Nobody likes making a fuss, but there are occasions when all of your hard work and commitment to study seems to have fallen flat. Everybody has the right to a ‘fair’ exam assesment - and this principle lies at the heart of all CIPS exams. In this blog we tell you how to deal with things that ‘go wrong’ during your exam, what to do about them and how to appeal.
The good news is that while exam mishaps do occur from time-to-time, they are generally few and far between. We know from working behind the scenes with CIPS for many years advising and supporting their assessment teams, that CIPS takes the integrity of its assessments extremely seriously and will certainly go the ‘extra mile’ to ensure your exam ewxperience is fair.
What could go wrong?
In general, you can classify exam problems into two main groups:
Problems with the exam itself
Problems with the way my response has been assessed.
These two groups reflect the way that CIPS approaches its appeals and complaints policies for learners and while we discuss this in greater detail below, for more specific information we advise you to talk directly with your CIPS study centre should you wish to find out more about the CIPS policy in relation to any specific enquiry you have.
Problems with the exam
This could include a problem with the computer technology for the exam, some kind of disturbance at the exam venue, an unexpected problem or distraction, or some kind of surprise question that you don’t think was fair.
All these issues are classed by CIPS as “Category A” appeals and there is a formal process for lodging an appeal and having the matters reviewed. You need to submit your appeal (using the correct CIPS Category A appeal form) within 7 calendar days of the issue occurring. This is time-limited and so if you miss the deadline then you will lose the right to appeal and CIPS will not take these matters into consideration, however valid your claim.
Please feel free to get in touch with us for advice. We have supported students in the past with their appeals - many successfully - and we will also advise if we do not think your appeal will be accepted.
Problems with the assessment
These are known by CIPS as Category B appeals. They relate to the exam results you achieve - for example, where you think there must have been a mistake during the assessment marking. Imagine you ‘ace’ an exam, only to receive an incredibly low mark. The Category B appeal allows you to challenge your mark to check that it is correct.
For a fee you can also ask CIPS to “re-mark” your exam paper - but, be careful, it is less common to find that original exam marks get changed and you may just be wasting your hopes and money!
Cordie Policies
You can find all of our policies either on our ‘our policies’ page of this website, on our student learning management system (the Virtual Purchasing Academy) or within your copy of our Student Handbook.
Please don’t ever feel alone with your exam and the worries or challenges it can bring. We are here to help and want to support you all the way through the process. Do get in touch with any questions or queries, we’d love to hear from you!