malpractice policy and procedure

Malpractice Policy and Procedure

General Information:

tpm have procedures in place to deal with malpractice on the part of candidates and

centre staff.

During an investigation an Assessor or Teacher will not be entitled to

continue Assessments or Teaching.

The staff member will be immediately suspended from making Assessment

or Teaching decisions pending the outcome of any investigation.

tpm seeks to ensure the complete integrity of the Teaching Learning and

Assessment, Internal Verification and Certification process in relation to delivery of

its NVQ’s, Technical certificates and Key and Functional skill awards.

Centre staff are reminded that this policy and procedure applies equally to centre

based Teaching, Learning and Assessment as it does to workplace Teaching,

Learning and Assessment. Where tpm has reasonable grounds to doubt the integrity of the Teaching, Learning

and Assessment process for the Qualification this policy and procedure apply.


Policy

What is Malpractice?

Malpractice is defined as any actions that undermine the integrity of the qualification

offered by the centre.

Some examples of malpractice that may be carried out at the centre are:

Failure to meet award approval requirements

Failure to advise the Awarding Body of any changes with regards to the

delivery of the programme

Failure to comply with the Awarding Body procedures for candidate

registration and certification

Failure to follow agreed procedures for the assessment or internal verification

of NVQ candidates

Claiming competency for incorrect units or awards

Claiming competency for candidates who have not completed the assessment

process

Failure to keep examination materials and mark schemes secure

Offering excessive amounts of help in producing assessed work

Using falsified witness testimonies

Allowing candidates to include evidence that assessors/trainers know is not

the candidates own work

Claiming certification for non-active candidates

Claiming certification for incorrect units or awards

Claiming for fictitious candidates

Claiming a certificate for candidates who have not undergone appropriate

assessment or completed the assessment process

Changing/falsifying records or certificates

Examples of Malpractice carried out by the Learner:

Cheating in examinations

Plagiarism including coping large amounts of work from other sources and not

acknowledging or referencing this work

Pretending to be someone else

Falsifying or altering witness testimonies

Changing results or certificates

Failing to follow the instructions or invigilators or assessors

Bring unauthorised materials into examinations


Centre Responsibility

The centre:

Expect centre staff to co-operate fully with any investigation into malpractice.

Failure to do so may result in the centre being sanctioned by the Awarding

Body and Centre Approval being temporarily removed. (See NVQ code of

Practice 2006 Sanctions)

In cases of suspected malpractice of Teaching, Learning and Assessment the

Quality Director will inform the External verifier of the pending investigation

The Board of Directors expect Internal Verification staff that identify cases of

suspected irregularity or malpractice to report their findings immediately by

telephone and then writing, with supporting evidence to Paula Hayes (quality

Director) or in her absence Janet Smart (Compliance Manager).

The Quality Director or Compliance Manager will suspended the staff member

immediately from making Teaching, Learning and Assessment decisions

pending the outcome of any investigation.

The Quality Director will carry out a FULL investigation of any allegations of

malpractice (another Director may be identified in the absence of the Quality

Director). Findings may then be referred to the Senior Management team for

Disciplinary using the company’s Disciplinary and Grievance Procedure

The Identified team (one of which will be the Compliance Manager) will

evaluate all evidence and provide a comprehensive report of its findings and

recommendations to all parties and ensure that all staff receive copies of this

document.

The Quality Director will inform the External Verifier of any further actions

deemed necessary

Appeals:

Staff wishing to appeal against the findings of the malpractice investigation

should in first instance follow the company appeals procedure.


Procedure for Dealing with Malpractice

If you are an Internal Verifier / observer and you suspect you have sighted

malpractice you MUST:

1. Remove yourself from the observation / working area and phone the centre

2. Speak to Paula Hayes or Janet Smart – Give full details of what you have

observed

3. Go back to the Assessor / Teacher and tell him/her that you have concerns

with regards to what you have observed and that they are to report to Paula

Hayes or Janet Smart immediately after this session ends or at 9am the

following morning ( they are not to go on any further visits)

4. Collect any evidence you need from the observation (portfolio, learner written

work etc)

5. Once you have done that you need to complete a ‘Suspect Malpractice form’

immediately to be submitted to the investigation team

6. You will be called as a witness during the disciplinary hearing so make certain

that you have documented all the relevant information at the time

Who are the investigation team?

The investigation team consists of two senior managers at tpm

How quickly will the investigation begin?

The investigation will begin immediately after suspected malpractice is

reported

How long is the member of staff suspected of malpractice suspended for?

We suspend staff for an initial period of one week with full pay, during this

time all evidence will be collated to allow a full disciplinary hearing to go

ahead within the allocated time following tpm disciplinary systems and

procedures

What happens after the investigation?

Depending on the findings of the disciplinary panel, staff are given varying

degrees of support and guidance, re-training or in obvious fraudulent cases

instant dismissal staff may also have differing levels or verbal or written

warnings given.


Suspected Malpractice form

To be completed immediately when returning to tpm centre and submitted to Paula

Hayes / Janet Smart

Internal Verifier / Observers Name

Place where observation occurred

Assessor / Teacher Name

Learners involved in the observation

Date alleged malpractice occurred

Title of the award in question

Full detailed description of alleged malpractice


IV / Observers signature: Date:

Accepted by Quality Paula Hayes / Janet Smart Signature: Date:

malpractice policy and procedure

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