APPEALS PROCESS
Chieftain Training will provide all of the training/coaching promised however students must accept that not everyone will “pass” every course. The most common reason for a student not passing their course is that they did not have the necessary pre requisites (listed on each course page on this website), when they enrolled on the course and/or they did not carry out the preparation detailed in their joining Instructions. Neither of these scenarios provides grounds for appeal.
As part of our effort to provide the best student/customer experience we offer many students a “Second Chance Promise,” Please visit https://chieftain.training/chieftain-second-chance/ to see if your course qualifies.
There may be occasions when you feel that you have grounds to appeal against a decision (for example, where your performance in an assessment was adversely affected by undisclosed mitigating circumstances).
We expect that efforts will be made by students to informally seek resolution with their Instructor/Assessor before engaging with formal appeal procedures. It is only when informal channels have been exhausted, or the case is reasoned to be too problematic to informally resolve, that procedures can be initiated to escalate appeals to a formal stage.
Chieftain Training reminds students that appeals will not always result in their preferred conclusion. Regardless of the decision, you will be informed of the outcome of a formal appeal and the reasons for it.
Chieftain Training hopes that students acknowledge that this policy and procedure provides a swift and fair assessment of their appeal; however, any feedback you may have on the process will be considered as part of our continual improvement efforts.
DEFINITION OF AN APPEAL
For the purpose of this policy an appeal is a request for a formal review of an assessment decision and is submitted on specific grounds. Although similar in procedure, an appeal is distinct from a complaint. Complaints seek to raise concerns about the quality or delivery of service you have received from any part of the Centre and are dealt with via the Complaints Policy, in our standard Terms and Conditions.
WHO CAN APPEAL
This Policy applies to all students currently registered for any of the courses offered by Chieftain Training (which include assessment and/or certification provided by us).
An appeal for a student, who is under 18 years old may be lodged by the parent or legal guardian. Appeals received from any other third party (including a parent of anyone 18 years old or above) will be only be considered with the express written permission of the person to whom the appeal relates giving the named third party power to act on their behalf; this permission must be supplied within the four-week period from notification of the result in question.
THE STAGES OF APPEAL
The Centre’s student appeals procedure consist of two stages. For a minority of our courses a 3rd and possibly 4th appeal stage also exists.
Stage 1 – Early Resolution
In this stage:
- The Centre aims to resolve most appeals, via face-to-face discussions with the student.
- Initially the student will raise the issue directly with the relevant staff member to seek resolution or clarification
- A resolution, may be for the students to repeat the assessment
- If this initial discussion is not sufficient to resolve the issue, the student may submit a formal appeal (stage 2).
Stage 2 Formal Appeal
In this stage:
- If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of stage 1 or resolution was not possible due to the character, complexity or seriousness of case, you may pursue the appeal in writing following the guidance within this policy. Please use the contact details above.
- Students will be provided with a written outcome at the conclusion of this stage.
- In most cases the decision of our Principal (stage 2) is final and cannot be over ruled by a third party body or regulator, however we will always listen to their advice. For CIEH and AMERC courses a stage 3 exists.
Stage 3 External Appeal (only for CIEH & AMERC courses)
In this stage:
- Where a certificate or qualification is regulated by CIEH or AMRERC, if you are not satisfied with our response at Stage 2 you can appeal to the external body
- The external body will expect you to have exhausted our Stage 1 and Stage 2 appeals procedure, before formally appealing to them and will expect you to contact them in writing in a timely manner having received our reply to Stage 2 of the above process.Copying us into a Stage 3 appeal may speed up the process as the external body will need to discuss the matter with us.
APPEAL DEADLINE & TIME LIMITS
Chieftain Training will make every reasonable effort to meet the time limits as stated in this Policy. Students are expected to familiarise themselves with the key deadlines outlined in this policy. Ignorance of these regulations does not excuse students from adherence to them. This policy is available 24/7 on our website.
Stage 1 Appeals should be discussed as soon as possible and will be dealt with by us as swiftly as possible.
Stage 2 Appeals should be submitted within two weeks from notification of the assessment result. Failure by a student to meet the two-week appeal deadline or failure to provide in a timely manor supplementary evidence /information that we request may result in a case being concluded without further consideration. We aim to conclude your formal appeal with 4 weeks of us receiving it, however if an appeal is particularly complex or centre holiday periods occur and we need more time we will notify you
THE STAGE 2 APPEAL
Cases for appeal will only be accepted in writing, presented clearly and comprehensibly. Cases must which have valid grounds of appeal as outlined in this policy and procedure. Your appeal should state
- The result and date of the assessment which you are appealing
- What informal attempts have already been made to resolve this appeal
- Your reason/grounds for appeal
- Your evidence
- The outcome you belief is correct
You must include all evidence at this stage. Withholding evidence will frustrate our ability to deal with your appeal efficiently and may be grounds to conclude an appeal without further consideration.
Written appeals should be posted or emailed to our office using the contact details on this website. The submission of an appeal will not have a negative effect in any subsequent courses booked with Chieftain Training.
CONFIDENTUALITY
All information submitted in relation to an appeal will be dealt with confidentially and will only be disclosed to other parties for the purposes of conducting an effective investigation and achieving a judgement of an appeal, or as required by law. We may where we deem necessary share information on your appeal with the relevant governing or regulatory body (for example RYA, CIEH, Awarding Body, or MNTB). Where something is disclosed that could have a safeguarding impact, we reserve the right to liaise with appropriate professionals.
Any confidential third-party evidence submitted must be accompanied by written permission from the people named in the documentation. Examples of this might include medical documentation submitted on behalf of someone other than yourself.
No individual will be permitted to be involved in a case in which they have a material interest or in which any actual or potential conflict of interest may arise.
Just as we will respect your confidentiality, we will respect that of other students. We will not engage in discussion with you as to why another student or candidate received a particular result.
PROCESS OUTCOME
The Principal will appoint someone to handle a Stage 2 Appeal. that persons will complete a report of the investigation and present the facts to the Senior Management team with a recommended outcome. The Senior management will consider the outcome of the investigation and may confirm one of the following outcomes which will be delivered to the student in writing.
- Re-affirm the original decision.
- Review its decision and report an amended recommendation.
- Report a description of any administrative error found and a make revision of the original outcome.
- Make a recommendation where it considers appropriate to permit the student to undergo further assessment.
FRIVOLOUS APPEALS
If an appeal is considered to be vexatious or frivolous then the appeal will be referred to the Director for review and a response to the student or students concerned. A frivolous or vexatious appeal can be characterised in a number of ways including, but not limited to, the following:
- Appeals which are obsessive, persistent, harassing, prolific, repetitious
- Insistence upon pursuing unmeritorious appeals and/or unrealistic outcomes beyond all reason
- Insistence upon pursuing meritorious appeals in an unreasonable manner
- Appeals which are designed to cause disruption or annoyance
- Demands for redress which lack any serious purpose or value
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT
A minority of our courses are assessed by independent third parties, not employed by us, if this is the case we will refer your appeal to them at Stage 2 or suggest that you do so, as we do not have the ability to investigate and/or reverse their decision. An example of where this would apply is the preparation courses we provide for MCA Deck Officer exams. The assessment is 100% external and managed by a third party.