Appeals Procedure

1.

Appeals and Unfair Practices

A Panel shall be convened as required to deal with any appeal as described below, and to enquire into any cases in which prima facie evidence of an unfair practice by a candidate exists.

A Summative Assessment Panel shall consist of three members:

The Dean of Postgraduate Studies (or appointee of the Dean)

The Professor of General Practice of Southampton University, (or delegated Senior Lecturer from a Department of General Practice)

The Chairman of the General Practice Education Committee for Wessex, or an appointee of the Chairman

No member of the Panel shall serve if he/she has previously been concerned with the decision of the Assessment Board, or the conduct of the specific assessment procedure which is the subject of enquiry.

2.

Appeals

An appeal may be made against the decision of the Deanery’s Summative Assessment Board in respect of all four components of summative assessment on the following grounds:

that the assessment of the Summative Assessment Board contains arithmetical or other errors of fact,

that there were defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examination or in the written instructions relating thereto, which can be shown to have had an adverse effect on the candidate's performance,

that there were exceptional personal circumstances which were not known to the Assessment Board when the candidate was assessed and which can be shown to have had an adverse effect on the candidate's performance.  In all such appeals the candidate is required to show good reason why such circumstances were not made known to the Assessment Board prior to assessment. If the candidate is unable to show good reason why exceptional circumstances were not made known to the Summative Assessment Board prior to the assessment, the appeal will be disallowed

Note: A candidate cannot challenge the academic judgement of the Board.

3.

Appeal Procedure in respect of Decisions of the Assessment Board for Severn and Wessex

A candidate who wishes to make an appeal must notify the Director of Postgraduate General Practice Education in writing. Any appeal must be made within seven days of the receipt by the candidate of the notification of the result of the disputed assessment. The grounds for appeal must be clearly stated. All medical evidence or other evidence must be submitted at this stage.

3.1

Verification Procedure

Upon receipt of an appeal, the Director or his nominated Deputy will seek written verification that:

the result is free from arithmetical or other errors of fact,

any defects or irregularities in the conduct of the assessment or in written instructions relating thereto were, in fact, reported to the Assessment Board,

the exceptional personal circumstances reported by the candidate were, in fact, reported to the Assessment Board.

On receipt of written verification, the Director or his nominated Deputy shall take the following action:

where the verification process confirms that the result is free from arithmetical or other error of fact, the exceptional personal circumstances detailed in the appeal were, in fact, reported to the Assessment Board, and if there were defects or irregularities in the conduct of the examinations or written advice relating thereto but they were known to the Assessment Board, the candidate shall be informed that his/her request for an appeal has been disallowed.

where the verification process reveals defects or irregularities in the conduct of the assessment or in the written instructions relating to thereto, and/or the exceptional personal circumstances detailed in the appeal were not reported to the Assessment Board, and where there is good reason why such circumstances were not made known to the Assessment Board in advice, and Appeal Panel shall be convened.

where the verification procedure reveals arithmetical or other errors of fact, the matter shall be referred back to the Assessment Board for review.

Where an appeal is disallowed, the candidate shall be informed by the Director or his nominee. No further request for an appeal under the Director shall be allowed.

3.2

Appeal Procedure

Where an appeal is allowed to proceed, the Director or his nominee shall inform the candidate in writing that an Appeal Panel will be convened to consider his appeal. The letter of notification shall be sent by Registered Mail to the address last notified by the candidate to the Deanery Summative Assessment Officer.

 The Appeal Panel shall be convened as soon as possible to hear the appeal. The candidate must be informed that he may attend the Panel to present his case, and may be accompanied by a personal adviser.  The candidate must indicate if he intends to attend the hearing of the Panel, and whether or not he will be accompanied. If the candidate is to be accompanied by a lawyer, the Panel must be given notice of this fact. The Chairman of the Examining Board (or Deputy) will reserve the right to be represented by a legal advocate. In addition, the Appeal Panel may be advised by a legal adviser who may be present throughout the hearing.

Prior to the meeting of the Panel, all members shall be circulated with copies of any documentation received from the candidate.

The Appeal Panel will review the documentation provided by the candidate, and the Assessment Board. The Panel will then interview the Chairman or member of the Board. The Panel will then interview the candidate in the presence of the Chair/member of the Board. The Panel will then invite the Chair/member of the Board to withdraw and the candidate will be given the opportunity to make any further statement to the Panel. The Chairman of the Panel will then invite the candidate to withdraw and consider any further evidence before reaching a decision. In the absence of a unanimous decision, the Panel may reach a decision by a simple majority; in the event of equality of voting, the candidate's appeal shall be upheld. The Chairman of the Panel will be entitled to a vote, but shall not have a casting vote.

The candidate shall be informed of the Panel's decision in writing by the Director or Deputy. No further appeal may be allowed against the decision of the Summative Assessment Board on the matter in question; the JCPTGP will be notified of the outcome of the appeal.

4.

Unfair Practices

4.1

Definition of Unfair Practice

It is unfair practice to commit any act whereby a candidate might obtain for himself or for any other candidate any unpermitted advantage leading to a higher grading in the assessment procedure than his abilities would otherwise secure. In particular, it is unfair to:

introduce into the examination room for the MCQ any unauthorised form of materials such as a book, manuscript or loose papers of any kind or any source of unauthorised information,

communicate with any other person in the examination room, except as authorised by an invigilator,

copy or use in any other way unauthorised materials or the work of any other candidate,

impersonate an examination candidate or allow oneself to be impersonated in any part of the assessment procedure,

engage in plagiarism by using other people's work and submitting it for examination as though it were one's own work,

claim to have carried out observations, interviews, or any form of project work or research which one has not in fact carried out or claim to have obtained results which have not in fact been obtained.

4.2

Unfair Practice in Work Completed for Written Assignments and Assessment of Consultation Skills

If any trainer, course organiser, Associate Director, examiner or any other person suspects that unfair practice has occurred in relation to work submitted for assessment, he/she shall report the matter in writing to the Chairman of the Summative Assessment Board, stating the basis for his/her concern as soon as possible, and at the latest within 14 days of the date of submission the written assignment or the assessment of consultation skills. Exceptionally, appeals will be considered if information is received outside this time limit.

4.3

Unfair Practice in the Examination Room

Any invigilator who considers, or suspects that a candidate is engaging in an unfair examination practice shall inform such a candidate, preferably in front of a witness, that the circumstances will be reported and that the candidate may continue the examination without prejudice to any decision that may be taken. Where appropriate, the invigilator shall confiscate and retain evidence relating to any alleged unfair examination practice, so that it is available to any subsequent investigation. The invigilator shall as soon as possible report the circumstances in writing to the Chairman of the Summative Assessment Board.

4.4

Suspected Unfair Practice detected during or subsequently to the Marking Period

Any examiner, GP Trainer, Course Organisers, Adviser or Associate Director who, whether in the course of marking or subsequently, considers or suspects that a candidate has engaged in an unfair practice, shall report the matter in writing to the Chairman of the Summative Assessment Board as soon as possible, and within 14 days at the latest. The Chairman shall retain any relevant evidence which shall be stored for three years.

4.5

Further Action to be taken by Chairman of the Summative Assessment Board (or Deputy)

On receipt of a report concerning an allegation of unfair practice, the Chairman or Deputy shall convene a meeting of the Assessment Board to determine whether, in the light of all the circumstances, and on the basis of written reports received, a prima facie case of unfair practice has been established. If satisfied that such a case exists, the Chairman of the Board (or Deputy) shall report the case in writing to the Postgraduate Dean (or Deputy) and shall send to the Dean copies of all relevant supporting evidence

If it is decided by the Summative Assessment Board that a prima facie case of unfair practice does not exist, then the candidate shall be informed in writing that the matter is closed.

4.6

Appointment of Enquiry Panel

If the Summative Assessment Board determine that a prima facie case of unfair practice has been established, the Chairman of the Assessment Board shall be request the Postgraduate Dean (or Deputy) to convene a Panel of Enquiry as soon as possible. The composition of the Panel shall be as stated above (para 3).

The candidate shall be notified in writing that an allegation of unfair practice is to be considered by the Panel. The candidate shall also be sent copies of any statements  and documents which are to be placed before the Panel; he/she shall be notified of the time/place of the meeting of the Panel of Enquiry. The candidate must indicate if he/she intends to attend the hearing of the Panel, and whether or not he/she will be accompanied. If the candidate is to be accompanied by a lawyer, the Panel must be given notice of this fact. The Chairman of the Examining Board (or Deputy) will reserve the right to be represented by a legal advocate. In addition, the Appeal Panel may be advised by a legal adviser who may be present throughout the hearing.

The functions of the Panel are as follows:

to consider the evidence submitted to it on the allegation of unfair practice;

to determine whether the allegation has been substantiated;

to determine, in appropriate cases, the further action to be taken

4.7

Procedures during the Meeting of the Panel

The Chairman of the Summative Assessment Board shall present the case against the candidate, and call such witnesses and present any evidence that is relevant.

The candidate shall have the right to hear all evidence brought against him/her and to question any witnesses, and to present any other evidence.  Witnesses shall only be concerned with evidence relating to the allegation and shall withdraw after questioning.

When submission of evidence and the questioning of witnesses has been completed, all persons other than members of the committee and its adviser (if present) shall withdraw. The Panel shall consider whether the allegation has been substantiated. If the case is substantiated, the Committee shall consider further action as follows:

In the case of a substantiated allegation in respect of a component of the assessment procedure, the candidate's marks for that component shall be cancelled (without prejudice to further attempts at that component by the candidate); the Joint Committee for Postgraduate Education in General Practice shall be informed of the Panel's findings; that the candidate has not passed the assessment at that attempt, and that the reason for failure was unfair practice by the candidate as determined by a local Panel of enquiry. It will thus be possible for this information to be taken into account by the JCPTGP in its decision whether to award a Certificate of Completion of Vocational Training.

In the case of a substantiated allegation of unfair practice, the Panel shall determine if the circumstances demonstrate a sufficient lack of professional probity on behalf of the candidate such as to warrant referral of the matter to the General Medical Council for further investigation.

No appeal against the decision of the Summative Assessment Panel on a matter of unfair practice will be allowed in respect of the summative assessment procedure conducted in Wessex.

5.