Student Conduct, Participation and Communications Policy

Reviewed Jun 2020, Dec 2020, Jun 2021, Updated Dec 2021, Reviewed Jun 2022, Updated Jun 2023, Reviewed Jul 2023, Dec 2023

Student Conduct, Participation and Communications Policy Statement

To be effective in delivering quality training and assessment, ACCM College: 

  • Requires appropriate conduct from students in interactions with all ACCM College staff and other students
  • Has established a minimum Student Participation Standard that publishes the expectations to students enrolling in College programs
  • Requires that students interact with ACCM College and respond to ACCM College communications in a professional manner
  • Requires a range of student contact points
  • Offers assistance and support to students by phone and email (if suitable) within standard business hours (9am - 5pm EST)
  • Initiates contact with students to motivate their course progress
  • Sets subject assessment due dates and maximum course completion dates

 

College Code of Conduct and Required Student Behaviour

  • General Conduct Requirements

    Students when interacting with College staff and other students should:

    • Act and communicate in a professional and business like manner
    • Be co-operative and considerate to others
    • Refrain from swearing and using aggressive language or conduct
    • Raise any concerns in an appropriate manner using the approved procedures for raising concerns and complaints
    • Ensure their behaviour does not negatively impact the study experience of other students.

     Of course, our staff are required to meet this Code of Conduct too!

  • Academic Conduct and Requirement for Original Work Obligations

    Students enrolling agree to:

    • Make every possible effort to meet course module due dates.
    • Make regular progress and complete the qualification within the course time frame and to the Student Participation Standards.
    • Participate in any workplace training provided by your employer or the College.
    • Attend any training or progress meetings with the College.
    • Notify your employer and the College if you are having any difficulties completing the tasks or workbooks.
    • Notify the College if you leave your employer during the term of a traineeship.

     

    Students To Submit Their Own Original Work

    All work must be your own work.

    This means you are agreeing that you have not:

    • Copied (in whole or in part) material or responses from another student
    • Used any Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to generate an answer that does not come solely from your own knowledge or skills
    • Used a paid assessment writing service
    • Allowed someone else to complete your assessment activities.

    Please be aware we also have a range of checks to ensure you are the one doing your assessments.

    Our systems and procedures will allow us to:

    • Compare the style of answers and writing you use 
    • Identify the location and device you are working from
    • Use technology to identify copying and AI use

    For Skills Checks you will be asked to identify yourself before the activity. Keep your photo ID handy in case we ask you to show it to us in video conference assessments.

    In all Colleges and Universities, submitting work that is not yours is regarded as a serious offence that can result in your disqualification from completing the course.

    As a minimum you and any others involved will be required to re-do a new assessment task.

    Where enrolled through your employer, your employer will also be notified of the breach verbally and by a formal letter.

    If you work with others in study groups, ensure that your submissions are your own work, reflect your own opinions and are written in your own words.

    Copy and Paste from the Internet or Workbook

    Answers obtained directly from the internet or study workbooks (unless this is specifically required in the assessment activity) will be failed and are a breach of Academic Conduct. 

    Quiz Completion

    Quiz completion by guessing randomly is a breach of academic policy. The quiz will be locked after 2 attempts and where the fail result is in the view of the College due to random guesses, an alternative assessment activity will be allocated.

    Quality Assurance Policy

    ASQA Standards for RTOs (2015), as well as various State-level compliance factors, require all RTOs to adhere to the Rules of Evidence.

    Specific information on these Rules can be found here:

    https://www.asqa.gov.au/course-accreditation/users-guide-standards-vet-accredited-courses/accredited-courses-guide-appendices/appendix-7-rules-evidence

    Essentially, the Rules of Evidence requires RTOs to ensure for elements:

    Validity

    The assessor must be assured that the student has the skills, knowledge, and attributes as described in the unit of competency and associated assessment requirement.

    Sufficiency

    The assessment must be assured that the quality, quantity, and relevance of the assessment evidence enable a judgement to be made of a student’s competency.

    Authenticity

    The assessor must be assured that the evidence presented for assessment is the student’s own work.

    Currency

    The assessor must be assured that the assessment evidence demonstrates current competency.  This requires the assessment evidence to be from the present or the very recent past.

     

    Implementing the ACCM QA Program

    As part of ACCM’s ongoing quality assurance program aligned with the Rules of Evidence, a learner’s recent submission(s) may be reviewed by another assessor or selected for further assessment.

    The purpose of a further assessment review is to ensure completion of our assessment materials has achieved the required level of demonstrable competence in the unit/s undertaken.

    This QA verification will be achieved through a 20-30 minute Competency Conversation, where one of our assessors will conduct a verbal discussion with the learner regarding key points, questions or elements of their assessment submission. 

    The assessor will verify that the learner is not logged onto their Webclass account for the duration of the conversation, to ensure the depth of the learner’s competency.

    Topics will be drawn from the assessment questions previously completed by the learner, relating to the Units of Competency addressed in the selected Subject.

    The results of this Competency Conversation will provide ACCM with additional validity, authenticity, sufficiency and currency of the learner’s skills and knowledge.

    Competency Conversation results may also identify areas where additional learning and/or further assessment is required.  At that point, the learner will be given the opportunity to conduct further learning opportunities and re-attempt identified assessment activities.

  • Student Disciplinary Procedures

    If the College has any concerns about the behaviour of a student, including any breach of College Policies, or behaviour that is regarded as not meeting the Code of Conduct, the College will fully and fairly investigate the issue.

    The student/s involved will be given full details of the Colleges concerns and the opportunity to address and explain the issue prior to any decision about disciplinary action being taken.

    The College will then communicate to the student/s the outcome and consequences of its investigations.

    Where disciplinary action is warranted the College may take action up to and including withdrawing students from their course, without refund or a result being issued. The disciplinary action will reflect the seriousness of the misconduct taken by the student.

    Appeals are allowed where the student disputes the disciplinary action.

Student Participation Standards

  • How is Course Progress Measured

    WebclassM counts the number of questions a student does each week.

    This information is available to our staff as well as employers of trainees or employer sponsored studies.

    It is compared to the Target Qs per week - and this is used to determine if a student is ahead or behind in their course.

    Subject due dates will align to this (noting that lots of resubmission of the same questions will mean students can still get behind but seem to be meeting the goal question amount).

  • Why are Student Participation Standards Necessary

    a) The Student Participation Standards advise prospective students or the nature and level of interaction involved to successfully undertake their course before they commit to their enrolment.

    b) The standards have been established as ACCM College past experience shows that students who actively interact with ACCM College, and make regular progress on their course, have a greater level of course completion

    We also recognise that one of the dangers in "distance or online" learning is that people can procrastinate and incorrectly feel they can "do it all in one go". This also means they lose motivation.

     

  • The Student Participation Standards
    Level of Course Contact the College Assessment Submission Estimated Study Time*
    Certificate II or III subjects Contact us approximately every 2 weeks for 20 minutes

    18-24 Questions per week (based on course)

    Subjects to be completed every 4-8 weeks on average

    2 - 4 hrs pw
    Certificate IV subjects

    20-24 Questions per week (based on course)

    Subjects to be completed every 6-9 weeks on average

    4 - 5 hrs pw
    Diploma subjects Contact us approximately every 4 weeks for 30 minutes

    18-22 Questions per week (based on course)

    Subjects to be completed every 6-9 weeks on average

    4 - 5 hrs pw
  • Implications If Students Do Not Meet the Participation Standards

    a) ACCM College, at its discretion, may discontinue a students enrolment at any stage, where they are not meeting the Student Participation Standards.

    b) Employers of students and trainees will also be advised where an employee/ trainee is not meeting the Participation Standards.

Student Communication and Contact Policy Details

  • Issue of Formal Notices to Students

    a) ACCM College is from time to time required to issue formal notices to students. All official contact and notices with students will be sent by email or be issued via Webclass.

    Any required attachments will be in word or pdf format.

    b) The date of notice will be deemed as 2 working days after sending or publishing on Webclass.

    c) If ACCM College receives a bounce back message suggesting that the email was not received, or that Webclass has not been accessed, it may at its discretion send the notice by post, but is not obliged to do so.

    The notice date will be legally deemed to be the original notice date of the notice issued under Webclass or email.

  • Student Obligations To Provide Contact Details

    It is the students obligation to:

    a) Provide an email address and phone number at enrolment 

    b) Advise ACCM College of any email address or phone number changes 

    c) Have a software program capable of accessing word or pdf attachments 

    d) Check their email regularly and accept ACCM College phone calls 

    e) Regularly login to Webclass

    f) Generally facilitate communication methods to allow interaction with ACCM College and receipt of notices.

  • Advice and Support Contact Options for Students

    a) Students can contact their Student Adviser for assistance with course content and administrative matters. Contact can be by phone or email, using the contact details as published on the ACCM College website.

    b) All reasonable efforts will be made to assist students seeking assistance and support, including by arrangement allocating times after normal business hours (9am - 5pm EST).

    c) Assistance will be provided immediately, or where all qualified Student Advisers are unavailable, no later than 24 hours after the request.

    d) The main contact methods will be phone and email. Students who email may be asked to contact us by phone to improve communication about a specific issue.

  • Requesting Assistance from College Student Advisers

    When emailing asking about tasks:

    • Clearly indicate what subject and what question number you are asking about
    • Include both your first name and last name
    • Ensure your email explains any attachments e.g. that they are questions you would like reviewed or help with or to be formally marked

     When calling in to talk to your ACCM College Student Adviser:

    • Introduce yourself with your first and last name
    • Briefly explain what you would like help with so that they can identify if they can help you or if someone else would be better to assist you

     Ensure that your communication is courteous and business like.

     

  • How is Contact Managed?

    a) All students will be contacted by phone in each week of the first 4-6 weeks - which is the onboarding period.

    b) In some situations where we are not able to talk to you - we will send an email instead.

    c) If a student is progressing satisfactorily they should, after that initial onboarding period, expect a phone contact once a month.

    d)If they do not answer our calls - we will instead send an email, but will generally not keep calling unless it is urgent we speak to them.

    e) Students may, of course, contact us at any time for help and do not need to wait for us to call them.

    f) If a student is a little behind we will be in contact normally once every 2 weeks until good progress is re-established.

    g) If a student is well behind, or at risk of not finishing their course on time, it becomes necessary for us to contact them (and their employer if in a Traineeship or employer sponsored course) on a weekly basis with the view to agreeing on a strategy to ensure the course is progressed and they will complete on time.

    h) In addition to phone calls and email, SMS will also be used where it is important that we make contact and we are not seeing a response to other methods.

    It is not possible for students to opt out of receiving contact.

Academic Appeals Process

  • Assessment Appeals Process

    Students have the right to Appeal an assessment decision.

    If you are advised that a subject result is Not Yet Competent, but you believe you really do have the required degree of competency; and you have provided reasonable proof of this to the College, you may appeal that result.

    To appeal a decision you should ask your College Student Adviser to have your work remarked by another Trainer/Assessor; or send this request via the Enquiry page on the website.

    You may be asked to provide a “fresh” copy of your original assessment. The task will be given to another assessor to mark. They will not be told it has already been marked and found to be Not Yet Competent.

    The second assessors result will be the official result. For internal development purposes, after this exercise the two marked assessments will be compared for consistency.

    If you are still dissatisfied with the outcome, you may appeal again. You will be asked to explain the reasons for the appeal. In this instance the College will ask for an independent Assessor to review your assessment.

    You will be advised if any costs will be applicable for external review.

  • Supplementary Assessments

    The College will ask students to complete “supplementary” or additional assessments from time to time. For example we may phone students and arrange a time to ask them some questions about their Assessment Task or set additional questions or activities. 

    This process is intended to allow the College to validate the assessment methods it uses, to be flexible in the way it assesses students, and to ensure authenticity of student work. A student asked to cooperate in this way, will be regarded as not having completed their Assessment Task until the supplementary assessment is completed to the satisfaction of the College.

  • Appeals for Other Decisions

    Non-academic appeals are treated in accordance with the College Complaints processes.