HILLCROSS BUSINESS COLLEGE (PTY) LTD

Transcription

1 HILLCROSS BUSINESS COLLEGE (PTY) LTD CERTIFICATION POLICY & PROCEDURE

2 1. Introduction 1.1 Hillcross Business College will automatically provide a certificate to students upon successful completion of Hillcross Business College qualification they have studied to achieve. This is known as a qualification certificate. Students may also request a credit certificate, which shows the credit achieved upon completion of a unit. 1.2 The content of Hillcross Business College qualification certificate or credit certificate is designed to comply with the requirements of the SAQA. 1.3 Hillcross Business College promotes transparency, integrity and security throughout its certification processes. 2. Entitlement, timescales and issuing of certificates Eligibility 2.1 A certificate for a unit or a qualification is defined as a record of attainment of credit or a qualification issued by an awarding organisation A student is entitled to receive a qualification certificate if they have passed all units structured within the Rule of Combination that they have achieved. The certificate will be generate and sent to the student within the timescales specified in the qualification specification. 2.3 A student or centre (which includes schools / colleges) may request a credit certificate from Hillcross Business College upon completion of a unit within the Rule of Combination of the qualification. This is an option only, and will not be generated automatically by Hillcross Business College. Such a request will incur a fee to the student or centre. 2.4 The certificate is the formal proof that a student has been awarded a qualification by Hillcross Business College. Timescales 2.5

3 A qualification certificate will be issued to a student within the following timescales: i. for units assessed using electronically delivered objective testing, within 30 working days of the student sitting the examination; ii. for units assessed using paper-based objective testing, within 30 working days of the examination date; and iii. for units assessed using a coursework assignment, within 30 working days of the coursework results release date, and in some cases of the examination date. 2.6 A credit certificate will be issued to the student or centre within 10 days of receipt of the student application, accompanied by the appropriate fee. 2.7 Hillcross Business College will issue qualification certificates to qualifying students by the end of the academic year in which the qualification is completed. Issuing original certificates 2.8 Only one original certificate will be issued to the student or centre for any unit or qualification. The certificate will be labelled with its own unique identifier code and serial number and state the name of the qualification as it appears on the College Register. 2.9 In the event that a student or centre receives the original issue of a certificate, having already requested a replacement certificate, the student or centre must return to Hillcross Business College one of the certificates that they have received A certificate will be issued bearing the name of the student as originally registered with Hillcross Business College. If a student is known by another name and wishes this name to appear on a certificate, they must provide Hillcross Business College with independent verification of this alternative name, to make sure that they are one and the same person as originally registered by Hillcross Business College. Students should inform Hillcross Business College of this as soon as possible, and before the original certificate is issued All certificates will identify the language in which the student was assessed. 3. Replacement certificates 3.1

4 Hillcross Business College will only replace a certificate under the following circumstances: i. The student or centre fails to receive the original certificate. ii. The student receives an original certificate that has been damaged in transit from Hillcross Business College to the student or centre. iii. The student or centre loses their original certificate. A certificate is defined as lost if it is issued by Hillcross Business College and received by the student or centre, but subsequently lost. If the original certificate is subsequently found, the student or centre must return the replacement certificate to Hillcross Business College. iv. The student or centre receives a certificate containing an Hillcross Business College production error, for example, if the name of the qualification is incorrect. v. The student changes their name after the original certificate is issued. A student wishing to receive a replacement record of achievement or certificate in their new name must: a. indicate clearly on the application form their new name; and b. include written independent evidence of their new name. Any documents provided in support of a name change must be the original or certified copy. 3.2 The issuing of replacement certificates for the two circumstances defined in 3.1, i and ii, is only applicable if the student or centre contacts Hillcross Business College within 60 working days of the relevant certificate issue date. Hillcross Business College reserves the right not to replace original certificates once this time period has elapsed or for reasons specified in 3.7, below. 3.3 Replacement certificates will be issued by Hillcross Business College at the earliest opportunity, and upon receipt of the original certificate, if the original certificate is still available. 3.4 A student or centre requesting the replacement of an original certificate will be required to complete an application form. The application form must include a statement confirming the status of the original certificate, ie lost, damaged, etc, describing in as much detail as possible the circumstances of their need for a replacement certificate. Hillcross Business College will not accept verbal requests for replacement certificates. The application form must be accompanied by a fee, where appropriate. 3.5 Provided that the appropriate conditions for the replacement of a certificate have been met, a replacement certificate will be issued by Hillcross Business College within 30 working days of receipt of the request for a replacement. 3.6

5 A replacement certificate issued by Hillcross Business College is labelled with its own unique identifier code and unique serial number, which is different from the original certificate number. Each replacement certificate is marked Replacement at the bottom of the certificate. 3.7 Under normal circumstances, a replacement certificate will be issued when all conditions have been met for its replacement. However, if Hillcross Business College consider the request to be unreasonable, fraudulent or potentially damaging to the reputation or security of Hillcross Business College, the request may be declined. In such an eventuality, Hillcross Business College will write to the student giving them grounds for declining the request. 3.8 Information about how to contact Hillcross Business College can be found at the end of this document. 4. False declarations and appeals process 4.1 Hillcross Business College will produce the certificates to which a student is entitled having completed their studies and assessment to gain achievement of the qualification. However, problems may arise with the issuance of certificates, whether as the result of a deliberate act or a genuine mistake. 4.2 If either party involved in providing information required for the certification process, advertently or inadvertently provides information that is false, Hillcross Business College will be bound to revoke any such certificates and investigate how this situation has arisen. 4.3 Hillcross Business College will investigate how the inaccuracies have occurred in the production of the certificate. The investigation will be conducted under the requirement set out in the Appeals Policy and Procedures. 5. Monitoring and evaluation of the Certification Policy and Procedures 5.1 Hillcross Business College maintains records of all original and replacement certificates that it issues and these are subject to regular monitoring and review. 5.2 The policy and the procedures are also subject to regular monitoring and review by Hillcross Business College. 5.3

6 The policy and procedures are formally approved by Hillcross Business College FE Board, who are the ultimate authority in respect of all Hillcross Business College qualifications. 5.4 This policy has been developed to comply with all relevant legislation and has been externally benchmarked to be in line with recognised best practice. 5.5 Hillcross Business College is subject to regulation by the qualifications regulatory authority.

7 Policy Title Policy Owners Contact Person Key Stakeholders Assessment Policy Hillcross business College (Pty) Ltd The Principal All students and staff Approval body Related guidelines School Management Board N/A Agenda item and meeting date approved In consultation with Committee members, 13/10/2014 File Information File Number Version Number V1.2-13/10/2014 Date effective 13/10/2014 Next Review Date 13/04/2015 Version 1.2 approved by School Management Board Previous version V1.1 Ineffective 13/10/2014