Appeals, enquiries and results policy and Centre quality policy

Overview of the policy Section 1 Subsection 1.1       Scope of the policy Subsection 1.2       Purpose of the policy Subsection 1.3       Location of the policy Subsection 1.4       Communication of the policy Subsection 1.5       Review of the policy Subsection 1.6       Definition of enquiries about results Subsection 1.7       A summary of what to do when submitting your appeals and enquiries about results Subsection 1.8       A summary of what we do when reviewing your appeals and enquiries about results Subsection 1.9      Complaints Section 2   Scope of the policy Subsection 2.1   Categories covered by the policy Subsection 2.2   Categories covered by the policy Subsection 2.3   Fees and records Section 3   Notifying NCFE of appeals and enquiries about results Section 4   Reviewing appeals and enquiries about results Subsection 4.1   The review time scales at each stage of all types of appeals and enquiries about results Subsection 4.2    The review time scales at each stage of all types of enquiries about results Subsection 4.3    The review process for appeals which fall into categories 1-5 of this policy Subsection 4.4    The review process for enquiries about results which fall into category 6 of this policy Section 5   Factors affecting the accuracy of results for other candidates Section 6    Your NCFE contact for this policy Section 7    Plagiarism policy Section 8   Centre quality policy ******************************************************
  • Scope of the policy
This policy is aimed at our customers, including candidates, who are using the products and   services shown below and who submit appeals and enquiries about results: National Qualifications National Awards National Partnership Awards Centre-devised courses accredited under our customised award service and Investing in Quality licence.
  • Purpose of the policy
The purpose is to set out the steps you follow when submitting your appeals and enquiries about results to us and the steps we follow when reviewing the cases. It’s also to review those processes which led to the decision against which the enquiry or appeal was made.
  • Location of the policy
You can download copies of the policy from our website: www.cctvdvrsystem.co.uk or request copies from our Centre Support team on 03330064005 or by emailing sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk.
  • Communication of the policy
All staffs and management are educated on centre‘s policy regarding appeals and enquiries.  All candidates will be made aware of the policy on their centre visits or if they have found us through internet, they will have access to it via our website www.cctvdvrsystem.co.uk.
  • Review of the policy
We’ll review the policy annually and revise it as and when necessary in response to customer and stakeholder feedback, changes in our practices, actions from the regulatory authorities or external agencies or changes in legislation. Our review of the policy will ensure that our procedures continue to be consistent with the regulatory criteria and are applied properly and fairly in arriving at judgements.
  • Definition of enquiries about results
Enquiries about results cover external assessment performance or internal assessment portfolio evidence.
  • A summary of what to do when submitting your appeals and enquiries about results
Candidates have up to 30 working days from the date we informed them about the outcome in which to lodge an appeal against our decision or an enquiry about an assessment result or grade. If you think you need more time to notify us of an enquiry about a result or grade, or an appeal against a decision, please contact your Centre Support team on 03330064005 to let them know when we can expect it. Please be advised that you retain your portfolios until you have received your result. If you want centre to appeal on behalf you, you should notify us by writing. You can either post your letter or send it via email at sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk. You can appeal against a grade or assessment result, your appeal will be dealt by centre‘s management team. If you are not happy or unsatisfied with the outcome, you can appeal to our governing body. If you’d like us to review an internal or external assessment result or grade please complete our ‘Enquiry about a Result form’, which is available from our website:www.cctvdvrsystem.co.uk or contact our student support team on 03330064005. For other types of appeals set out in section 2.1 of this policy, please submit your own report together with any supporting evidence. Send these details to our Centre Support team by email, post or fax.
  • A summary of what we do when reviewing your appeals and enquiries about results
If we’re unable to review your request on the day we receive it, we’ll acknowledge it within 1 working day of receipt to let you know what’s happening. We’ll aim to action and resolve enquiries about results or grades within 10 working days of receipt of your form or report. We’ll aim to action and resolve appeals within 20 working days of receipt of your form or report. If it’s going to take longer we’ll keep in touch to let you know what‘s happening, eg if a panel needs to be convened. An independent person will always be involved in reviewing appeals that are submitted. We’ll inform you of the outcome within 1 working day of making our decision. For more detailed information about our role and responsibilities please refer to Section 4.
  • Complaints
We’ve a separate complaints process which covers our centres’ or candidates’ dissatisfaction with our products or services, other than those categories listed in Section 2 of this policy. For further information, please contact our Centre Support team on 03330064005 or by   emailing sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk   Section 2 Scope of the policy
  • Categories covered by the policy
Our policy covers the following categories of appeals or enquiries about results:
  • External assessment results, external moderation, external verification or grading decisions (internal assessment portfolio evidence).
If you or the candidates wish to appeal against other decisions not listed above, please contact our Centre Support team on 03330064005 or by emailing sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk and we’ll discuss your concerns with you and agree the most appropriate way forward.
  • Fees and records
    • Fees
We charge you a fee to cover any fee applicable by our governing body and the administrative and personnel costs in the following instances:
  • If the appeal or enquiry about a result is not upheld
  • If our governing body need to carry out a centre visit
Our fees are contained in our current Fees and Pricing Document which is available to download from our website, www.cctvdvrsystem.co.uk, or on request from our Centre Support team by calling 03330064005 or email sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk
  • Records
Remember that an appeal or enquiry about a result can give you a positive, static or negative result change. Following an enquiry or appeal, we’ll action changes as appropriate, notify you and amend our centre and/or candidate records accordingly. Section 3 Notifying NCFE of appeals and enquiries
  • For enquiries about internal and external assessment results or grades please complete our ‘Enquiry about a Result form’, which is available from our website: www.cctvdvrsystem.co.uk or on request from our Centre Support team on 02083201445 or by emailing sales@cctvdvrsystem.co.uk
  • For appeals as set out in section 2.1 of this policy, please submit your own report together with any supporting evidence. Please include the following:
    • centre name, address and number
    • candidate’s name and student registration number (if applicable)
    • date(s) you received notification of our decision
    • title and number of the programme affected or nature of service affected
    • full nature of the appeal
    • contents and outcome of any investigation carried out by you relating to the issue
    • date of the report and the appellant’s name, position and signature.
  • Email, post or fax your completed form or report and any supporting evidence to our Centre Support team as soon as possible and at the latest within 30 working from the date we informed you about our original decision.
4.1 The review timescales at each stage for all types of appeals: We’ll aim to follow the timescales below at each stage of the process and keep you informed if any stage will take longer than expected.
  • Upon receipt of your appeal or enquiry about a result or grade, we’ll allocate appropriate centre personnel and an independent person to review the case.
  • We aim to action and resolve all stages of appeals within 20 working days of receipt of your form or report
  • We’ll advise you of the outcome of your appeal within 1 working day of making our decision.
4.2 The review timescales at each stage for all types of enquiries We’ll aim to follow the timescales below at each stage of the process and keep you informed if any stage will take longer than expected.
  • Upon receipt of your enquiry about a result or grade, we’ll allocate appropriate centre personnel to review the case
  • We aim to action and resolve all stages of enquiries about results within 10 working days of receipt of your form.
  • We’ll advise you of the outcome of your enquiry within 1 working day of making our decision.
Section 4 Reviewing appeals and enquiries 4.3 The review process for appeals which fall into categories 1 to 5 listed under Section 2.1, page 5, of this policy
  • Stage 1 Review Panel We’ll arrange for Centre Manager and either our Internal Quality Assurance Leader or External Quality Assurance Leader and an independent person to review the case and let you know the outcome of the review. The review process may involve:
    • a discussion with you and centre personnel
    • a request for further information from you
    • a centre visit by authorised personnel from awarding body.
  • Stage 2 Review Panel
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1, you may apply to our Awarding body, which will comprise, as appropriate: 4.4 The review process for enquiries about external assessment results or grades, or about decisions concerning internal assessment portfolio of evidence or grading (category 6 listed under Section 2.1, page 4 of this policy)
  • Stage 1 (Enquiry about a result) Where a candidate’s result or grade is seriously at variance with the reasonable expectations of their Assessor, you may request us to re-check all parts of the candidate’s external assessment performance or parts of a candidate’s portfolio of evidence. Please note that we do not return external assessments to our centres or candidates.
  • An enquiry in connection with a candidate’s result or grade, or a decision concerning their internal assessment portfolio of evidence or grading, may take the form of any of the categories listed below.
  • Clerical Check6
  • Re-assessment with report7
  • Re-moderation/re-verification of internal assessment portfolio evidence with report.
The above categories may be applied to groups of candidates. We’ll arrange for a member of our staff, or an appropriate External Contractor, who has not been involved in the original decision, to review your enquiry and we’ll let you know the outcome of the review. If you or your candidates are dissatisfied with the outcome of Stage 1, you may submit an appeal and the process as outlined in Section 4.3 of this document will be followed. Section 5 Factors affecting the accuracy of results for other candidates In cases where the outcome of an appeal or enquiry against an internal or external assessment decision, component or grade affects the accuracy of results for other candidates in the same cohort, the personnel involved in the review of the appeal or enquiry about a result will decide whether or not the outcome warrants remarking or reassessment of all portfolios or external assessments affected. An extraordinary standardisation or awarding meeting may be convened and our standardisation and awarding procedures can be implemented as appropriate. We’ll advise centre(s) of the outcome of the review. Section 6 Your contact for this policy If you’ve any queries about the contents of the policy, please contact our Centre Support team: Email: sales@cctvdvrsystem.uk Telephone: 0333 006 4005* Section 7    Plagiarism policy Understanding Plagiarism Many students are accused of plagiarism because they simply don’t understand it and, therefore, don’t know how to avoid it. What is Plagiarism? Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
  • to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
  • to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
  • to commit literary theft
  • to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.

But can words and ideas really be stolen?

According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

  • turning in someone else’s work as your own
  • copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
  • failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
  • giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
  • changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
  • copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on “fair use” rules)
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. See our section on citation for more information on how to cite sources properly.

What about images, videos, and music?

Using an image, video or piece of music in a work you have produced without receiving proper permission or providing appropriate citation is plagiarism. The following activities are very common in today’s society. Despite their popularity, they still count as plagiarism.
  • Copying media (especially images) from other websites to paste them into your own papers or websites.
  • Making a video using footage from others’ videos or using copyrighted music as part of the soundtrack.
  • Performing another person’s copyrighted music (i.e., playing a cover).
  • Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another composition.
Certainly, these media pose situations in which it can be challenging to determine whether or not the copyrights of a work are being violated. For example:
  • A photograph or scan of a copyrighted image (for example: using a photograph of a book cover to represent that book on one’s website)
  • Recording audio or video in which copyrighted music or video is playing in the background.
  • Re-creating a visual work in the same medium. (for example: shooting a photograph that uses the same composition and subject matter as someone else’s photograph)
  • Re-creating a visual work in a different medium (for example: making a painting that closely resembles another person’s photograph).
  • Re-mixing or altering copyrighted images, video or audio, even if done so in an original way.
The legality of these situations, and others, would be dependent upon the intent and context within which they are produced. The two safest approaches to take in regards to these situations is: 1) Avoid them altogether or 2) Confirm the works’ usage permissions and cite them properly.   Section 8  Centre quality policy It is the policy of Cube Group to provide high-quality training courses and services to clients which totally satisfy there needs, and within this to meet any standards laid down by Funding, Qualification and Awarding Bodies when ever specified as part of the client requirements. In support of this policy, strategic and personal objectives are established at appropriate levels within the organisation and monitored routinely. Our goal is to ensure a standard of training excellence that will enable all those who receive training at CubeGroup to command respect in their chosen occupational or vocational fields. All employees of Cube Group are aware of their responsibilities within the Quality Management System and are committed to observing documented procedures and to identifying areas for improvement. All aspects of the organisation’s activities, including the Quality Management System itself are subject to continuous monitoring to ensure that we are continue to meet specified requirements and that continuous improvement through systematic review is a normality.