Appeals Policy

Scope

Trainees enrolled in the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Advanced Training Programme wishing to appeal assessment decisions.

Purpose

This policy outlines the approach by the New Zealand College of Sexual and Reproductive Health (NZCSRH) to appeals against assessment decisions made during a trainee’s SRH Advanced Training. The process is described in the NZCSRH Rules and Regulations section B5. Appeals based on a breakdown in the relationship between a trainee and their supervisor should be managed under the NZCSRH Complaints Policy.

This approach ensures that all questions about assessment decisions during Advanced Training in Sexual and Reproductive Health have an opportunity to be heard, verified and resolved to ensure graduate standards are maintained and assessed consistently and fairly.

Detail

Principles

The following principles will be used in dealing with trainee appeals:

Responsiveness: The appeal will be dealt with professionally, sensitively, and as quickly as is practicable.
Confidentiality: Details regarding the issue or incident will not be distributed beyond those affected and/or part of the decision-taking body. All reasonable steps will be taken to ensure that details are not revealed.
Right of Response: Any trainee and supervisor involved in an appeal will be notified and provided with an opportunity to respond.
Fairness: Trainees and supervisors involved in an appeal will have a right to a fair hearing.
Impartiality: All reasonable steps will be taken to ensure decisions are based on objective evidence.

Grounds for appeal

Appeals may be laid in relation to any component of the assessment within the training programme, where a trainee believes that an assessment has been marked incorrectly on grounds of:

Extenuating circumstances have not been appropriately considered.
They have been unfairly treated.
Established processes have not been followed.
An administrative error has been made.

Levels of Appeal

An appeal may be made immediately when a summative assessment is marked as “not satisfactory”. In this case, the first stage of the appeal will be heard by EAC.
A formal appeal may be made following review of the summative assessment where EAC upholds the “not satisfactory” mark. In this case, the appeal will be heard by a committee of NZSRHECT Board members as described in the NZCSRH Rules and Regulations section B5.8.

Resolutions and Records

At each step a formal record of any findings, discussions and resolution will be taken. The record will be attached to the trainee’s file. The trainee will be kept informed if timeframes are likely to be exceeded and given the reasons.

At each step the trainee will be formally notified that the issue has been considered, and the outcomes reached by the mediating party. In cases where an appeal fails, a plan to progress training will be made in accordance with the Additional Trainee Support Policy.

Disputes

Any dispute in this regard will be referred to the NZSRHECT Board according to the Complaints Policy.