Malpractice & Maladministration Policy

Malpractice covers any deliberate or non-deliberate action on purpose or by neglect that compromises the services we provide and those of the accredited awarding bodies, BCS and IAPP.

Examples of malpractice by staff:

• Failing to secure candidate data
• Falsifying records and or certificates
• Abusing or misusing special learner assessment requirements
• Unauthorised access to assessment materials
• Any wilful or deliberate action which puts the integrity of our service and the accredited awarding bodies of BCS and IAPP into disrepute.

Examples of malpractice by candidates:

• Personation
• Unauthorised aids any equipment, digital or physical materials
• Copying from another candidate or claiming work from another candidate to be his/her own

Examples of malpractice by BCS and IAPP

Malpractice is any activity that compromises:

• The assessment process
• The integrity of a regulated qualification 
• The validity of a result or certificate 
• The reputation and credibility of BCS or IAPP 
• The qualification or the wider qualifications community

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

Maladministration is an act of neglect or practice that results in either Freevacy Ltd or a candidate not following rules and guidelines, or non-compliance with procedures and displays incompetence in work. Repeated or recurring instances of maladministration can be considered malpractice.

Examples of maladministration by staff:

• Failing to retain appropriate candidate records
• Failing to meet the requirements of awarding bodies
• Failing to maintain systems

Freevacy Ltd will take all precautions and necessary steps to prevent Malpractice and or Maladministration from occurring. Wherever this is not possible or for reasons beyond our control, this policy will be activated, and an investigation will commence.

Based on the outcome of any investigation, the appropriate action will take place and corrective measures introduced.

Freevacy Ltd will ensure that this Malpractice and Maladministration policy will follow the same procedure as set out on the next page.

Please note that for any BCS Malpractice or Maladministration cases the BCS policy and the BCS terms & conditions apply.

For full details, please refer to the BCS Malpractice & Maladministration policy. 

It is the responsibility of the centre manager to carry out investigations into any allegations of Malpractice and Maladministration.

Any reports or alleged cases will be notified to the relevant awarding body immediately. In addition, within 48 hours of the case being raised, the accused party will be notified in writing that the policy has been activated.

An investigation will be triggered with the following details:

• Establish the facts, circumstances, and scale of the alleged malpractice.
• Identify any patterns or trends.
• Evaluate any action taken to date.
• Identify any changes to policy or procedure that need to be made by Freevacy Ltd.
• Determine whether corrective action is required to reduce the risk to current candidates and preserve the integrity of the qualification.
• Ascertain whether any action is required in respect of certificates already issued.
• Identify evidence to support any action/decision to be applied.
• All the findings will be documented and provided in a report along with supporting evidence.

• Policy: Malpractice & Maladministration Policy
• Version number 1.0
• Policy owner: Jodie King
• Centre Manager & Finance Director