If MWWine School finds it necessary to cancel a WSET or other wine course, it will contact all registrants via email seven days in advance of the start day of the class

MWWine School reserves the right to cancel scheduled courses/exams if a minimum number of students enrolled in that course is not met

If the student whose class has been cancelled desires to attend another course the student will be transferred to that course.

If the student wishes to have their course fee refunded to them, the refund will be processed.

NOTE: If the student wishes a refund and has picked up the course materials, the cost of the materials will be deducted from the refunded course fee.

For student initiated refunds a 5% transaction fee will be deducted from the refunded amount to cover processing costs.

Cancellations for students are generally not granted, except in cases where there is a need for special consideration. Each course description outlines specific cancellation/refund policies. Usually, for WSET courses, no cancellations or refunds are allowed more than 14 days before the class begins. Please see the specific cancellation policies listed for each course.

If requested, a credit for a future class may be issued. Rescheduling fees may apply. All refunds exceptions are at the discretion of the school. To request a cancellation, email MWWineschool@melaniewebberwine.com.

MWWine School is committed to providing the best possible educational experience to its students and maintaining full course integrity and is always interested in student feedback.

In the event of any concerns by students, MWWine encourages students to first communicate/discuss directly with MWWine School instructors/administrator, in class or by email (melanie@melaniewebberwine.com), with the goal of a quick resolution of the issue.

If the student has a complaint about MWWine School or any instructor, please send a written complaint directly to the school at MWWineschool@melaniewebberwine.com or melanie@melaniewebberwine.com. All complaints will be confidential. Please include the following information:

Complainant’s name, address and contact information

• Details of the complaint i.e. what is the cause for dissatisfaction

• All supporting information i.e. relevant documentation, dates, locations, any witnesses

MWWineSchool will make every effort to reply rapidly with a goal of resolving concerns/issues within 30 days, including:

· Informing the complainant of the outcome of the investigation in writing.

· Informing the complainant of the appropriate escalation of the complaint if the initial outcome is still unsatisfactory

Examples of complaints would be:

· Dissatisfaction with teaching, facilities or administration of WSET® or other courses.

· Allegations of discrimination or unfair treatment.

· Falsifying results, assisting candidates with answers.

· Allowing unauthorized material into the exam room e.g. phones, notes etc.

· Allowing candidates to copy from each other.

· Disruptive behavior e.g. talking during the exam.

In the event that a complainant about WSET courses, and ONLY AFTER the above-mentioned process, is not satisfied with resolution and the complainant wishes to complain directly to WSET, complainant should reach out directly to WSET’s Quality Assurance Team (qa@wsetglobal.com).

Complaints specifically against the Wine and Spirit Education Trust can be raised to and discussed with MWWine School via a written complaint to mwwineschool@melaniewebberwine.com. The written complaint will then be forwarded to The Wine and Spirit Education Trust who have their own complaints policy.

As an APP MWWine School 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 MWWine School processes and procedures. This policy applies to all MWWine School staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of MWWine School.

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or MWWine School 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 employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programmes or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP;

• 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 MWWine School’s educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through MWWine School or when an employee of MWWine School or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through MWWine School, 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 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 MWWine School who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Melanie Webber @ mwwineschool@melaniewebberwine.com as soon as possible. Melanie Webber 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 MWWine School determine the conflict is not manageable, Melanie Webber 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 MWWine School because we are required to report conflicts to WSET.

MWWine School is committed to protecting the privacy of students and teachers. As such, MWWine School aims to respect and keep safe any personal data shared with MWWine School.

As part of the registration process for WSET certification courses, students may provide data such as their birth date, gender, full name, contact information, billing information, as well as information related to reasonable adjustment or special considerations applications to MWWine School APP. This information will be shared with WSET. This information will not be used in any other way, except to finalize registration for WSET courses in which the student has enrolled or for reasonable adjustment or special consideration applications.

Results of assessments and examinations taken by candidates may also be obtained and stored at MWWine School.

Student email addresses will not be shared with anyone other than WSET unless express permission has been given and will only be used by MWWine School for communications relevant to wine courses.

WSET has its own strict data protection and privacy policy, accessible here. Data provided to WSET will be handled in accordance with WSET's Data Protection Policy.

Data Protection

In order to ensure candidate privacy and data collection safety, MWWine School follows these protocols:

· All pertinent candidate data that is collected will be stored in an electronic database accessed by a secure password known only to the main WSET APP Main Contact and Administrator for MWWine School.

· Any paper documents with confidential information such as candidate numbers, course records, grade lists, etc. will be held securely and will only be accessible by authorized staff

· Under no circumstance will any and all data collected by MWWine School be sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

· No student email will be shared with anyone other than WSET or other course program provider unless express permission has been given by the student. (Examples would be sharing a student email with fellow students for the purpose of forming study and wine tasting practice groups).

Should candidates or staff have any questions about this policy or information, they may contact Melanie Webber at mwwineschool@Melaniewebberwine.com This policy may be updated and as such, candidates are encouraged to visit the website for the most up to date policy.

A reasonable adjustment is any action that helps to reduce the effect of a disability or difficulty that places the candidate at a substantial disadvantage in the assessment situation.

As an Approved Programme Provider (APP), MWWine School seeks to conduct assessment of all candidates in a way that puts them at no disadvantage, or advantage, over other candidates.

Reasonable adjustments will be made on a case-by-case basis, well in advance of the assessment. Out of fairness to all candidates, evidence of the individual circumstances giving rise to the request must be produced: student requests for reasonable adjustments must include supporting documentation.

MWWine School will

– identify any special assessment needs at the time of candidate registration.

– inform WSET® at least four weeks before the scheduled exam date so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

–in consultation with, and approval from, WSET, make the specific arrangements for the examination, or for marking with WSET® which will vary according to individual circumstances.

Please submit any Requests for Reasonable Adjustments at least 5 weeks before the date of the examination to Melanie Webber at MWWineSchool@melaniewebberwine.com. MWWine School APP will forward any Requests for Reasonable Adjustments to WSET, who will give the request due consideration and, if approved, will work with MWWine School to confirm the final arrangements.

Candidates should also be aware:

– that it is not appropriate to make requests for special arrangements where the candidate’s particular difficulty directly affects performance in the actual attributes that are the focus of the assessment.

– reasonable adjustments will not give unfair advantage over candidates for whom reasonable adjustments are not being made, or alter the assessment demands of the qualification as detailed in the qualification specification.

MWWine School data protection policy (see above) applies to any personal data submitted as a result of a request for reasonable adjustment.

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 Melanie Webber at mwwineschool@Melaniewebberwine.coas soon as possible.

MWWine School will provide you with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within 6 working 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, MWWine School will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request a special consideration. MWWine School will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

MWWine School data protection policy (see above) applies to any personal data submitted as a result of a request for special consideration.

This APP fully supports the principles of Equal Opportunities. We strive to ensure that all candidates for our qualifications are treated fairly and on an equal basis.

Diversity and Equality Policy

MWWine School is committed to upholding the principles of diversity and equality in all areas of its work, seeking to ensure that all students and other stakeholders are always treated fairly and equally.

MWWine School believes that all people deserve the right to fair, and equitable, wine education. As such, we do not discriminate on the grounds of race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or age (provided the legal minimum age for consumption of 21 is met). We work to ensure that we promote equality by:

1. Ensuring equal registration opportunities for all students

2. Working with students with documented special needs to ensure education and examinations are through our reasonable accommodation policy

3. Reviewing policies as needed to continually meet local and national requirements

Students who believe they have been unfairly discriminated against should contact the Education Director at mwwineschool@melaniewebberwine.com promptly to resolve the issue.

MWWine School is subject to the rules, regulations, and procedures set out by WSET®. Failure to abide by these may affect our ability to continue teaching WSET® qualifications. Any concerns with malpractice or maladministration should be brought to the attention of Melanie Webber and/or mwwineschool@melaniewebberwine.com. Maladministration and Malpractice are defined as follows:

· Maladministration, where non-compliance is accidental rather than intentional; and

· Malpractice where non-compliance is intentional or the result of negligence.

Malpractice or maladministration by MWWine School may include:

– Failure to carry out course or assessment delivery in accordance with WSET requirements;

– Failure to adhere to WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures;

– Late student registrations;

– Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates;

– Breach of confidentiality;

– Failure to disclose a Conflict of Interest;

– Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner;

– Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;

– Failure to return exam papers within the specified timeframe or to follow delivery and tracking regulations;

– Infringement of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights and brand identity;

– Use of unqualified and/or unregistered educators or internal assessors;

– Misleading advertising/publicity.

Malpractice or maladministration by a student or candidate may include:

– Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates;

– Withholding of information from WSET which is critical to maintaining the rigor of quality assurance;

– Submission of false or inaccurate information to gain a qualification;

– Cheating, including the use of unauthorized devices or materials;

– Disruptive behavior in an exam;

– Plagiarism of any nature;

– Impersonation (including forgery of signatures);

– Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect;

– Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;

– Infringement of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights and brand identity.

MWWine School will declare instances of potential malpractice/maladministration to WSET and WSET has procedures in place to further investigate. Please note that WSET may reach out to candidates and/or staff during investigations and, if confirmed, incidents of malpractice or maladministration may result in sanctions including but not limited to:

– Written Warning: The student is issued a written warning stating that if the offense 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 student 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 post-nominals: Actions bringing WSET into disrepute may result in the student or graduate being – disqualified from all use of WSET certified logos and post-nominals.

MWWine School is committed to ensuring compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures. During an examination, should an invigilator note non-compliance, they will record the situation and notify the Examinations Officer directly. WSET will be immediately notified by written note send directly to Quality Assurance by the MWWine School Examinations Officer.

Non-compliance by a school staff member or Educator:

Should a school staff member or Educator be suspected of non-compliance of WSET and/or MWWine School Policies or Procedures, the WSET Main Contact will record and submit a detailed report to WSET Quality Assurance.

Should a WSET Candidate observe or suspect Malpractice or Maladministration at MWWine School, they are directed to contact WSET Awards Quality Assurance directly at qa@wsetglobal.com