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Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy – Career Institute of Cyprus

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Introduction

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This policy is aimed at our customers, including learners, who are delivering/registered on Career Institute of Cyprus qualifications or units within or outside the Republic of Cyprus and who are involved in suspected or actual malpractice/maladministration. It is also for use by our staff to ensure they deal with all malpractice and maladministration investigations in a consistent manner.

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Review Arrangements

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The Career Institute of Cyprus will review the policy annually as part of our annual self-evaluation arrangements and revise it as and when necessary in response to customer and learner feedback, changes in our practices, actions from the regulatory authorities or external agencies, changes in legislation, or trends identified from previous allegations.

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Definition of Malpractice

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Malpractice is essentially any activity or practice which deliberately contravenes regulations and compromises the integrity of the internal or external assessment process and/or the validity of certificates. It covers any deliberate actions, neglect, default or other practice that compromises, or could compromise:

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• the assessment process;
• the integrity of a regulated qualification;
• the validity of a result or certificate;
• the reputation and credibility of the Career Institute of Cyprus; or,
• the qualification or the wider qualifications community.

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Malpractice may include a range of issues from the failure to maintain appropriate records or systems to the deliberate falsification of records in order to claim certificates.

For the purpose of this policy this term also covers misconduct and forms of unnecessary discrimination or bias towards certain or groups of learners.

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Definition of Maladministration

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Maladministration is essentially any activity or practice which results in non-compliance with administrative regulations and requirements and includes the application of persistent mistakes or poor administration or payments within a centre (e.g. inappropriate learner records).

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Examples of Malpractice and Maladministration

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The categories listed below are examples of centre and learner malpractice and maladministration.

Please note that these examples are not exhaustive:

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• Denial of access to premises, records, information, learners and staff to any authorised representative and/or the regulatory authorities;
• Failure to carry out internal assessment, internal quality assurance in accordance with our requirements;
• Deliberate failure to adhere to awarding organization learner registration and certification procedures;
• Deliberate or persistent failure to continually adhere to awarding organization centre recognition and/or qualification approval criteria or actions assigned;
• Deliberate failure to maintain appropriate auditable records, e.g. certification claims and/or forgery of evidence;
• Persistent instances of maladministration within the centre;
• Fraudulent claim for certificates;
• The unauthorized use of inappropriate materials/equipment in assessment settings (e.g. mobile phones);
• Intentional withholding of information from us which is critical to maintaining the rigor of quality assurance and standards of qualifications ;
• Collusion or permitting collusion in exams/assessments;
• Learners still working towards qualification after certification claims have been made;  
• Contravention by centers and learners of the assessment arrangements specified for the qualifications;
• A loss, theft of, or a breach of confidentiality in, any assessment materials;
• Plagiarism by learners/staff;
• Copying from another candidate (including using ICT to do so);
• The unauthorized amendment, copying, or distributing of exam/assessment papers/materials;
• Inappropriate assistance to learners by centre staff (e.g. unfairly helping them to pass a unit or qualification);
• Submission of false information to gain a qualification or unit;
• Deliberate failure to adhere to, or to circumnavigate, the requirements of Reasonable Adjustments and Special Considerations Policy.

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Process for Making an Allegation of Malpractice or Maladministration

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Anybody who identifies or is made aware of suspected or actual cases of malpractice or maladministration at any time must immediately notify the awarding organization. In doing so they should put the details in writing/email and enclose appropriate supporting evidence.

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All allegations must include (where possible):

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• centre’s name, address and number;
• learner’s name and unique registration number;
• centre/personnel’s details (name, job role) if they are involved in the case;
• details of the qualification affected or nature of the service affected;
• nature of the suspected or actual malpractice and associated dates;
• details and outcome of any initial investigation carried out by the Career Institute of Cyprus or anybody else involved in the case, including any mitigating circumstances.

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The Career Institute of Cyprus, must note that in all instances the relevant awarding organization must be immediately notified if they suspect malpractice or maladministration has occurred as we have a responsibility to the awarding organization and relevant regulatory authorities to ensure that all investigations are carried out rigorously and effectively.

In all cases of suspected malpractice and maladministration reported to, the Career Institute of Cyprus will protect the identity of the ‘informant’ in accordance with our duty of confidentiality and/or any other legal duty.