School Policies

Conflict of Interest Policy

As an APP Dallas Wine Education Center is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and Dallas Wine Education Center processes and procedures.

This policy applies to all Dallas Wine Education Center staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Dallas Wine Education Center.

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or Dallas Wine Education Center when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:

• The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all
  individuals concerned;
• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment
  for any or all individuals concerned;
• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP;
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment;
• The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate scripts;
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially.

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if family member of one of Dallas Wine Education Center’s educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through Dallas Wine Education Center, or when an employee of Dallas Wine Education Center, or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through Dallas Wine Education Center, we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.

Any staff member or student of Dallas Wine Education Center who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Dilek Caner MW (admin@dallawinecenter.com) as soon as possible. Dilek Caner will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and Dallas Wine Education Center determine the conflict is not manageable, Dallas Wine Education Center will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or Dallas Wine Education Center because we are required to report conflicts to WSET.

Reasonable Adjustments Policy

Both WSET and Dallas Wine Education Center want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allows us Dallas Wine Education Center to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a
request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications.

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:

• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment
  activity;
• Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format;
• Providing access facilitators during assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader;
• Re-organizing the assessment room, such as removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate.

Dallas Wine Education Center will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with Dallas Wine Education Center, we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, Dallas Wine Education Center will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information.

For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact Dallas Wine Education Center (admin@dallaswinecenter.com) with:

• Your full name;
• contact information;
• description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and
• supporting documentation.

You must submit this information at least 25 business days before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

Dallas Wine Education Center will keep records of all reasonable adjustment applications.

Special Consideration Policy

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside of their control at the time of the exam that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that have a material impact on your, the student’s, ability to take the exam or on your performance.

To be eligible for special consideration, you must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for the temporary illness, injury or other uncontrollable event. A special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster).

You may be eligible for special consideration if:

• Your performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of your control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement or exam room conditions;
• Reasonable adjustments which were agreed in advance of the exam proved inappropriate or inadequate;
• The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria.

Applying for special consideration

If you have taken an exam, or your exam is immediately approaching, and you feel that you have a temporary injury or illness, or other uncontrollable event that has interfered with your ability to complete your exam, please contact Dallas Wine Education Center at admin@dallaswinecenter as soon as possible. Dallas Wine Education Center will provide you with a Special Consideration
Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within 3 business days after the effected exam. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

If there has been serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, Dallas Wine Education Center will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request a special consideration.

Dallas Wine Education Center will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Both Dallas Wine Education Center and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. Dallas Wine Education Center ensures compliance with Dallas Wine Education Center 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 Dallas Wine Education Center 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 APPs:

• 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.

For students:

• Cheating, or facilitating cheating, including the use of unauthorized devices or materials;
• Disruptive behavior in an exam;
• Plagiarism of any nature by students;
• Impersonation (including forgery of signatures);
• Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;
• Breach of confidentiality.

In general, we also expect that both Dallas Wine Education Center staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behavior 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.

Reporting and Investigation of Malpractice or Maladministration

As an APP, we aim to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and Dallas Wine Education Center policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by you, our students, or our staff.

We are required to notify WSET immediately of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration, so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.

We ask that you also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with Dallas Wine Education Center as soon as possible by following the process outlined in our Complaints policy.

During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to Dallas Wine Education Center or to you directly to request further information or to conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly.

Managing Non-Compliance

If WSET identifies malpractice or maladministration, they will consider its impact and may apply sanctions. WSET will take all reasonable steps to ensure the sanctions do not disadvantage uninvolved students affected by malpractice or maladministration. However, in some cases, they may need to disallow or withhold results and/or certificates.

Potential sanctions may include:

• 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.

Appeals

If you wish to appeal penalties or sanctions WSET has imposed due to Malpractice or Maladministration, please follow the procedures laid out in WSET’s Complaints Policy.

Complaints and Appeals

Any student complaint that is not related to student grades should be directed to the Exams Officers, via email, at admin@dallaswinecenter.com.

The student must provide their full name and phone number and the full details of their complaint along with any supporting documents, if applicable.

The person against whom the complaint is issued has the right to receive a copy of the complaint details and the right to rebuttal.

Dallas Wine Education Center guarantees that the complaint and its details will not be revealed to anyone or any institution that is not directly related to the issue, and that the complaint will not prejudice the student in their future relationship with it.

Exams Officers will address the issue and will respond to the complaint within at most 30 business days. If the student receives a response and is still not satisfied, the Exams Officer working on the complaint will refer to student to the Program Director, who will respond to the appeal within 5 business days.

If the above steps have been completed and the student is still dissatisfied, the student will be referred to WSET’s Quality Assurance Team.

Please note that WSET’s Quality Assurance Team will not address the issue until all the above steps have been completed.

Privacy and Data Protection

Dallas Wine Education Center shares the following student data with WSET: name, gender, date of birth, email address and, if applicable, any documentation accompanying a reasonable adjustment or special consideration request by the student.

Any student data that is passed on to WSET will then be handled in accordance with WSET’s Privacy Policy.

Dallas Wine Education Center does not share any WSET student data with a third party other than WSET.

Diversity and Equality

Dallas Wine Education Center does not tolerate discrimination based on gender, race, color, age, sexual orientation or disability in its dealing with its students, employees or any persons in its facilities.

If you believe that you or someone are being or has been discriminated against based on the above criteria, contact us immediately at admin@dallaswinecenter.com.