Change of course levels in SIMS causing issues with exams

[kb2014]

As per advice from SIMS Support to help with census errors we changed the description of the levels for our AS and A2 subjects from GCEAS and GCEA to GCE2Y, a single course instead of two, we now have a problem when trying to link both AS and A level qualifications to the single course as you can only associate one qualification.

 

All our students sit an AS exam at the end of year 12 followed by an A level exam at the end of year 13. How do we associate both the AS and the A2 qualifications to this same course? We cant seem to find a way and are very concerned that this change to help with the census is going to cause problems with conducting exams.

 

 

[daturum]

GCEAS should be linked to the AS course and GCE2Y should be linked to the A level course. The GCEAS course would last one year starting in Year 12, and the same students could be in a two year course for the A level.

[kb2014]

Thank you for your reply! This is the way we used to have it but were advised to change because it it threw up so many errors with the census and therefore funding and also the timetables because we had Y12 students on the AS and the A Level course in the same year when they are only doing the one course.. if that makes sense! How did you get around this?

[daturum]

I don't use SIMS any more - this is from memory so it's possible things have changed. The alternative is to create the A level as a 1 year course for Year 13s (or end the AS level around the beginning of May and start the A level after in that academic year).

[SIMS_Customer_Support]

2 hours ago, daturum said:

I don't use SIMS any more - this is from memory so it's possible things have changed. The alternative is to create the A level as a 1 year course for Year 13s (or end the AS level around the beginning of May and start the A level after in that academic year).

Hi @kb2014 

You can have multiple awards to a course, but you can only have 1 active QAN code to a course. 

 

I recommend you reach out to the LA or DfE to confirm how this should be recorded, but from SIMS point of view, you can have 2 awards, but only 1 active QAN code for a course. 

 

I would like to follow up on the advice you were given, did you make contact with our service desk direct or was it via a Support Unit? Please can you provide a case reference so I can investigate? 

 

Kind Regards,

Sally