Policies

Plagiarism and Other Academic Violation

All students of TBS must commit themselves to high academic standards and must refrain at all times from all form of academic misconduct. Academic misconduct can be defined as any action or attempted action that places student/s in an academic advantage or disadvantage to other student/s.

Academic misconduct includes:

• Plagiarism
• cheating
• altering academic documents, including transcripts
• obtaining information/materials before its official release
• helping a fellow student/s to gain an academic advantage
• Destroying academic information so as to give one an academic advantage over others.
  Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of intellectual materials of others without acknowledging their source or their approval to use such information extensively. Examples include:
• Copying large paragraphs of a text into research papers
• Incorporating the views and ideas and opinion of others without acknowledging the source of these views and ideas and opinion and as such giving the impression that these views ideas and opinions are your own.

Cheating

Cheating can be defined as fraud, deceit or dishonesty in test or assignment. Cheating can also include attempting to use or using any material not allowed, thus giving one an advantage, or assisting others in gaining an advantage. Examples include:

• copying or attempt to copy from others in an exam or an assignment
• assisting others in an examination, e.g. by providing answers
• Using unauthorized materials, prepared answers or concealed information in an examination.

Any student found guilty of academic misconduct at examinations will be removed from the examination room and be given a failing grade. The student can also be suspended up to one academic term. Students found guilty of academic misconduct on an assignment will receive a failing grade and will be subject to a suspension of a maximum of one term. Students guilty of plagiarism will be given a warning in the first instance and will be suspended from classes thereafter.
 

Attending classes regularly and punctually is necessary for the academic growth and examination success of students at TBS. it is students’ responsibility to ensure that their academic grades/goals are not negatively impacted by absences or tardiness.

Attendance in class
All courses at The Business School carry an attendance requirement necessary for success in that programme. Students are required to report their intended absences from classes to TBS administration. Students must contact the College’s office by phone whenever they are going to be absent. The following reasons are sufficient cause for an excused absence: a) illness, b) death in the family, c) inclement weather. In the event that extraordinary circumstances require that the student be absent from the College, contact via email to the College’s email address (info@busineschool.com) will be accepted.

All students on medical leave must provide documented evidence for such absences. Students that have valid and other medical excuses for absences will not be penalized if they fail to make the entry requirements of a particular programme. However, where no such valid explanation exists for absences that are above the attendance requirement, students may be prevented from writing final exams. In these cases, an appeal may be made by students to the Quality Manager/Director.

TARDINESS – Classes at The Business School begin promptly at 5:00pm, and it is critical that all students be prepared to begin instruction on time. Therefore, students must arrive at school before 5:00pm. A student who is late misses valuable instruction time and conveys an unacceptable lack of regard for the College and fellow classmates.

ILLNESS – In order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases at the College, the following guidelines have been developed. Please do not attend classes if you have any symptoms of illness. This will assist in preventing the spread of infections and contagious diseases as well as help improve attendance in general.

These guidelines should be used to help determine whether or not you should attend classes. If you have any of the symptoms listed below, please do not attend classes:

• Cold symptoms such as: runny nose, congestion or persistent cough
• Body temperature of 100 degrees and above. Symptoms to watch for are flushed face, chills, pallor, and skin that feels warm to the touch.
• Diarrhea or vomiting in the last 12 hours
• Sore throat for longer than 2 days, especially if it is associated with swollen nodes or a rash
• Red, inflamed, swollen or discharging eyes; sores with drainage or other lesions
• A persistent rash that is not allergy related

If more than 50% of students are absent at the beginning of the class, it is necessary for the lecturer to postpone that class for a later date.

The Business School wants to ensure that all examinations conducted on its premises are managed in an effective and efficient manner. It is important that all stakeholders including students adhere to the policies and procedures relating to examinations conducted at TBS.

All examinations are the responsibility of the examination officer. The Quality Committee is responsible for any review of examination policies and the Board of Governors is responsible for the approval of any change or new policy.
The examination officer duties include:

• Conduct examinations and ensure their integrity
• Ensure that the procedures for internal examinations are carried out accurately and timely
• Ensure that exam fees are collected and remitted to local and international examination bodies in a timely and accurate manner
• Liaise with local and international bodies on issues pertaining to registration and exam offered by these bodies
• Ensure the accuracy of examination lists of candidates
• Organize the exam room in accordance with regulations
• Brief candidates on exam regulations
• Analyze exam results and prepare reports
• Ensure that tests/assessments are kept on time
• Ensure that lecturers comply with deadlines and return students’ grades in a timely manner
• Ensure that examination scripts are prepared and fully secured until examination dates
• Ensure that regulation for the custody and security of foreign examination papers/scripts are complied with
• Ensure that proctors are identified and that examinations are held in accordance with the regulations, both for local and international examinations

Notice of Examination
Examination dates for various programmes differ and students must check their course outline for those details. Dates for re-sits are posted to the notice board and are communicated to students by lecturers and by e-mail from the administrative office. All changes to examination dates are communicated to students 2 weeks in advance.

Students must be in good academic standing and must have all their tuition fees, examination fees and other obligations to the college fully paid before they are allowed to write final exams.

Term and Final Examinations
Before students can sit term and final examinations, they must ensure from their examination officer and quality coordinator that they are in good academic standing and have their fees paid in full. They will be issued an examination slip from the examination officer.

Examination slips will have the student’s name, registration number, examination venue, date, time and duration.

On the day of the exam, the student will present his/her exam slip to the head invigilator who will correspond this information with the duplicate slips provided to him/her by the examination officer.

Re-Sits
For AMA and AAPM courses, students are entitled to re-sits if they fail to achieve the minimum pass grade. However, students are not entitled to more than 2 re-sit. If a student fails to achieve the minimum pass grade after 2 re-sits, they would have to repeat the course/programme.

Examination review
Students can request a review of their examination results. Such requests shall be made in writing to the quality manager/director not later than two weeks after the final examination.

Absences from end of term and final Exam
If you are unable to attend end of term or final examinations, you are required to inform the college administration as soon as possible, i.e. within a forty eight hours window.

Persons must have a legitimate reason(s) for absenting themselves from end of term or final examinations. Death in a family or sickness is valid reasons. However, you must produce a medical certificate if the reason for your absence is sickness.

Persons with legitimate reasons of being absent at end of term and final examinations will be allowed to write a make-up examination within a short period. This will not affect your receipt of certification/graduation. However, if you cannot write the make-up examination within two weeks, the processing of your certificate/diploma will be delayed. (See re-sit policy for information on examination re-sits.)

Procedure for examination

Before the Examination day

1. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they know the correct date and time of all their examinations. Examination fees are not refundable.
2. Please check your timetable carefully, and notify the programme coordinator immediately of any error or omission.

Before the start of the examination

1. Please arrive at the examination venue 30 minutes before the examination start time.
2. Candidates are permitted to bring pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, geometry equipment and a calculator (not a mobile phone with calculator function) to their desks for the use in the examination.
3. Calculators must not be programmable, and should be noiseless, cordless, and suitable for the use on the desk.
4. Food or drink is permitted.
5. Candidates are not permitted to bring any other materials (books, notes, dictionaries etc.) to the examination desk, even if they are not related to the examination subject.
6. Failure to comply with this rule will be deemed malpractice and will result in disqualification.
7. All personal possessions must be left away from the examination desks at a location indicated by the invigilator. This includes bags, coats, mobile phones, and mp3 players. Electronic equipment must be switched off. Small valuables e.g. wallet or purse may be placed on the desk, in the view of the invigilator. Please only bring the minimum amount of belongings into the examination room.
8. Examination conditions apply as soon as candidates enter the examination venue. Refusal to follow instructions from the invigilator will be deemed malpractice and may lead to disqualification.
9. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they have been given the correct question paper. Please raise your hand to inform the invigilator immediately if you believe you have been given a question paper for a different subject.

During the Examination

1. Do not open the question paper and begin the examination until instructed by the invigilator.
2. Write all your answers with a blue or black pen. Pencil should only be used for producing graphs and diagrams.
3. Do not remove any pages from the answer booklet. Additional paper will be provided by the invigilator if you have used all pages of the answer booklet.
4. If you wish to speak to the invigilator, raise your hand and wait for them to come to your desk. Do not call out or leave your desk.
5. You must not ask for, and will not be given, any explanation of the questions.
6. Candidates must NOT communicate with the any other person during the examination, except the invigilator. Do not disturb other candidates, or attempt to borrow any items from them.
7. Any attempt to communicate or collude with, copy from, or disrupt in any other way another candidate, will be deemed malpractice and will result in disqualification.
8. If you wish to use the toilet, raise your hand to attract the attention of the invigilator. An invigilator will escort you to the toilet. No extra time is allowed for the toilet visits.
9. Candidates who have finished writing and wish to leave the examination room may do so once the examination has been in progress for one hour, and with the permission of the invigilator. Please hand your answer booklet and question paper to the invigilator, and do not disturb other candidates whilst leaving the room. You will not be permitted to re-enter the room.
10. Any candidate who leaves the examination room without supervision will not be allowed to return to the room.
11. Candidates must stop writing when instructed to do so by the invigilator.
12. In the event of a fire alarm or other emergency requiring evacuation, the invigilator will instruct candidates to leave all materials on the desk, leave the room in an orderly fashion, and assemble at the designated point outside.

The College Refund policy for students withdrawing is set out below:

• All fees are payable in advance before the term or month as stated on the payment plan. Students must pay fees one week before the closing date for registration. A late registration fee is payable if seats are available for students registering.
• There is no refund of registration fees.
• All withdrawal for a claim must be made in writing and where necessary must be accompanied with supporting document, e.g. medical certificate.
• The Board must approve all refund of fees.
• If a student withdraws one week before college class begins, he/she is entitled to a full refund of fees.
• If students withdraw within the first week before classes commence, he/she is entitled to a 75% refund.
• Once classes begin, a student is not entitled to any refund regardless if he/she attends or did not attend.
• Fees are not transferable. However, the specific circumstances can allow the college at its discretion to do so. These include
  • Programme transfer
  • Transfer to a spouse or relative
• Late payment charges may be imposed on any outstanding balances and for fees not paid before the stipulated payment deadline.
• Students who have outstanding balances can have transcripts and examination results withheld until the outstanding balance is paid.
• No refund is given to students expelled for disciplinary reasons.
• Students who have payment arrears will have to pay all fee balances before they can register for new classes.
• The College has payment plans for all academic programmes. Any students can access these plans.
• The College will bring legal proceedings against any student whose fees are in arrears for more than one month after leaving the College and after repeated contact has failed to have the balance liquidated.
• Students must inform Management of all financial difficulties which can result in your studies or exams being curtailed. There are options that the College can exercise in the student through financial difficulties.
• All tuition fees must be paid before examination fees.
• There is no refund for external exam fees. However, he/she is entitled to refund of external registration of subscription providing that the college has not remitted the payment at the time of the request.
• A request for a legitimate refund will take a maximum of two weeks to process.
• Students are entitled to our “Don’t Pass Don’t Pay” policy providing that they meet the attendance requirement for the course. Failure to meet this requirement, students will receive other incentives.
• Should a student fail a subject and fail to meet the attendance requirement for entitlement on our “Don’t Pass Don’t Pay” policy, the student will receive a discount on tuition fees. The magnitude of the discount will be dependent on the student punctually and regularity before the failed examination attempt. This discount can range from 10%- 50 % off fees.

ADDITIONAL

• If for any reason classes are disrupted from a natural disaster such as earthquake, flooding, etc, or manmade disaster such as political instability, viruses, etc, management will reschedule those classes so that students are not disadvantaged.
  If management is unable to schedule for all the lost class time students will be refunded at a discount rate. If the disruption is greater than one term student will be refunded in full.

WhatsApp Groups:

1. All WhatsApp groups should be created by the class Student Representative with the consent of Administration.
2. Decisions concerning the rules and operations of the group must come from the Administration (Course Coordinator) who will also be an Administrator for all groups.
3. All communications posted should maintain and/or adhere to the purpose of the group. Do not share irrelevant messages about other topics.
4. Do not have one-on-one conversations in the group. If necessary, switch to private messages. If you notice that you are having a dialogue with a single member of the group, consider changing the conversation to direct message.
5. Do not post in any group between 20:00 and 07:00 unless it is an emergency. By emergency, we mean the “blood, floods, and broken bones” type of emergency, not the “I needed the scone recipe at 2am because I had the munchies” type of emergency.
6. Never EVER use a group to berate someone else or air grievances. If you have an issue please address it one on one with the relevant person. 
7. Always ask someone if you may add them before you add them.
8. Do not spam the group! If you would like a group to share memes, adverts or deals, then set one up for that exact purpose and invite others to join. Don’t be offended if others leave; not everyone wants the same information.
   Tel: 226-8906/225-5261 Email: info@busineschool.com Website: www.busineschool.com
9. Do politely excuse yourself before you leave a group.
10. Post your message in one single chunk of text, don’t post every word or sentence in a new message.
11. If you’re lurking in a group chat and ‘seeing’ every message, occasionally respond with *something* to remove the stalker vibe that inevitably develops.
12. If a message asks for a positive response like an RSVP, don’t reply in the negative. Only say if you are able to attend. Don’t double RSVP if a second call to action is sent out for the same event.
13. Please don’t send multiple “thank you” messages. If you feel gratitude towards someone – tell them in a private message.
14. If someone asks a question of a personal nature (like asking for advice) don’t respond if someone else has already answered, or else respond to the person directly in a private message.
15. The group is not a political platform (unless you have specifically set it up for this purpose). No arguing, no heated opinions, no fear mongering, no hyped-up drama, no fake news. Check your sources before you share.
16. Don’t send data-insensitive messages. No-one wants their last 3GB used up on uninvited memes.
17. When the group has served its purpose (the hike is over) delete it. 
18. Hit “Mute” on your WhatsApp group (unless you’re part of an emergency rescue group). This is a sanity saver. You will still receive all the messages, but your phone won’t buzz or make a noise for every one of them.
19. Before sending a complaint to a group, identify the “administrator” and share your thoughts with him/her.
20. Don’t get angry if someone doesn’t respond to your messages in a group. No one is obliged to do so.
21. When replying to a specific comment from a person, use the “reply” function to make sense of your comment and avoid confusion.
22. Don’t abuse emojis. There are some that don’t require explanation, but others can be interpreted in different ways and generate confusion.

Purpose:
The purpose of this Procedure is to create an avenue whereby all students will be able to discuss their complaints/grievances and have them resolved in a timely manner. Students should have no reservations in articulating and resolving their complaints/ grievances

Reference:
Before making a formal complaint, students are advised to discuss a concern or complaint with the Principal/ Course Coordinator

Definition:
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, action or lack of action by the administration or its staff including lecturers and Heads of Departments that affects a student or group of students

Procedure Guidelines:

1. The Principal/Course Coordinator shall acknowledge receipt of the grievance/complaint in writing within three working days and advise the member(s) of staff, lecturers etc. against whom the complaint lies in writing within three working days. A copy of the complaint is also provided. Support may be offered to any of the parties who may find the procedures stressful.
2. The Principal/Course Coordinator shall make all arrangements to consider the evidences of the complaint; to hold interviews with the concerned parties or any person(s) that is deemed appropriate to the investigation of the complaint.

   The investigation must be without bias, through, fair and conducted in a timely manner.

3. The outcome of the investigation must be communicated to both parties. The Principal/Course Coordinator shall propose resolution for any justifiable complaint and the parties must communicate their acceptance/non-acceptance within three days.
4.  If the complaint is not satisfied with the outcome at this stage, an appeal may be registered with the complaints appeal committee (Principal, Director, and Head of Departments). The deadline for submission of an appeal shall be twelve working days from the date of the conclusion of step 3.
5. The committee shall acknowledge receipt of the complaint within three working days. The committee will examine the appeal to:
   
   1. Consider whether there is sufficient evidence to convene an appeal hearing.
   2. Or alternatively to
   3. Enforce the implementation of the recommendation of the Principal/Coordinator.
   4. Dismiss the case.
   5. Pursue agreement with all parties for an alternative set of recommendations.
6. The outcome will be communicated to all parties.

Records: None

Attachments: None

Title:
Quality Assurance Committee Peer Review Policy

Purpose:
The purpose of this Procedure is to implement an organization-wide policy of continuous quality improvement. It is recognized that lecturers play a vitally important role in the mission of The Business School, and therefore, the thrust to improve the overall quality of services must emphasize improvement in teachers’ lecture delivery. The aim of the Peer Review is to provide an opportunity for lecturers to benefit from the observations and suggestions of an unbiased peer observer. The peer review system must operate within a formal structure with a built in mechanism to ensure its success.

Reference:
None

Definition:
The Peer Review Policy is structured systems that gives each lecturer through the use of an evaluation form, the opportunity to asses and discuss the teaching methods and techniques of their colleagues.

Procedure: Guidelines:

1. Awareness is created of the policy among lecturers so as to secure their acceptance and cooperation with the same.
2. There is then a formal implementation of all the necessary documents and information relating to the Policy viz; the observation form; no. of times per lecturer per term; the documentation/report; identification of observers (its suggested that these be members of the Quality Assurance Committee).
3. The observer will hold a pre observation discussion with the lecturer to inform him/her of the session and which areas the lecture will be assessed on.

4. On the date of the scheduled observation the observer should arrive at least 10 minutes before the class begins.

    

5. The observer can be briefly introduced to the students with an equally, brief explanation of why the observer is present.

6. Observers are not to ask any questions or participate in any of the activities during the class session.

    

7. The completed Peer Review forms are then analysed and the findings are discussed at the next QAC Meeting.

Records:
None

Attachments:
Facilitators’ Peer Discussion Form

Purpose:
The purpose of this procedure is to give both students and coordinators a concise and definite outline that will regulate the registration process henceforth.

Reference:
None

Definition:
Registration can be defined as process wherein a potential student is formally initiated into The Business School thereby becoming an official member of the Organisation. This process includes a number of various steps that once followed will result in an individual attaining student status.

Procedure: Guidelines:

1. The student is made aware of the program(s) being offered by The Business School via, inquiry, media, TBS representative, etc.
2. A visit is then made to the Organisation and the potential student is then fully appraised and advised by a Program Coordinator of the requirements and benefits of choosing Programs offered by TBS. If necessary the Coordination will also aid the potential student to choose a particular Program that best suits their interests and academic qualifications.
3. The potential student is then required to fill out a registration form that matches their program choice and pay TBS registration fees. This information is then immediately entered into the student database system.
4. Based on their unique circumstances, the student is then required to enter into a tuition payment plan from those available.
5. All payments are made directly to Ms. Valarie Innis and recorded by the Program Coordinator.
6. The student then makes a visit to the Document Centre where they are required to have their photograph taken for their student identification card.
7. Welcome letters and student packages are then issued to the student.
8. The Program Coordinator then gives the student the necessary information concerning the schedule of their classes, and issues them a time-table.

Records: None

Attachments: Registration Form

Title:
Procedure for Electing Student Representative

Purpose:
The purpose of this Procedure is to ensure that each class has a student representative that was elected in a congruent manner and that the student representative is au fait with what is expected of them.

Reference:
None

Procedure Guidelines:

1. Coordinators shall inform students at the induction ceremony about the position and the responsibilities of a student representative.
2. The week following the induction ceremony shall be the week that Student Representatives will be elected and given the necessary documents
3. Programme Coordinators shall inform lecturers that they will be coming to their classes to elect student representatives.
4. Coordinators are to explain to the students the process of electing a student representative which include:
   
   1. Having students nominate their peers for the position
   2. After nomination students will vote for the best of the nominees
   3. The Coordinator shall then ask the elected representative if they are willing to accept the position.
      
      1. If yes the Coordinator shall give the elected student representative the document which stipulates the roles and responsibilities of a student representative.
      2. If not the Coordinator shall ask the person who got the second highest votes if they are willing to accept the position and follow the instructions in 4(c) (i).
5. The Coordinator shall make a record of the elected student representative.

Records:
None

Attachments:
None

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