Malpractice Policy for WSET Courses
Both Commonwealth Wine School and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. Commonwealth Wine School ensures compliance with Commonwealth Wine School’s and WSET’s policies through this Malpractice and Maladministration Policy, which gives a framework for both us and you to identify, report and manage potential malpractice or maladministration.
Non-compliance with Commonwealth Wine School or WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related, categories:
1. Maladministration, where the non-compliance is generally unintentional, or the result of mistakes, carelessness, inexperience or poor processes; and
2. Malpractice where the non-compliance is intentional or the result of a negligent or reckless action without consideration of the consequences of the action.
Context is important and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear: for example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if you fail to implement corrective measures, repeat the same or similar incident, or attempt to misrepresent or hide information during an investigation); or there may be mitigating factors that turn potential malpractice into maladministration. Though malpractice and maladministration are distinct concepts, they can shade into one another. Malpractice and maladministration are always case, context and fact specific. Both APPs and students can commit malpractice and maladministration.
There are many ways that malpractice or maladministration could occur, including new ways we have not seen yet. But some examples of malpractice or maladministration include:
For the APP:
Failure to adhere to WSET Policies and Procedures;
Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations;
Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures;
Late student registrations;
Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates;
Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance;
Insecure storage of exam materials;
Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam;
Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance;
Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner;
Failure to timely respond to WSET;
For students:
Cheating, or facilitating cheating, including the use of unauthorised devices or materials;
Disruptive behaviour in an exam;
Plagiarism of any nature by students; Impersonation (including forgery of signatures);
Unauthorised reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;
Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect;
Breach of confidentiality.
In general, we also expect that both Commonwealth Wine School’s staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behaviour including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff as misconduct and may report student misconduct to WSET as necessary.
Process for making an allegation of malpractice or maladministration
Anybody who identifies or is made aware of suspected or actual cases of malpractice or maladministration at any time must immediately notify Commonwealth Wine School by emailing Adam Chase at wset@commonwealthwineschool.com.
All allegations must be made in writing/email and where possible include:
satellite center where issue occurred or associated third parties name, address and number
candidate’s name
name and details of anyone involved in the case
details of the Commonwealth Wine School or WSET course/qualification affected or nature of the service affected
nature of the suspected or actual malpractice and associated dates
any supporting evidence
In all cases of suspected malpractice and maladministration reported to Commonwealth Wine School we will protect the identity of the ‘informant’ in accordance with our duty of confidentiality and/or any other legal duty.
For students who believe that there has been an issue of malpractice should immediately contact Adam Chase at adam@commonwealthwineschool.com. If no response is received within seven days, a student would report their complaint directly to WSET at qa@WSETGlobal.com.
Confidentiality and Whistleblowing
Sometimes a person making an allegation of malpractice or maladministration may wish to remain anonymous. It is preferable to reveal identity and contact details to Commonwealth Wine School. If there are concerns about possible adverse consequences a request to Commonwealth Wine School can be made not to divulge your identity. Commonwealth Wine School is not obliged to disclose your personal information if to do so would be a breach of confidentiality and/or any other legal duty.
While Commonwealth Wine School is prepared to investigate issues which are reported to us anonymously and/or by a whistleblower, Commonwealth Wine School shall always try to confirm an allegation by means of a separate investigation before taking up the matter with those the complaint/allegation relates.
Responsibility for the investigation
All suspected cases of maladministration and malpractice will be examined promptly by Commonwealth Wine School to establish if malpractice or maladministration has occurred and will take all reasonable steps to prevent any adverse effect from occurring. All suspected cases of malpractice and maladministration will be fully investigated, and receipt will be acknowledged within 5 working days.
Commonwealth Wine School is required to notify WSET immediately so WSET can investigate under the WSET Malpractice & Maladministration policy. WSET may reach out to the APP or students directly to request additional information or conduct interviews and it is imperative that both the APP and students respond to requests promptly and honestly.
Notifying relevant parties
In all cases of suspected or actual malpractice, Commonwealth Wine School will notify anyone involved in the allegation that we’ll be investigating the matter and/or in the case of learner malpractice, Commonwealth Wine School will inform the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Quality Assurance department for any instance of malpractice or maladministration which could invalidate the award of a student. When the alleged or suspected malpractice concerns a WSET qualification, Commonwealth has an obligation to inform and refer the issue to WSET, and WSET will conduct an investigation which will replace the investigation process and actions by Commonwealth Wine School’s policy.
Investigation timelines and summary process
Commonwealth Wine School will aim to resolve all stages of the investigation within 10 working days of receipt of the allegation. Please note that in some cases the investigation may take longer. We will advise all parties concerned of the likely revised timescale.
The fundamental principle of all investigations is to conduct them in a fair, reasonable and legal manner, ensuring that all relevant evidence is considered without bias. In doing so investigations will be based around the following broad objectives:
to establish the facts relating to allegations/complaints in order to determine whether any irregularities have occurred.
to identify the cause of the irregularities and those involved.
to establish the scale of the irregularities.
to determine whether remedial action is required to reduce the risk to current registered students and to preserve the integrity of the qualification.
to ascertain whether any action is required in respect of certificates already issued.
to identify any adverse patterns or trends.
The investigation may involve a request for further information from relevant parties and/or interviews with personnel involved in the investigation. Therefore, Commonwealth Wine School will:
Ensure all material collected as part of an investigation is kept secure. All records and original documentation concerning a completed investigation that ultimately leads to sanctions against a third party will be retained for a period of not less than five years.
Expect all parties, who are either directly or indirectly involved in the investigation, to fully cooperate with us.
If appropriate, we may find that the complexity of a case or a lack of cooperation from an associated third party means that we are unable to complete an investigation. In such circumstances Commonwealth Wine School will turn over the investigation to WSET.
Where a member of Commonwealth Wine School ’s staff is under investigation we may suspend them or move them to other duties until the investigation is complete.
Investigation report
After an investigation, Commonwealth Wine School will produce a draft report for relevant parties concerned to check the factual accuracy where appropriate. Any subsequent amendments will be agreed between the parties concerned and Commonwealth Wine School. The report will:
identify where the breach, if any, occurred.
confirm the facts of the case.
identify who is responsible for the breach (if any)
confirm an appropriate level of remedial action to be applied.
Commonwealth Wine School will make the final report available to the parties concerned and to other external agencies as required.
If it was an independent/third party that notified Commonwealth Wine School of the suspected or actual case of malpractice, they will be informed of the outcome – normally within 10 working days of making the decision - in doing so some details may be withheld if to disclose such information would breach a duty of confidentiality or any other legal duty.
Investigation outcomes
If the investigation confirms that malpractice or maladministration has taken place Commonwealth Wine School will consider what action to take to:
minimize the risk to the integrity of certification now and in the future.
maintain public confidence in the delivery of qualifications.
discourage others from carrying out similar instances of malpractice or maladministration.
ensure there has been no gain from compromising standards.
The action we may take include:
impose actions in relation to a satellite center with specified deadlines in order to address the instance of malpractice/maladministration and to prevent it from recurring
in cases where certificates are deemed to be invalid, inform the learner why they are invalid and any action to be taken for reassessment and/or for the withdrawal of the certificates. The affected learners will be notified of the action to be taken and that the original certificate/s is invalid and ask – where possible – to return the invalid certificates to Commonwealth Wine School. Commonwealth Wine School will return the certificate to any awarding body and update the database so that replacement of the invalid certificate/s cannot be issued.
In addition, to the above the Commonwealth Wine School will ensure that any lessons learned from the investigation are recorded and passed onto relevant internal colleagues to help Commonwealth Wine School prevent the same instance of maladministration or malpractice from reoccurring.
Management of non-compliance
If malpractice or maladministration is identified, WSET will consider its impact and may apply sanctions accordingly. WSET will take all reasonable steps to ensure that students who are affected by malpractice or maladministration through no fault of their own are not disadvantaged. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to disallow or withhold results and/or certificates.
Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Sanctions Applicable to Students/Candidates
Sanction Description
Written Warning
The student is issued with a written warning that if the offence is repeated within a set period of time then further specified sanctions will be applied.
Exam Result Declared Null and Void
A student’s exam result is disallowed. This may include invalidation and recall of a certificate already issued.
Disqualification from a Qualification
The student is disqualified from participating in the concerned qualification with immediate effect and further excluded from participating in any further WSET qualifications for a period of 12 months. This includes access to WSET materials.
Student Disqualification
The learner is disqualified from participating in any courses or assessments leading to WSET qualifications. This includes access to WSET materials.
Disqualification from use of WSET certified logos and postnominals
Actions bringing WSET into disrepute may result in the student or graduate being barred from use of WSET postnominals and WSET certified logos.
