Registration categories
There are four registration categories.
Candidates must be registered using the correct category. Each of the registration categories will have subject-related prohibitions that apply. Please check Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for those.
Anticipated (A) category
The anticipated (A) category is for candidates completing the diploma and taking one or two SL subjects after the first year of the programme. An anticipated session normally counts as one of the three possible sessions in which to achieve the diploma.
Anticipated (A) category
Any subject at SL may be taken as an anticipated subject, except for language ab initio subjects and pilot subjects.
An anticipated category candidate cannot register to take any of the core elements—extended essay (EE), theory of knowledge (TOK) or creativity, activity, service (CAS).
An anticipated candidate may register for additional subjects, but these cannot contribute to the award of the diploma. An additional subject can be taken at either SL or HL, but the candidate must still have received tuition for the recommended 150 hours (SL) or 240 hours (HL). It is not permitted to register for any core elements (EE, TOK, CAS) as an additional subject.
Diploma (D) category
The diploma (D) category is for a candidate who is completing the requirements of the diploma in the session for which they are being registered. For the regulations on the combination of subjects that constitute a diploma, refer to the General regulations: Diploma Programme and section A2.2 of this publication.
Diploma (D) category
A diploma candidate has a maximum of three examination sessions in which to achieve the diploma. The number or combination of sessions permitted is listed below.
|
First examination session |
Anticipated category (A) |
|
Second examination session |
Diploma category (D) |
|
Third examination session |
Retake category (R) |
or
|
First examination session |
Diploma category (D) |
|
Second examination session |
Retake category (R)—first attempt |
|
Third examination session |
Retake category (R)—second attempt |
The three examination sessions do not have to be consecutive, except in the case of an anticipated session, which must be followed by the diploma session one year later.
No other number or combination of sessions is allowed.
A diploma session candidate may also register for an additional subject (or subjects) that does not contribute to the award of the diploma.
A diploma session candidate may also register for an additional extended essay. Only one extended essay can contribute to the requirements of the diploma: this must be indicated during the registration process.
Any additional extended essays must be registered as an additional subject. Completing an additional extended essay would increase the workload of a diploma candidate and should, therefore, only be pursued if it is an essential requirement for the candidate’s own purposes (for example, for university entrance).
A diploma candidate may not register for TOK and/or CAS as additional subjects.
Retake (R) category
The term “retake” is only applied to a candidate who, in the previous session, was registered as either a diploma or a retake candidate. It must not be used to refer to an anticipated or course candidate who is taking one or more subjects again.
Retake (R) category
There are two kinds of retake candidate.
- A candidate who is retaking one or more diploma subjects six months after his or her previous diploma session
- A candidate who is retaking one or more diploma subjects 12 months or more after his or her diploma session
In both cases, the responsibilities of the school are the same. For further details of the particular regulations and deadlines that apply to candidates who are retaking a subject or subjects after six months, refer to section B2.5 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures
A candidate taking a subject again may carry over his or her mark for a non-examination component, providing there have been no significant changes to the curriculum and/or assessment requirements. Please refer to section B2.5.3 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for further information.
A candidate in his or her retake session may register for an additional subject (or subjects) and/or EE(s) that do not contribute to the award of the diploma. Any additional EEs must be registered as an additional subject. A retake candidate may not register for TOK and/or CAS as additional subjects.
Course (C) category
This category applies to candidates registering for any combination of individual subjects and/or core elements who are not entering for the diploma. Performance in a subject or core element that leads to the award of course results (including an additional subject for an anticipated, diploma or retake candidate) cannot subsequently contribute to the requirements for the IB diploma.
Course (C) category
There is no limit to the number of times a subject can be taken again by a course candidate. If a course candidate registers for the same subject again, the course category is used, rather than the retake category. A candidate taking a subject again may carry over his or her mark for a non-examination component, providing there have been no significant changes to the curriculum and/or assessment requirements. Please refer to section B2.5.3 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for further information.
Course candidates can be registered and assessed for TOK and/or an EE; there is no restriction on the number of EEs a course candidate may register for in one session. Course candidates can also pursue the CAS requirement of the DP and will have this requirement shown on their Course results if the CAS element is completed.
Some subject prohibitions also apply to course candidates. Refer to section B1.4 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for further information.
Other category-related issues
Conversion from anticipated to course category
A candidate who takes a subject as an anticipated category candidate, but who does not register for the remaining subjects required to complete their diploma one year later, will have the result of their anticipated category subject converted to a course category result. The examination session in which the subject was taken will not constitute one of the permitted three sessions counted towards a diploma; however, the result cannot later be converted back in a subsequent session. Course category results are sent to the school a year after the anticipated category session has taken place.
Early-session candidates
The anticipated category must be used for early-session candidates, that is, candidates taking a subject six months before their main session because the subject is not available in the school's main session (see section B2.9 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for details). In these circumstances, the anticipated session does not count as one of the three possible sessions towards the diploma.
IBIS will generate registration status codes for early-session registrations. The codes will be removed soon after the registration deadline. However, if a coordinator would prefer that the codes are removed sooner, a request should be emailed to IB Answers at support@ibo.org.
Transfer candidates
Anticipated subjects can only contribute to a diploma if taken one year before the diploma session (excluding instances where the anticipated category is used for early-session candidates).
An exception is normally possible when a candidate transfers from one IB World School to another during their course of study where the new school enters candidates for a different examination session. See section B2.10 of Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures for further details.
Replacing or retaking an anticipated subject
A candidate sitting their diploma session may replace an anticipated category subject with a different subject. They may also change a subject from SL to HL. In these circumstances, ensure that the original subject is excluded by unticking the “Include” box when registering the candidate.
However, if a candidate decides to retake the same anticipated subject with the aim of achieving a higher grade, the subject should not be excluded when registering the candidate. If the same subject/level/response language is retaken, the higher of the two grades will contribute towards the diploma.
It is not permitted to retake an anticipated subject six months after the anticipated session. In other words, a retake session cannot follow an anticipated session.
Source: Diploma Programme Assessment Procedures (2019)