Learners are expected to reveal any special educational needs and/or disabilities to the admission coordinator at the registration stage. If he requires any arrangements the learner will fill the special educational and disabilities arrangement form at least 5 working days prior to the course start date. The arrangements will be executed by the admission officer, with the management – when informed by the admission coordinator. Some of the arrangements are as follows:

FORM-ATS-QMS-22 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AND DISABILITIES FORMDownload

Learners that are facing any of the aforementioned disabilities cases might require adjustments on assessments in order to reduce the effect of disability, which can impact the associated learner achievement- based on assessment results. The admission officer will raise a request to the training manager by filling the reasonable adjustment form at least 7 working days before the course start date (upon the submission of the special educational and disabilities arrangement form) by the learner. The training manager will approve or reject the reasonable adjustment request (in 2 working days) based on the following:

• Evidence of medical or psychological reports that reveals a case from at least the past 2 years
• If the condition is temporary current evidence is required
• Applications submitted without medical or psychological reports is not eligible for adjustments

Outcomes of reasonable adjustments will be sent by the admission coordinator to learners via email. The learner is expected to receive a response before the course commencement. Upon approval, the training manager will inform the assigned trainer to make the necessary adjustments on assessments.

FORM-ATS-QMS-22 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AND DISABILITIES FORMDownload

Learners can be awarded credits, when they demonstrate prior knowledge and skills that they can receive certain exemptions from modules of a given training course. This is to avoid any duplication of learning and assessment. The learner therefore, can:

• Transfer credits to recognize previously accredited achievement based on local or accredited qualifications based on the NQF to count towards other qualifications.
• For individuals with prior practical experience – which is non-certified, it is possible to validate the relevance of their learning/experience by undergoing the RPL process.

The policy and procedure will apply to:

• NQF / Accredited qualifications
• Approved Units of Assessment

RPL Conditions:

• A learner can claim an RPL against one or multiple units. However, units cannot be considered for RPL partially. If the evidence is not meeting the evidence of a complete unit, then the learner will have to undergo the full assessment process.
• The achieved unit grades for RPL from a previous certification will only be considered if it is graded as B (Good) and above, based on the criteria set by the awarding organization for a given certificate.

RPL Execution:

• The learner can uptake the same assessment without attending the teaching session, when the practical experience/learning is considered.
• The learner with a previous evidence of certification that reflects equivalent learning outcomes and assessment criteria to prospective qualifications for given units, can be exempted from pursuing the designated units.

The learner will need to be actively involved in the process. Internal specialized staff will provide necessary advice to learning on mapping learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The individuals will require to submit specific evidence upon the request of the assigned specialist, which might be further evidence from employer or organization to confirm the achievement of an assessment criteria.

The learner will need to fill the recognition of prior learning form, alongside the provision of the learning/certification evidence. This needs to be submitted on cristina@agoratrainingservices.com . The RPL request will be reviewed within 10 working days by a designated assessor, the internal verifier will provide final approval for RPL decision as a second assessor.

FORM-ATS-QMS-23 RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNINGDownload

The institute assist learners on the most suitable training course that they would like to pursue, in addition to, offering consultations to companies on the relevant course that their employees can uptake. The institute offer advisory and consultation for progressing learners, to guide them on prospective training courses that they can pursue.

Advisory for entering learners:

When learner enquire about a given course; would request for support on more information the admission coordinator can provide the necessary information and check if the background of the learner would be relevant in relation to a give training course. The admission coordinator can link learners to specialized field advisors when required.

Advisory for progressing learners:

The learners that would like to pursue a prospective training course, following the completion of a course at the institute are linked to specialized field advisors to identify the most suitable course of study based on their preferred career path.

Submission of Advisory requests:

The learners that wants advisory services with a subject-area expert can fill the advisory request form which is available on the website, to be submitted to the admission coordinator. The learner will get a response within 5-10 working days, with the set date and timing.

Advisory for companies:

Current and prospective clients can provide information on learners’ background and positions; where, a specialized advisor will guide them on the most suitable training courses that they could pursue in order for given employees. The company can undergo a training need analysis upon their request to identify training needs by an assigned specialist from the institute. The company will need to fill the Training Need Analysis Request form, to be submitted to the admission coordinator. The admission coordinator will arrange for a specialist to conduct the training need analysis, upon the approval of the admission officer. The admission coordinator will arrange with the respective company within 10-15 working days. The details of the Training Need Analysis will be documented in the same form; sent to the company via email by the admission coordinator.

Learner Support:

Learners can gain academic and non-academic support following admission. This is documented in the learner academic and non-academic support form, which will reveal the support information, as follows:

Academic support involves:

• For local/International courses learners that are below 48 hours, a 100% attendance in mandatory for course completion.
• For local/International courses that are above 48 hours, the attendance rate needs to be at 80%. However, technical-practical local courses that exceed 48 hours requires a 100% on attendance rate.

The learners that do not attend a given training course will receive a suspension notice from the admission coordinator. This is recorded in the delegate register by the trainer. Learners that did not attend the course for a medical reason, the evidence needs to be emailed to the admission coordinator on admin@agoratrainingservices.com, to re-assign the learner in a different batch for a given training course, upon the approval by the admission officer. Learners will receive a response within 5 working days from the admission coordinator. .

Exit and Refunds

Learner can exit a specific course by filling the exit form to be submitted to the admission coordinator via email, the form is available for learners on the website. The learner will be informed about this policy in the induction session; which is also clarified in the registration form. The learner can only exit a given course before completing 25% of the full training course total hours, If the learner provided a valid reason for exiting the course with supporting evidences from a company or medical reports, the learner will receive a 50% refund on the course fees.  The admission officer will provide the final approval for the exit (upon the 50% refund), by reviewing the evidence and conducting the exit interview. The learner will receive the refunds outcome 7-10 working days from the submission of the exit form.

The learner that exit a give course after 50% of completion will not be subject to any refunds. However, the admission officer will conduct an exit interview with the learner to investigate the reasons for withdrawal.

Supported learners from Tamkeen can withdraw from a training course give a valid reason that needs to be documented in the exit form, before 50% completion of the training course. The admission officer will need to review the evidences and exit reason, to update the learner status on the Ministry of Labour portal.

Cancellation and Refunds

• Learner can only cancel their registration for the training course at least 5 working days before the course start date, by informing the admission coordinator via an official email.
• Learners will be subject to an administrative fee 15% on the training course price, if they cancel the registration in less than 5 working days from the course start date. 

Examination Resit

Non-attendance

• Learners that attended the training course; failed to sit a given international examination will need to pay the full amount of the resit.
• Learners that attended the training course; failed to sit a given local examination for a valid reason will be able to resit the examination without any charges
• Learners that attended the training course; failed to sit a given local examination for a non- valid reason will need to pay the full course amount to resit the examination

Attendance

• Learners that completed a given international examination with failure, will need to pay full amount of the resit.
• Learners that completed a given local examination with failure, will be able to resit the examination without any charges.

FORM-ATS-QMS-25 EXIT FORMDownload

Academic misconduct are actions that deems to be non-acceptable and is categorized as an academically offensive; where disciplinary measures needs to be implement by the institute to obstruct the continuation of academic misconduct cases. Cases of academic conduct can vary, as follows:

1. Cheating

This involves sharing of information across learners during independent assessment tasks and/or accessing information relevant to assessment tasks from stored source. Assessment tasks like written examination should not be completed while practicing dishonest practices that will obstruct fair academic evaluation.

2. Plagiarism

This involves the use or imitation of thoughts or information from a source without providing evidence of citation or the identification of the source of information. Assessment tasks like assignments should clarify multiple sources; drafted and final work should not reflect any case of plagiarism.

3. False Information

This involves submitting incorrect or false information orally on writing to concerned internal staff and trainers; when a given information is required for admission and assessment purposes.  This can also involve submitting false documents, transcripts and academic credentials.

4. Impersonation

This involves assigning someone to complete a given exam on behalf of the learner; where the learner outsources assessment tasks completion to a different person.

Reporting Cases of Academic Misconduct Procedure

If a given staff found cases of academic misconduct, this needs to be reported directly to the training manager department. The learner will be sent an official email regarding the reported case and a verbal meeting will be conducted to investigate the misconduct case further. If the reported evidences, alongside the meeting outcomes proved that the academic misconduct took place the training manager will send an official email to the admission officer and quality assurance officer to inform them about the applicable sanction depending on the case.

Disciplinary measures

Cases of impersonation and false information are subject to a level 3 advanced sanction; where disciplinary probation applies. The learner can be removed from the course in progress.

Cases of cheating and plagiarism are subject to a level 2 med and level 1 low sanction; depending on the severity of the case. At level 2, learners will fail the course and will need to repeat the assessment. At level 1, disciplinary written warning is provided to learner – where partial repetition of the assessment tasks may be required.

Preventive measures for cases of academic misconduct

Authentication of learner Identity

For cases of impersonation, admission team are assigned on the day of assessment to verify all information. In addition, learner identity, documents and credentials are re-verified by the admission team to ensure validity – certificates need to have the needed attestations.

Invigilation Arrangements

 If the learners are undergoing an examination, depending on the number of learners an invigilator will be assigned under the following conditions:

•          The invigilator should not be the trainer/assessor.

•          The invigilator should not be the course manager.

In case the learners in the examination hall exceed 15 learners, two invigilators will be assigned. If the learners are less than 15, 1 invigilator will be assigned.

Plagiarism Checker

Learner drafted written assignments will be checked through plagiarism checker. The plagiarism report will be sent to the learner; where cases of plagiarism is detected to uptake the necessary action before submitting the final work.

Credit Accumulation

Credit value is provided to learners via the completion of local or international qualification; where designated credits are reflected on the learner certification. Qualifications with allocated credits will allow learners to accumulate unit credits to complete proceeding units. Credit Accumulation review is conducted by a designated assessor, with expertise in the associated subject-area . Qualifications placed on the NQF, credits can be accumulated based on learning outcomes achievement.

The credit accumulation system implement in Agora Training Centre is as per the NQF system, where learners will receive credits for each completed unit. This allows learner to accumulate credits to complete a given qualification.

Credit Transfer –

AGORA TRAINING CENTRE QUALIFICAITONS (Internal Qualifications)

The learner can raise a request for credit transfer across internal qualifications conducted at Agora Training Centre. Credited transferred to another qualification, cannot be re-transferred for a different qualification. The credit transfer requests can only be processed upon the achievement of learning outcomes for a given qualification. The learner will have to:

• Provide evidence of certification or proof/evidence that the learning outcomes has been attained in the original course from which credits will be transferred.
• Reveal information required information on the credit transfer form pertaining the initial course and the course for which the credits will be transferred

OTHER PROVIDERS QUALIFICATIONS (External Qualifications)

If a learner will transfer credits obtained from another training provider to Agora Training Centre, the institute will verify if the externally claimed credits from a given qualification matches the internal qualification requirements in terms of unit level, credit value and qualification/subject content. The learner will have to:

• Provide the original certification as a hard copy
• The detailed outline for the unit that the learner requests an external transfer for, which should include- learning content and outcomes, assessment details, guided learning hours and allocated credits

Credit Transfer Conditions

• Credits can be transferred to one qualification only; learners cannot transfer credits from a given unit to multiple qualifications.
• 50% of the credits achieved from a qualification can be transferred to another qualification.
• Learner will need to achieve a minimum of “B” grading in a given unit to be able to transfer the associated credits to another qualification.
• Partial credits are not transferrable; only full unit credit achieved can be transferred.

Credit Transfer and Credit Accumulation Requests

Request for Credit Transfer and Credit Accumulation requests needs to be submitted by filling the Credit Transfer and Accumulation Form to the admission department at Agora Training Centre premises or send the form to info@agoratrainingservices.com . The request will only be processed if all evidences of certification or unit completion is attached with the associated form. The admission officer will assign a designated assessor based on the qualification specialization to validate the credits achieved for accumulation or/and transfer. The assessor will review the application within 5-7 working days and will notify the learner via email on the final decision for accumulation and\or transfer. The learner can access designated form and policy on the institutional website.

Credits Allocation

Unit achievements and credits will be allocated to learners on certifications; unit certification can also be issued upon a completion for a given unit. This will learners to transfer credits for unit to another qualification or an external provider.

Appeal Against Credit Transfer/Accumulation

Learners can raise an appeal if the decision on transfer and accumulation deems to be invalid or no sufficient evidence on the decision is provided to the learner. The learner can fill the review and appeal form (accessible on the website) to be sent on info@agoratrainingservices.com . The learner will receive an acknowledgment in 3-5 working days. The outcome appeal will be sent to learners within 5 working days after investigating the case by a designated internal verifier. The outcome of the review will be sent to the learner via email as an official reply.

FORM-ATS-QMS-26 CREDIT TRANSFER AND ACCUMULATION FORM2Download

Receipt and validating complaint and appeal

Complaint and appeal received from learner, client / other parties by any means or by any one is first of all recorded in the Complaint and appeal register. After that complaint and appeal report is prepared with the details of;

• Complaint and appeal sr. No.,
  • Mode of receipt,
  • Received by,
  • Name of client / other parties,
  • Description of complaint and appeal,
  • Reference of services against, which complaint and appeal is raised along with the reference of training date,

Learner, client / other parties’ complaint and appeal report are issued to the General Manager / Operations Manager for analyzing the root cause. Managing Director validates the complaint after checking necessary back–up records or personal interview of the trainer or staff against whom the complaint / appeal has been made or the responsible staff of the process against whom the complaint/ appeal has been raised.

Classification of the client feedback, complaint and appeal

Client complaint, appeal and client feedbacks are classified according to their cause. The purpose is to allow for better tracking of trends and evaluating improvements in specific domains. Possible causes are:

• Impartiality or Misbehavior from the trainer / staff
  • Unsatisfactory assessment results
  • Competency of the trainers
  • Problems with communication and response

• Complaint and appeal regarding business practices, publicity, etc.
  • Problems in provided services or any part of the service process

Handling of Client Complaint and appeal

Managing Director and the function responsible for the complaint and appeal, decide how to respond to the client and, when applicable, what needs to be done to correct the problem for the complainant / appellant (rescheduling of training, re- assessment, hold a meeting, etc.). The complainant / appellant is informed of this decision.

Managing Director review every complaint and appeal, root cause is analyzed, and corrective action is taken. The same is recorded in the client complaint and appeal report.

Analysis of Complaint and appeal

Training Manager review and handle the complaint and appeal for;

• Training not carried–out as per the requirement,
  • Partiality on training and assessment process.
  • Training is not carried–out in time,
  • Any other problem identified by the client / other parties.

Admission Officer review and handle the complaints and appeals for:

• Delay in submission of training certificate,
  • Issuance of wrong training certificate,
  • Error in certificate

Client / other parties’ complaint and appeal is analyzed for the root cause. After identification of root cause the necessary actions are taken to resolve the complaint and appeal. Client / other parties are replied accordingly. Also necessary actions are taken at client / other parties’ end, if required to resolve the complaint and appeal. Considering seriousness of complaint and appeal, Managing Director may visit the client / other parties, wherever required. Based on the meeting, the complaint and appeal is closed.

Closing of complaint and appeal

Depending on the nature of the non–conformity, the Managing Director may follow up with requests for corrective and preventive actions. When the investigation of client complaint and appeal determines that remote operation or other external organizations contributed to the complaint and appeal, the Managing Director or his delegate contacts these organizations and provides them with all relevant information.

Every client complaint and appeal are recorded. The records are maintained by the Training Coordinator. When there are copies of written communication, reports and other documents related to a complaint and appeal, these records are organized into a file and are identified with the complaint and appeal number and also having records of the corresponding corrective or preventive actions. Based on analysis of Client / Other Parties complaint and appeal, necessary actions are taken, and client is replied for closing the complaint and appeal. Managing Director, alongside department head, need for taking corrective and preventive action to prevent such complaint and appeal in future and accordingly concerned person is informed.

All the complaint and appeal received by Organization will be closed within 7 working days after receipt of the complaint and appeal. General Manager / Operations Manager is authorized for closing of complaint and appeal.

Client Feedback

Client feedback is taken At least once in a Year. All instances of client feedback, both positive and negative, are reviewed by the General Manager / Operations Manager. A complaint and appeal is investigated to determine the cause, determine corrective actions and identify any preventive measures that may be required. Un–satisfactory feedback is also considered as complain and is analyzed as per above procedure. General Manager / Operations Manager monitors effectiveness of corrective and preventive action by reviewing results for suitable time on case–to–case basis.If any major changes in any of the relevant documents are necessary by way of corrective and preventive action or complaint and appeal, then this is done as per procedure for document control and records are maintained.

FORM-ATS-QMS-17 Complaints and Appeal FormDownload

Certificate Issuance

Certificates are issued by Agora Training Centre upon the completion of assessment tasks relevant to the qualification achievement of learning outcomes. The learner is expected to meet the allocated minimum passing criteria across range of assessment methods (Theoretical or/and practical) assessments; which are clarified in designated structure of assessments. The learner will only be granted a certificate, once the records of overall qualification achievement is evident.

Records of Overall Qualification Achievement

The trainer is required to complete a learner achievement report to reflect records on qualification achievement for assessment outcome summary:

1. Completion of formative assessment
2. Completion of summative assessment

In short qualifications attendance is a pre-requisite to pass a given qualification as reflected in the attendance policy and associated assessment structure; therefore, if the learner passed the summative and formative assessments but failed to adhere to attendance policy. This will be reflected in the achievement report by the trainer to show if the learner achieved a pass or fail.

Based on the assessment marking released by the assessor that reflects the achievement of various learning outcomes. The most moderation is completed within 5 working days from the submission of records– following the completion of the moderation of assessment results (Referring to Quality Assurance Policy) the certificates are released by admission coordinator.

If the certificate is released from a recognized international awarding body; following the external verification by the awarding organization, the certification can be released accordingly. In this case, certificate issuance is made directly from the awarding organization. The trainer will need to complete the overall qualification achievement report internally to be submitted to the designated internal verifier within 7 working days from the assessment date of completion.

Certificate Authentication

The certification released from Agora Training Centre is authentic, when it meets the below internal standards:

1. Certificate should have a recognized certificate number
2. Certificate needs to be signed by an authorized signatory [ By Managing Director]

The certificate should reveal the correct learner information and should constitute the name of the trainee as per his name on the passport or national identification card, alongside the national identification number. The name of qualification/course needs to be clearly stated. The aforementioned information needs to be verified by the admission coordinator which has all the associated information and official documents of learners [ received upon admission]. The certificate should also constitute the institute logo or international awarding body logo. If the qualification is placed on the NQF, the NQF Level and Credit, needs to be mentioned on the certification.

Certification Records

All certification information and records must be evident on the certification matrix that provides details for all released certificates across qualifications. Admission coordinator is responsible to keep records of certification at least 10 working days following the certificate issuance date. The records on certification are stored as per the Data Protection Policy

Certificate Re-Issuance

Upon the request of a learner, certificates can be re-issued for lost/damaged certificates. The learner will be subject to a fees payment upon the re-issuance request. All re-issuance requested needs to be submitted to the admission coordinator on admin@agoratrainingservices.com , where the following information needs to be emailed:

• Name of Learner
• CPR
• Qualification Name [ Which the re-issuance is requested for]  

An acknowledgement will be sent to the learner within 3-5 working days following information verification by the admission coordinator. Upon admission officer approval, the admission coordinator will request the applied fees for re-issuance of a given certificate. After payment, the learner will be requested to collect the hard copy.

Certificates Delivery

The certificates are delivered or provided to clients following course completion; prepared by admission coordinator. The admission coordinator will provide certification details on the delivery note form; where, signature is required by clients upon delivery or collection. Individuals that completed certificates (majorly job seekers), will need to sign on the copy of certificate once received or collected.

Certificate The Agora Services Directors have ultimate responsibility for equal opportunities performance. Agora Services are committed to:

• Promoting equality of opportunity and diversity within the communities in which we work.
• Promoting an environment free from discrimination, bullying and harassment
• Providing support and encouragement to staff to develop their careers and increase their contribution to the organization through the enhancement of their skills and abilities.
• Agora is committed to equality in training and education. Learners at Agora are selected based on designated entry-requirements, as well as, prior qualifications and experience. Agora solely assign learners to training courses based on abilities and aptitudes.
• Learners are admitted as per the admission policy, with equal opportunities to access training courses

Equal opportunities for learners/staff

Agora promote the principle of fairness and justice by, forgoing any type of indirect discrimination that my form as barriers to staff and learners. This is promoted through:

Racial Equality:

• Eliminate all forms or racism and racial discrimination
• Promote good relations between people of different racial, cultural and ethnic group

Gender Equality:

• Ensure that learners/staff different genders are treated equally
• Promote equal access to institutional offerings and resources for learners
• Promote equal access to recruitment, promotion and training opportunities

Religion Equality

• Ensure that learners/staff from different religions are not treated differently because of their religion or belief or lack of religion or belief

Disabilities:

• Cases of disabilities will be subject to reasonable adjustments and special considerations as clarified in the guidance policies
• No cases of disabilities will be disregarded (unless the learner is registering for a course where being physically and mentally fit is part of the training course entry requirement.
• Reasonable adjustments to application procedures for prospective staff is considered in case of disability
• Work arrangements for disabled staff members

Equal opportunities for learners:

• All learners are selected as per the admission requirements; with verification on qualifications, competence and experience.
• All learners are assessed based on actual performance in meeting various learning outcomes.

Equal opportunities for staff:

• Recruitment, employments, promotion and training opportunities are fair to all staff, regardless of nationality, ethnic group, religion, gender or marital status.
• Agora promotes non-discrimination in recruitment and selection of staff, in which they are selected based on competency mapping; matching requirements of job post to individual competencies.
• Opportunities for promotion needs to be solely based on objective evaluation by the designated manager, reflected in the annual performance of the staff.
• Training opportunities are set based on business development needs and skill gaps, pre-identified by direct manager. All staff have equal opportunities for training.

Discrimination and Harassment:

Any members of the staff or learners are expected to be in the institution without encountering cases of harassment and discrimination. This could involve unwanted conduct which is of sexual or racial nature, or other conduct based on n someone’s race, religion, gender or sexual orientation which is perceived as affecting dignity of learners and staff.

Cases of harassment and discrimination can include:

• Bullying,
• Intimidator behavior
• Persistent teasing
• Constant criticism
•  Unfair allocation of work/marking
• Sexual harassment
• Denial from institutional services
• Verbal abuse
• Inaccessible information

Procedure:

Cases of harassment and discrimination encountered by learners:

If any learner encountered cases of discrimination following admission, the learner can report the case as a complaint to the trainer, training coordinator or training manager, to be recorded in the complaint register. Cases of discrimination will be taken care of as per the complaint and appeal procedure.

Cases of harassment and discrimination encountered by staff:

If any member of staff considers that they have been the recipient of unwanted conduct amounting to harassment at work, the staff will need to report the case directly to the training manager. The training manager will start an investigation process in 3 working days and alert the individual that practiced discrimination and harassment against the staff.

The training manager will take various actions depending on the case:

1. If the staff encountered any practice of discrimination and harassment from another staff, the training manager will provide a warning. If this is continued direct dismissal will take place.
2. If the staff encountered discrimination and harassment by learners, the learner will be immediately deferred from a given training course, following investigation.
3. If the staff encountered discrimination and harassment by visitors; access of visitors to the training premises will be denied, following investigation.

The staff that raised the complaint will receive an official email within 7 working days from reporting the case of unwanted conduct and harassment at work via email, by the training manager.

The purpose of this policy is to provide relevant guidance to staff and stakeholders at Agora Training Centre to handle conflict of interest. The policy reflects the procedure to disclose an internal practice that represent conflict of interest. The general aim is to protect the company, associated stakeholders and the individuals concerned from any appearance of impropriety.

Conflict of interest can be defined as a conflict between the official responsibilities of individuals in the institute (tutor, assessor, examiner, internal verifier) or organization/center/stakeholder which could compromise or appear to compromise on their decision. A situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of an individual because of the possibility of a clash between the individual person’s self-interest and professional interest or public interest. Personal interests – conflict with his/her professional position When one part of the company follows a procedure that conflicts with the organization’s official policy and the requirements of its awarding bodies.

Procedure

If any case of conflict of interest is declared, this needs to be reported to the training manager. Failure to declare cases of conflict of interest can lead to the execution of disciplinary actions. The training manager need to keep record of conflict of interest on the (conflict of interest register). Following, the discussion of the case with the managing director; the training manager will propose an action that will be recorded in the register.  It is the responsibility of the member of staff/individuals affected to comply with any actions agreed with respect to managing conflict of interest.

Conflict Evaluation

All disclosures of conflicting or potentially conflicting interests should be evaluated by the training manager in an objective manner. The training manager should ensure:

• That all pertinent facts regarding interests have been provided to allow for thorough and objective evaluation
• All relevant internal and external parties should be notified about the conflict of interest. Internal parties at Agora Training Centre which are directly or indirectly affected by the conflict situation

Date Protection and Confidentially

• All information shared with the relevant parties under this policy must be kept confidential as far as possible.
• Agora Training Centre is committed to process all personal data in compliance with the data protection policy.
• Access to personal data is restricted to those who require it to comply with the requirements of the policy.

Institutional Commitment

Agora Training Centre ensures that learners are protected against the risk of abuse and neglect, ensuring safety and care. Therefore, Agora Training Centre assigned the following:

• Trainers and assessors to identify any potential safeguarding issues with the learners. This will be recorded in the safeguarding register.
• The register is submitted to the training manager, in which the case will be investigated in 3-5 working days.
• Notify involved learners in the instance they wish to whistle blow, while sensitively supporting any learners in the case of a disclosure to themselves.
• Maintaining confidentiality at all times, whilst notifying Learners whereby they cannot commit to maintaining confidentiality in order to ensure the Learner’s best interests
• The training manager will ensure that that reported concerns are dealt with, in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Actions will be executed upon the Managing Director approval – which will take 3-5 working days – reported in the safeguarding register.

Objectives

To meet this commitment Agora Services will:

Ensure new staff are trained on the company procedures and provided with relevant training opportunities – safeguarding.

Ensure all learners are aware of their rights within safeguarding and understand the safeguarding procedure in the induction process.

Agora Training Services needs to collect and use certain types of information about the Individuals or Service. Users who come into contact with Agora Training Services in order to carry on our work.

This personal information must be collected and dealt with appropriately whether is collected on paper, stored in a computer database, or recorded on other material and there are safeguards to ensure it met the requirement of local legislation and ISO 9001:2015 quality standards. The Individual/Service User will be made aware in most circumstances how and with whom their information will be shared. There are circumstances where the law allows Agora Training Services to disclose data (including sensitive data) without the data subject’s consent.

These are:

1. Protecting vital interests of an Individual/Service User or other person
2. Clearly understands why the information is needed
3. Understands what it will be used for and what the consequences are should the Individual/Service User decide not to give consent to processing
4. As far as reasonably possible, grants explicit consent, either written or verbal for data to be processed
5. Is, as far as reasonably practicable, competent enough to give consent and has given so freely without any duress
6. Has received sufficient information on why their data is needed and how it will be used

Agora Training Services regards the lawful and correct treatment of personal information as very important to successful working, and to maintaining the confidence of those with whom we deal.

Agora Training Services will ensure that data is collected within the boundaries defined in this policy. This applies to data that is collected in person, or by completing a form. In case of any queries or questions in relation to this policy please contact the Agora Training Services Data Protection Officer.

Personal Data of Learners:

Personal data acquired from learners at the admission stage are:

• National ID
• Learner Information: Date of Birth, Gender, Contact details
• Learner academic and professional certifications
• Learner experience certificates

Records of Learners’ Personal Data:

• Learner information is stored in a secured server (Shared Drive)
• Personal data and documents is only acceptable by authorized administrators

Records of Assessments:

• Assessment papers – E-assessments
• Assessment papers – Hardcopies

Security of Examination Records”

• All e-assessments are stored in the institute server (Training Shared Drive) in the designated training course folder. Authorized personnel trainer and internal verifier can access the folder.
• Hardcopies are stored securely and locked in the institute store (locked)- controlled by an authorized administrator.

Certification

• Learners certificates

Security of Certificates:

• All certification is stored in the institute server (Certification Shared Drive), alongside the matrix that reveals certification information – this is only accessible by the admission officer and admission coordinator.

Backup on Personal Data, Examination Records and Certifications: All learners’ personal data, examination records and certificates are stored in the cloud across redundant servers (Microsoft OneDrive), with a semi-annual recovery and backup on an external storage. This have a secured access – user login and password, provided to authorized personnel:

Responsibilities of authorized personnel:

Authorized personnel need to ensure that all staff and learners are aware of the data protection policy; ensure that they convey up to date information

Authorized staff members should not disclose any date in writing or verbally to unauthorized individuals (whether staff, learners or external parties)

Any non-adherence to data protection policy in relation to learner personal data needs to be brought to the attention of the admission officer (personal and certification record) and Training Manager (Examination record)

Staff/trainers who are not sure whom are the authorized parties to which they can disclose data, need to get an advice from the admission officer

It is important that staff involved in the management, assessment and quality assurance of learner work across training courses are aware of the entailed procedures under the malpractice and maladministration policy. Failure to report suspected cases of malpractice and maladministration will lead to associated actions and sanction.

Definitions:

Malpractice

Malpractice is a deliberate activity, default and other practice that comprises integrity cases in relevance to the training courses. This involves but not limited to:

• The assessment process
• The validity of result or certificate
• Misconduct and bias towards learners

This can specifically involve cases of plagiarism, cheating by learners or facilitating cheating in assessments by staff. Results manipulation, fraudulent claim for certificates, false records, breach of confidentiality in assessment material.

 Maladministration

Maladministration is any activity, neglect and default that is caused due to assessors, learners and quality assurers not complying with institutional requirements as per regulatory principles. This involves but not limited to:

• Non-compliance with administrative requirements
• Poor execution of internal processes

This can specifically involve cases of late learners’ registration, unreasonable delays in responding to requests, inaccurate claim for certificates, failure to adhere to learner certification and registration procedure.

Allegation of malpractice and maladministration

Cases of malpractice

Any suspected cases of malpractice need to be reported to the training manager. This needs to constitute a detailed explanation of the malpractice case, with any supporting evidence via email. The training manager will direct the case to the internal verifier. The allegation should include:

• Learner’s Name
• Staff member name and job role- where applicable
• Details of the affected training course
• Nature of the suspected or actual malpractice case and associated details
• Information on any prior investigations taken informally for mitigating the case

Agora Training Centre ensures that upon investigation, the staff leading the case are independent of the staff/learner/function being investigated. In addition, the assigned investigator will inform those who are suspected of malpractice that the case is now investigated and possible outcomes.

Cases of maladministration

Any suspected cases of malpractice need to be reported to the administration officer. This needs to constitute a detailed explanation of the maladministration case, with any supporting evidence via email.

The allegation should include:

• Learner’s Name
• Staff member name and job role- where applicable
• Details of the affected training course
• Nature of the suspected or actual malpractice case and associated details
• Information on any prior investigations taken informally for mitigating the case

Procedure

Cases of malpractice and maladministration are received by designated internal staff (as mentioned), where they are expected to send a notification to involved parties within 2-4 working days. Following the notification, the process of investigation will start by calling those that re suspected to cases of malpractice and maladministration. The designated investigators will have a period of 10 working days to gather sufficient evidence on the case from respective departments, conduct interviews with involved personnel to investigate the case further. Depending on the severity of malpractice and maladministration cases, the investigator can suspend the individual (whether learner or staff) during the investigation period.

Confidentiality and Whistle Blowing

In some cases, the person making an allegation of malpractice and maladministration may wish to remain anonymous, although Agora Training Centre advice the submission of identity and contact details. However, if you are concerned the person is concerned about the adverse consequences that may occur – the investigator needs to be informed. The investigator assigned to review the allegation will not reveal the whistleblower’s identity unless the whistleblower agrees or it is absolutely necessary for the purposes of the investigation.

Investigation Report

The investigation report will be set by the designated investigator, where details of the investigation will be documented. The responsible individuals for the malpractice or/and maladministration case. Moreover, the investigator will mention the remedial actions and associated sanctions (where required). The outcome needs to be released in 5 working days following the investigation period. The outcome needs to be sent to the individuals that were involved in the case, relevant function manager and if an independent individual notified regarding the case they will also be informed on the outcome.

Investigation Outcomes

Investigation Outcomes can take different forms, as follows:

• Imposition of internal actions with specified deadlines to prevent the reoccurrence of the cases of malpractice and maladministration
• Imposition of sanctions on individuals with associated rationale
• Imposition of actions against a learner which could include suspension, written warning, loss of results or disqualification
• Implementation of disciplinary or dismissal procedures again staff found responsible for cases of malpractice and maladministration

Notifying Relevant Parties

The investigator will notify the quality assurer to inform relevant awarding organizations, if the incident of malpractice or maladministration could invalidate the award of the qualification or it could affect the institutional provision to the designated international training course. Therefore, the investigator will need to provide the quality assurer with the investigation report and supporting evidence to be submitted within 5 working days to the awarding organization.

Assessment results appeals can be raised by learners by completing the review and appeal form ( available on the website) to be sent on info@agoratrainingservices.com, no later than two weeks from the assessment date. The quality assurance team will receive the appeal and will re-send the outcome of appeal within 5 working days to the learner via email.  If the learner is not satisfied with the appeal outcome; the learner can take the case to a stage 2 appeal, at least within 1 week from receiving the initial appeal outcome. Stage 2 cases will only be considered if learners can provide sufficient evidence that Agora Training Centre did not follow the required procedure and there is inconsideration of the provided evidences. The outcome of a Stage 2 appeal will be communicated to the appellant within 10 working days.

FORM-ATS-QMS-21 REVIEW AND APPEAL FORMDownload