only selected training information within their account. This enables students to tailor their transcript according to specific needs and purposes such as providing evidence of their skills when applying for jobs. Students can also give access to training providers to view their transcripts online for enrolment purposes. However, training providers, if given permission to view transcripts online, will always view the full transcript

All nationally recognised training including nationally accredited training reported by training providers will appear on a USI Transcript. The USI Transcript should include the following information:

• The full name of the USI account holder (this is the only information drawn from the USI account)
• The name of all the nationally recognised training completed or commenced since 2015 and available as part of the national VET collection. The full list of available annual and quarterly data that is currently included in a transcript is shown in the USI Transcript - Available Data information box at the top of this page.
• The name of all units of competency and modules in which the individual enrolled and
  • their outcome, for example whether the competency was achieved or not;
  • the training providers that delivered them;
  • the date they were commenced and completed; and
  • an indication of their source of funding that is, whether individuals paid for their own training, or received training that was subsidised by government.

Training providers report either quarterly or annually to the national VET collections, so there will always be a time lag in displaying recently completed training. Therefore, USI Transcripts should be read in conjunction with other evidence of training.

The information in the USI transcript comes from the training data that each training provider submits either directly or through their State Training Authorities, to the national VET collections which are managed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). Training providers must submit this data at least once a year, although many submit it more frequently, especially when they deliver training paid for by government. Training providers who report via their State Training Authorities (STAs) should note that the STAs only report quarterly to NCVER.

The transcript should include details of all non-exempt nationally recognised training completed or commenced since 2015 and available as part of the national VET collection. The full list of available annual and quarterly data that is currently included in a transcript is shown in the USI Transcript - Available Data information box at the top of this page.

If information about training completed from 2015 onwards is not shown, it may be because the training organisation has:

• an exemption from reporting the training,
• not included the USI in the data reported, or
• not reported any data.

Where confirmed errors or omissions are brought to their attention by students, training providers will be expected to resubmit correct data at the earliest opportunity to enable USI account holders to receive a complete transcript.

 

 

On rare occasions, incorrect or incomplete transcripts may also be the result of individuals having more than one USI. USI account holders or training organisations should advise the USI Office as soon as possible if they think that this may have occurred.

 

Note - Training providers can use the USI Transcript Update Tool to update records on a USI Transcript where the subjects and programs are listed on training.gov.au (TGA). This means that there are a small number of accredited units/modules that are not on TGA which cannot be updated using the tool.

If you would like students to give you permission to see their transcript online you will need to ask them, it is not automatic. You can view a student’s transcript online only if they have set their access controls in the Student Portal to give you permission. You can only view the transcript via the USI Organisation Portal.

You will need to be able to access the USI Organisation Portal. This means that you must have an AUSkey (standard AUSkey).

USI Transcripts have the same status as paper qualifications and statements of attainment issued by training providers for credit transfer purposes.

Direct access to a USI Transcript via the USI Organisation Portal will provide additional assurance that information presented is that reported by the relevant RTO to the national VET collection.

If you have any concerns about the authenticity of training information contained in a USI Transcript you should contact the relevant training provider in the first instance. If you require further assistance, you can contact the USI Office by emailing USI@education.gov.au or calling 1300 857 536.

International students studying Nationally Recognised Training offshore do not require a USI number. From 2017 RTOs can use the ‘INTOFF’code to report international offshore students in their national VET collections data submission.

No, students cannot set permissions for employers and industry to view their USI Transcripts. They can only set permissions for RTOs and a small number of designated VET-Related Bodies.

No, only nationally recognised training activity will appear on USI Transcripts as the information on the transcripts only reflects training activity reported by RTOs into the national VET collections.

While you only specify two users of AVS when initially registering, once registered you will be able to include additional users with differing roles as needed. This can be undertaken by the person in your organisation who has the Primary contact or Org admin role within AVS. In addition, more than one user from an organisation can be editing data in the USI Transcript Update Tool at the same time, so long as they are not editing the same USI.

School-based RTOs will need to register for AVS if they need to use the USI Transcript Update Tool. Your Board of Studies will not be able to make transcript updates on your behalf.

The requirement for school-based RTOs to register for AVS will depend on their data collecting and storing arrangements, for example:

• some schools are RTOs and would need to register for AVS

• some schools are part of a school system, which may manage a centralised SMS and have AVS registration

• some schools engage an RTO to deliver training which may have AVS registration.

The only change a student can make to a transcript is a change of name. The student is not currently required to notify their RTO if they have changed their name in their USI account.

As long as the RTO collected and verified the USI prior to the student changing their name and they have reported the training against the correct USI, it will appear in the correct transcript. A former student may change their name after completing a qualification for example, by marriage. The USI Transcript can reflect their new name but RTOs are not required to update their records to reflect these changes when they occur after they have submitted their training information to the national VET collection and issued a qualification.

The USI Office recommends that RTOs update student transcripts as quickly as is reasonably possible and give priority to students seeking an update to their USI Transcript.

If an RTO is unable to contact past students or collect their USI, their data cannot be updated. To avoid this situation in future, the USI Office strongly recommends that a USI is collected and verified at enrolment or as close to enrolment as possible. RTOs should also follow up on verification issues quickly.

The USI Registry enables RTOs to verify a USI at the point of collection using either the Organisation Portal or their own Student Management System (SMS) (your SMS must be configured to do this).

For 2015 and 2016 training data, RTOs can assist a student who was late in providing a USI but wants those units reflected in their USI Transcript by using the USI Transcript Update Tool which enables you to submit their training with their USI, including where training was previously submitted without a USI.

Transcripts reflect the training activity reported by RTOs into the national VET collections, so outcomes are not updated in transcripts in real time. Reporting is quarterly for Government Funded training and annually for most Fee For Service training activity and for data submitted via Boards of Study for school students. To avoid confusion, training graduates should rely on documentation issued by their RTO for recent training pending regular national collection uploads.

Regardless of the outcome achieved, if there was no USI attached to the training activity when it was submitted into the national VET collections, it will not appear on the USI Transcript.

RTOs are encouraged to use the materials provided by the USI Office to help students understand the value of providing their USI, to collect and verify USIs at enrolment or as soon as possible thereafter and to follow up on any issues with collection or verification quickly.

USI Transcripts have the same status as paper qualifications and statements of attainment issued by RTOs for credit transfer purposes.

Direct access to a USI Transcript via the USI Organisation Portal will provide additional assurance that information presented is that reported by the relevant RTO to the national VET collections.

If you have any concerns about the authenticity or accuracy of training information contained in a USI Transcript, you should contact the relevant RTO in the first instance. If you require further assistance, you can contact the USI Office by emailing USI@education.gov.au or calling 1300 857 536.

Yes, the USI Transcript will show unit and module level details. A sample transcript is available on the USI website, which shows the type of training information that will appear

RTOs do not need permission from the student to use the USI Transcript Update Tool because it is only used to update training delivered by that RTO. They will however, need the verified USI for the student if not previously collected. RTOs can access the USI Transcript Update Tool by logging into their AVETMISS validation software account.

Yes, students can grant permission to the RTO to update their personal details. They can do this through the ‘Provide your USI’ option within their USI account.

A few key details including the student’s name and/or date of birth can only be updated if you have information from the appropriate form of ID.

It is optional for students to provide RTOs with permission to view their USI Transcript, however the benefits of setting this permission for enrolment purposes, credit transfers and entitlement assessments are promoted in the Student USI Transcript Support Materials. These support materials also promote the flexibility to set this permission for a specified period of time and to remove the permission at any time. You can include these support materials with enrolment USI information for students along with the option to set this permission, so students are informed of the benefits. In addition, recent enhancements to the USI Student Portal include improved prompting to assist students with understanding the benefits of this permission option.

All RTOs automatically have access to the Organisation Portal, as long as they are listed on training.gov.au and have a standard AUSKey. If you don’t have access, use the Step by step guide to setup on the USI website

Most students will provide a USI or give permission for an RTO to retrieve or create a USI for them if requested. RTOs should follow up quickly with students who are unable to provide a USI at enrolment.

All students undertaking nationally recognised training must have a USI, regardless of whether they complete the course or not. Creating or collecting and verifying your students’ USIs at enrolment, before training begins ensures that you are well positioned to meet your reporting requirements, especially if the student withdraws. 

NCVER is investigating the requirements for a renewed, modern and fit-for-purpose national VET information management system that improves quality, timeliness and access. Please see this link for the work that has recently commenced.

Transcripts display data reported using AVETMISS. AVETMISS has no provision to record payment status for reported training or to block or unblock display of training outcomes based on payment status.

The Transcript will record any outcomes for nationally recognised training that the RTO has reported. RTOs with substantial non-payment issues may wish to consider collecting fees due before they complete training and report a completed outcome. We recommend RTOs note the provisions of Standard 3.3 for RTOs. 

A student’s USI transcript contains training outcome data submitted to the national collection by the student’s RTO as a true record of the training undertaken by the student since 2015, including completions and non-completions. As such, a student’s USI transcript accessed directly online by the RTO is a valid way to authenticate the training undertaken by a student, comparable to calling the issuing RTO.

The Australian’s Skills Quality Authority has updated the Users’ Guide to the Standards for RTOs 2015 which provides helpful information and tips for compliance. Clause 3.5 now identifies ‘authenticated VET transcripts issued by the Registrar’ as evidence of credit to learners for units of competency and/or modules.