Part-time students
A part-time student is a person who satisfies the student definition but who undertakes a workload less than that usually undertaken by a full-time student (as determined by the school) for that year. A part-time student has an FTE of less than 1.0.
A part-time student can be included if the student:
- is formally enrolled at the school; and
- is acknowledged by the school as having attended the school for at least the Minimum period (‘MP’)* of the program or course of study for which the student is enrolled during the Relevant period (‘RP’).
A part-time student is also taken to have attended the school if:
- the student attended the school for less than the MP because of the student’s absence from the school; and
- the student’s absence was for a reason that was beyond the control of the student’s parent or guardian, or the student (if living independently).
* Minimum Period (‘MP’): To determine the MP, divide 11 by the number of days in the RP and multiply this number by the number of days the student is enrolled to attend the school on a part-time basis during the RP. The MP must be rounded up to a whole number.
Formula: MP = PTD x (11/RP)
PTD means the number of days during which a program or course of study, for which the student is enrolled, is taught in the relevant period.
Example:
A part-time student is enrolled to attend a non-State school on Monday to Thursday of each week. The school opened on Tuesday, 28 January 2020, so the RP for that school is 24 days. For this student, there are 19 days in their educational program over the RP.
MP = 19 days x (11/24)
= 8.71 days rounded up to 9 days.
The student’s MP is therefore nine days. Note that a part day is taken to be one whole day for the purpose of calculating MP and PTD.
The reference period for determining the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of a student consists of five continuous school days within the RP.
Enter each part-time student individually according to year level, gender, number of hours attended during the reference period by the part-time student and number of hours attended during the reference period by a full-time student in the same or equivalent year level at the school. The Census form will calculate the FTE for each student.
Enrolment and attendance records, and all associated documentation used in determining eligibility for students to be counted on the Census form, must be retained by the school/governing body for a period of five years from Census Day, and in a way that ensures the integrity and security of the data and documents.
A part-time student must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or person with appropriate resident status.
Students to be excluded
- students who are not formally enrolled at the school;
- part-time students who have attended for less than the MP from the first day of the school year up to Census Day unless the absence was beyond the control of the student’s parent or guardian, or the student (if living independently);
- part-time distance education students;
- full-time students;
- students who are registered, or provisionally registered, in Queensland for home education;
- children who are prohibited from engaging in studies as a condition of a visa;
- overseas students (refer to the Overseas students section);
- students on visitor visas, bridging visas with study limitations or no visa (refer to the Students on visitor visas, bridging visas with study limitations or no visa section).
- underage Prep Year students, unless the student is enrolled under the provisions outlined in section 17 of the Education (General Provisions) Regulation 2017;
- students who attended the school for specialist or sporting activities, but are not formally enrolled at the school; and
- students who have left the school. Schools must keep verifiable information on the date the student exited the school, that is, the student’s last day of attendance.
Vodcast
Click on the link to watch a short vodcast explaining the application of the minimum attendance requirements and applying the ‘Beyond the control of’ test.
Last updated 30 January, 2020