2014 gttr UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual
2014 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual gttr Formerly Contents Section 1 − Welcome to UCAS Teacher Training 1.1 1.2 1.3 Scope of the scheme Training and support Contacting UCAS 2 2 2 Section 2 − Applying 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 How do candidates apply? Apply 1 and 2 How do applicants monitor their progress? Can applicants cancel their applications? Can applicants change choices? What you are responsible for Studying in England Studying in Wales Studying in Scotland Copy forms If applicants apply too late 4 6 6 6 6 9 9 9 10 10 10 Section 3 − Making decisions 3.1 3.2 3.3 Receiving applications Recording decisions Types of decisions 12 12 12 Section 4 − Replies and Confirmation 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 How applicants respond to offers How training providers tell UCAS if an applicant with a conditional offer has secured a place Delayed Confirmation Decision (DCF) Confirmation decisions: what UCAS does 18 18 20 20 Section 5 − Making changes 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Making changes Changes prior to recording a decision during Apply 1 or Apply 2 Making changes after a decision has been recorded and before applicants reply Making changes after applicants have accepted offers Changing Confirmation decisions Allowing an applicant that has accepted your offer to apply elsewhere Changes to training programme information 22 22 22 22 25 25 25 Appendices Appendix A – Fraudulent applications Appendix B – Residential category Appendix C – Disability codes Appendix D – Terms and conditions 28 36 38 39 UCAS Teacher Training 2 September 2013 • Training providers can set up training programmes online – using the Net.update system. January 2014 2 January 2014 1 November 2013 • Apply 1 opens. • Applicants start to apply online with a maximum of three choices to be considered simultaneously by training providers. • First applications sent to you. • Apply 2 opens. • Applicants who do not hold an offer from Apply 1 start to apply online, one choice at a time. 14 January 2014 • First rolling 40 working day reject by default (RBD) takes place and continues daily until 31 October. Early July 2014 • Record of Prior Acceptance (RPA) facility made available in web-link. 27 January 2014 • First rolling 10 working day decline by default (DBD) takes place. September 2014 Early September 2014 31 October 2014 • Apply 2 cycle ends at 23:59. • Last rolling 40 working day reject by default (RBD). • Outstanding Confirmation decisions for CF applicants rejected by default (RBD). • Last date for updates including DCF decisions and the receipt of RPAs. • File closed for 2014 entry. • Delayed Confirmation (DCF) decision available for applicants who applied in the 2014 application cycle. 15 September 2014 • Last date applicants can submit a brand new application. 31 August 2015 • All outstanding Delayed Confirmation decisions (DCF) rejected by default (RBD). Section 1 Welcome to UCAS Teacher Training 1 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 1−Welcome to UCAS Teacher Training You’re now part of a brand new admission service that fuses the two previous application routes1 to postgraduate teacher training in the UK. This manual explains key aspects of the admissions process, including: •applying • recording decisions • replies and Confirmation • making changes We recommend you take a good look through this document, as soon as possible, to make sure you understand your responsibilities as a training provider. Also, please review the accompanying appendices – where you’ll find the UCAS Teacher Training scheme’s official Terms and Conditions. 1.1 Scope of the scheme UCAS Teacher Training looks after the admission services for the following full-time, part-time, modular, and non-modular types of training programmes: • one-year professional graduate and postgraduate training programmes based in HEIs or SCITTs • School Direct and School Direct (salaried) training programmes • two-year subject conversion courses Applicants who successfully complete these training programmes are eligible for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England and Wales, or the Teaching Qualification (TQ) in Scotland. They may also lead to: • postgraduate or Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in England and Wales • postgraduate Diploma of Education (PGDE) in Scotland 1.2 Training and support As members of the previous GTTR scheme, most accrediting partners will already have experience in using our different systems. However, if you need additional guidance, there are a number of online support materials available in the UCAS Teacher Training Members and providers’ area of our website www.ucas.com/members-providers/teachertraining. You can also contact the UCAS Professional Development Team to arrange training on: • using web-link2 to manage applications • using Net.update to manage provider and training programme data • best practice in decision-making • best practice when interviewing and providing effective feedback • social mobility • UCAS data for non-data specialists • pre-HE qualifications • the AUA Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice For more information visit our website www.ucas. com/members-providers/training-and-support/ training, or telephone 01242 545712. 1.3 Contacting UCAS Your first point of contact for any enquiries about applications, operational procedures, recruitment policy and technical matters should be our dedicated HEI Team3. • Telephone: 0844 984 1111 − The lines are open from 08:30 to 17:30 (UK time) from Monday to Friday. •Email: [email protected]. • Fax: 01242 544961. GTTR and the Teaching Agency / School Direct portal. Current GTTR members can also use xml-link or odbc-link – if their systems allow them to. 3 The contact details are for your use only. You must not give them to anyone else. There is a separate specialist contact number for applicants to contact UCAS. 1 2 2 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 2 Applying 3 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 2 − Applying 2.1 How do candidates apply? Applications will be made through UCAS Teacher Training using the ‘Apply’ system, found on our website4 at www.ucas.com/apply/teacher-training. Candidates begin by registering their details; then choosing where, when, and how they plan to study. Obtaining references Applicants need to provide details of two referees; UCAS Teacher Training obtains each reference as part of the application process5. Applicants will be given the following referee advice: • If they are still at university, or gained their degree within the last five years. − One reference must be from someone at their university or college who can comment on their academic ability and potential as a teacher. − The other reference can be from someone who knows them from work or who can comment on their character and potential as a teacher. • If they are applying for a School Direct (salaried) route. − One reference must be from an employer. − If they left university more than five years ago, they can choose two referees who know them from work or who can comment on how suitable they are for teaching. They can still use an academic referee if they think it is suitable. Once the application has been received and processed by UCAS, it is made available online for training providers to consider. UCAS cannot check the validity of information provided by applicants. You must arrange your own checks on fee-payer status and examination results. If an applicant has omitted any compulsory information or has given false information, you are entitled to withdraw or amend your offer. In these cases, you must give full details to the UCAS Verification Team so they can inform other training providers. See Appendix A for more information. Criminal record disclosure An Enhanced Disclosure Check is required for entry to Initial Teacher Education and Training. We ask applicants to confirm that they agree to a check by the UK Disclosure and Barring service or Disclosure Scotland, and advise them that not doing so may delay the application process. As training providers, it is your responsibility to arrange your own checks, and applicants are advised that they cannot start a training programme until a check has been carried out. The application itself contains two questions referring to the disclosure of criminal convictions. • The first asks if applicants agree to a Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland check. • The second refers to training programmes leading to professions or occupations that are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974), and requires applicants to disclose information regarding any spent or unspent convictions or any past criminal activities. The codes used are: Code D U X Definition Declared Explanation Has declared a criminal conviction Undeclared No criminal convictions Not Applicant was not asked this presented question when the choice was added e.g. the applicant applied on paper Fraudulent applications All applications are checked against our databases for evidence of fraud, and personal statements are vetted through our similarity detection service. There is a paper application available for those who do not have access to the internet, and a large print version for partially sighted applicants. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, applicants can request a copy of their references and any other personal information held by us. We supply this at a charge of £10. 4 5 4 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Apply 1 – Applicant experience apply from 1 November use Apply 2 to reapply accept unconditional offer 10 wo rkin gd ays accept conditional offer rking receive decisions from all providers 40 wo meet all nonacademic conditions of offer days application sent to chosen training providers No Yes choose up to three choices no offer received decline all offers you’re in! Yes use Apply 2 to reapply meet all academic and non-academic conditions of offer No 5 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 2.2 Apply 1 and 2 Applicants have two opportunities to secure a place – Apply 1 and Apply 2. Apply 1 This is the first application route, which allows applicants to apply for several training programmes simultaneously, from 1 November each year. • Applications can be submitted from 1 November 2013. • Applicants can choose up to three open training programmes at a time. • Training providers can open and close training programmes throughout the year to control the number of applications they receive. • The final date to submit an application is 15 September 2014. • Training providers must consider all applications received while their training programmes are open. Invisibility of choices During Apply 1, training providers will only be able to see the details of applications made to their training programmes, and the training programmes they accredit. Invisibility ends once all Apply 1 decisions have been made by training providers and an applicant has replied to any offers made. Please don’t request to see details of any applications for training programmes you do not offer or accredit until the applicant has received decisions from all their choices and replied to any offers (if applicable). If these applications are unsuccessful, or the applicant does not accept an offer, they can still secure a training programme place through Apply 2. Apply 2 • Eligible applicants can use Apply 2 from 2 January 2014. • Applicants have the opportunity to make as many applications as they want6, but can only apply to one training programme at a time. • Entry to Apply 2 depends on individual circumstances – so applicants enter at different times. 6 • 31 October 2014 is the end of Apply 2; and the end of the application cycle. • Providers must consider all applications received while their training programmes are open. The application fee for 2014 is £19 – which covers both Apply 1 and 2. 2.3 How do applicants monitor their progress? Once an application has been sent and processed, applicants can use our Track system to manage their details and follow the progress of their application. We send them a Welcome letter which includes: • the applicants Personal ID – a 10-digit number which allows us to identify an applicant’s details on our systems • an application Scheme Code – indicating the number of applications, the maximum of which is one per application cycle, an individual has made – with the prefix ‘GT’ and a number corresponding to each applicant’s progress (for example, GT01 would represent a first application, GT02 the second, and so on) • a summary of the choices made • the applicant’s username to access Track 2.4 Can applicants cancel their applications? Under consumer protection legislation, applicants have the ‘right to cancel’ their contract with UCAS. They can do this by calling our Customer Contact Centre within seven days of the date on their Welcome letter, and will receive a full refund of their application fee. After seven days, an applicant can completely withdraw their application but will not receive a refund of the application fee. 2.5 Can applicants change choices? An applicant can change / substitute choices in Apply 1 – once per choice – within seven days of applying. In Apply 2 the applicant would replace the current choice with another, if they changed their mind. Until they accept a single offer. 6 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Apply 2 – Applicant experience Available if you have been unsuccessful in Apply 1 or have declined all Apply 1 offers. apply from 2 January application sent to training provider No receive decision from training provider accept unconditional offer 10 wo rkin gd ays accept conditional offer rking days meet all nonacademic conditions of offer 40 wo use Apply 2 to reapply Yes choose one training programme decline offer no offer received you’re in! Yes use Apply 2 to reapply meet all academic and non-academic conditions of offer No 7 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 8 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 2.6 What you are responsible for Setting up your training programme Once we’ve received your completed joining form, we send you the passwords needed to access our secure information systems. to decide whether an applicant’s knowledge of English and mathematics (and science, if applicable) are acceptable for training programme entry – taking into account the national minimums set out below. Details of training programmes offered by training providers must be training provided before the start of each application cycle7. This is done through our Net.update system. We will not make applications available if you have discontinued or closed a training programme or the applicant does not meet your minimum GCSE or equivalent qualification requirements for consideration. These requirements are specified when you create a new training programme in Net.update. Training providers should also create an ‘Entry Profile’ for the UCAS Teacher Training search tool to give applicants more information about themselves and their training programmes. It is possible to change the entry requirements while a training programme is open but we recommend that you minimise any changes to avoid confusion to applicants. Find out more in the ‘Set Up’ and ‘Using Our Systems’ guides. 2.7 Studying in England Deciding when to receive applications As a training provider, you can choose when to receive applications by opening and closing your training programmes within certain parameters. • You can choose to accept applications from 1 November, or choose a later date, but you’ll need to tell UCAS when you want to start receiving applications from. There are 50 set dates to choose from – you’ll find them when setting up your training programmes in Net.update. • When you choose to open applications for a training programme for the first time in a cycle, you must keep it open for a minimum of 14 days. There is no minimum opening period for subsequent openings. • You can leave training programmes open as long as you like, but you must close them when the training programme is full. • You can open and close a training programme as many times as you want during the cycle. Minimum entry requirements There are essential requirements that all applicants must meet in order to qualify for consideration for training programmes. However, training providers can apply additional requirements8. It is your responsibility All applicants for training programmes in England should hold: • a degree awarded by a UK higher education institution (or recognised equivalent qualification) • at least a C grade in GCSE9 English and Mathematics • applicants for primary or middle years training programmes must hold a C grade or above in GCSE Science All trainee teachers who start initial teacher training programmes in England on or after 1 July 2013 must also pass the Department of Education’s professional skills tests in numeracy and literacy before they can start a training programme. For further information about these skills tests, visit the Department for Education’s website: www.education.gov.uk/getinto-teaching/apply-for-teacher-training/skillstests. 2.8 Studying in Wales All applicants for training programmes in Wales should hold: • a degree awarded by a UK higher education institution • a GCSE at grade B or higher in English and mathematics UCAS cannot accept any liability for any errors made or incorrect information given by a training provider. As you’re responsible for your own recruitment and admissions policy, please do not refer applicants to UCAS for qualifications advice. 9 In all cases, where entry requirements are referred to, if applicants don’t hold the specified award and grade (e.g. a C grade GCSE in English) they must hold a recognised equivalent qualification, or be able to demonstrate the subject knowledge required to obtain this level of qualification. 7 8 9 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 2.9 Studying in Scotland All applicants for PGDE training programmes in Scotland should hold: • a degree that has been validated by a university or college in the UK • a National Qualifications Course award in English at level 6 in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) We will record these applications as ‘Unconditional Firm’ offers (code UF on web-link), and send online confirmation to you, and a Confirmation Letter to applicants. There is no application fee to the applicant for processing RPAs; we do charge you the standard capitation fee for each accepted applicant – £17+VAT. Applicants for primary training programmes must also hold a National Qualifications Course award in mathematics at SCQF level 5 or above, or a recognised equivalent qualification, prior to training programme entry. 2.10 Copy forms Paper copy forms are available this year. We plan to phase them out over the next 12 months, and send providers digital copy forms instead – which will be available to download from web-link. We will keep you informed of progress. 2.11 If applicants apply too late It’s still possible to offer 2014 places to applicants who approach you too late to make a normal application, but have been assessed, and are deemed qualified for training programme entry. In these cases, you need to enter a ‘Record of Prior Acceptance’ (RPA) for these applicants on web-link. To do this: • print out a blank RPA form and give it to the applicant with the instructions for completion • enter all the information into web-link and send us the RPA form online from early July 2014 • keep the completed hard copy, that the applicant filled in, as a declaration of their commitment • the final date for sending completed RPAs to us is 31 October 2014 • you must not send completed paper RPA forms to us By submitting an RPA you are confirming the applicant has secured a place. This means that you’ll need to have confirmed their educational achievements, and ensured all the relevant criminal records, health, and entry requirements checks have been made. 10 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 3 Making decisions 11 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 3 − Making decisions 3.1 Receiving applications Once each application has been received and processed by UCAS, it is made available in weblink, odbc-link and xml-link for training providers to consider. After 1 November 2013, as soon as we have processed an application, you’ll be able to view the data, including the personal statement and references. As a training provider, you’re responsible for making a decision about every application sent to you, and for the selection and recruitment of your students. You’ll also need to send your decisions to us here at UCAS, and we in turn inform the applicants. You must make a decision within 40 working days10 of receiving an application. This means you need to: • decide if you want to interview the applicant • decide if you want to offer the applicant a place (post-interview) • decide if the applicant will be unsuccessful, and if so, why • inform UCAS of your decision If a training provider offers either type of School Direct training programme, then the lead school or the accrediting provider should take responsibility for recording decisions for UCAS. It is the responsibility of both parties to agree and adhere to a process to manage this, but the accrediting provider must give final approval of any admission decision – this is NCTL policy. Important information During the 40 working day decision period, you’ll need to conduct interviews and send decisions to UCAS. If you don’t make a decision during this time, our system rejects each affected application. We call this ‘Reject by Default’ (RBD). You’ll need to use web-link, odbc-link and xml-link to view and manage applications and record your decisions. Making errors 3.2 Recording decisions You record your decisions online using web-link, odbc-link, or xml-link. As soon as you make a decision, we update the applicant’s record, making the information immediately visible on Track. You can make the following types of decision in web-link: • notification of interview11 • conditional offer • unconditional offer •reject •withdrawal • not qualified in English • not qualified in maths • not qualified in science • not considered – training programme full 3.3 Types of decisions Interview You must inform applicants directly when inviting them for an interview. You’ll need to offer an interview date and also inform us here at UCAS. You do this in web-link by accessing the applicant record, and selecting an ‘interview decision’. Conditional offer You make this type of offer to applicants who still need to take exams or professional skills tests. When an applicant accepts a conditional offer and meets all conditions – by 31 August 2014, or an alternative date you have specified – you are committed to providing them a place. Conditional offers can also include non-academic conditions such as school experience, health checks, criminal record checks, and payment of fees. Training providers must be explicit in their offer about the deadline for meeting non-academic conditions – for example, ‘tuition fees must be paid by 1 October 2014’ or ‘the result from the criminal records check must be obtained before the start of your first teaching placement’. Errors in decision making are very rare. Please ensure that you have your own policies and procedures in place if errors are made. Once accepted, offers are binding, and cannot be changed without an applicant’s permission. 10 11 Excluding bank holidays in England, the Christmas to New Year closure at UCAS and all weekends. This is not a final decision and does not extend the 40 working day period. 12 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Decision making – School Direct and School Direct (salaried) training programmes Receive application from UCAS No Send UCAS reject decision Shortlist for interview with accrediting provider agreement Yes Interview applicant Yes Send UCAS offer details Send invitation to applicant for interview and inform UCAS Decide whether to offer a place – agree with accrediting provider No Send UCAS reject decision Has applicant met all conditions of offer? Yes Send UCAS Accept in Confirmation decision No Send UCAS Reject in Confirmation decision 13 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 If an applicant is awaiting results that are published after 31 October 2014, you can make a Delayed Confirmation (DCF) decision (if the applicant has accepted your conditional offer) from early September 2014 to prevent the application being ‘Rejected by Default’ (see the ‘Rejection’ heading below for more info). Unconditional offer If you’re satisfied, from the information given, that the applicant has already fulfilled your academic entry requirements for a training programme, you can make them an unconditional offer. Unconditional offers can include non-academic conditions such as school experience, health checks and payment of fees. Training providers must be explicit in their offer about the deadline for meeting non-academic conditions – for example, ‘tuition fees must be paid by 1 October 2014’ or ‘the result from the criminal records check must be obtained before the start of your first teaching placement’. Once you’ve recorded your decision, we notify applicants on Track. By making an unconditional offer you are committed to providing them a place – provided the applicant accepts it, and meets each non-academic condition of the offer. Advice for making conditional and unconditional offers Don’t: • make offers that are conditional upon a satisfactory interview. This must take place during the 40 working day period and before you make your decision Do: • check the full text of offers in web-link before sending them to us • make all offers clear and unambiguous • make decisions within the 40 working day deadline • regularly check your ODL (Outstanding Decisions Lists) in web-link Rejection There are numerous reasons why you might reject an applicant and we encourage you to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants. The reason for rejection is sent using web-link. They can be issued using a training provider’s own offer abbreviation code or by including free format text. This information will be available for applicants to view in Track until they reply to their offers. However, there are three other (specific) reasons why you’d reject an applicant: • not qualified in English • not qualified in mathematics • not qualified in science We record ‘Reject By Default’ decisions for applicants when training providers fail to make decisions by the 40 working day deadline, so please make timely decisions on all applications to prevent this happening. You’ll find Outstanding Decisions Lists (ODL) in weblink which show all applications awaiting a decision. • On-Demand ODL – a list of applications that are still awaiting a decision from you. • Weekly ODL – a list of applicants who will be rejected by default over the next seven days. This covers applications in both Apply 1 and Apply 2. • Confirmation ODL – a list of applicants who have accepted conditional offers, but are awaiting Confirmation decisions (See the ‘Replies and Confirmation’ section for more info). Withdrawal We define this as one of two things: • when applicants inform you that they no longer want to be considered • when applicants fail to attend an interview or don’t reply to any communication 14 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Decision making – HEI and SCITT training programmes Receive application from UCAS Send invitation to applicant for interview and inform UCAS Shortlist for interview No Interview applicant Send UCAS reject decision Yes Decide whether to offer a place Yes No Send UCAS offer details Has applicant met all conditions of offer? No Send UCAS Reject in Confirmation decision Yes Send UCAS Accept in Confirmation decision 15 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 When you record withdrawal decisions, we notify applicants. However, you must provide the appropriate reason code with all withdrawal decisions. • .W1 – withdrawn at applicant’s request. • .W2 – applicant did not attend interview or test. • .W3 – applicant has not responded to correspondence. • .W4 – training programme withdrawn and no alternative requested. • .W6 – applicant failed to attend interview and did not respond to correspondence. Important information Not considered Don’t: • send separate letters to applicants that contain additional conditions • ask for replies or other indications of applicants’ intentions – in any communication, or during interviews, visits, and open days If you cannot consider an applicant because the training programme is full, then you must reject them on this basis. However, you can only make a ‘Not Considered’ decision if you have already closed the training programme in Net.update. Any additional letter that you send applicants should make it clear that official decisions are sent via UCAS, and should not contain any additional or different conditions from those in the official UCAS Teacher Training scheme offer. Please ensure you give us enough time to process and send the offer to the applicant first – before you send your offer letter. If you fail to do this, applicants may contact us (and you) to find out if something has gone wrong. Cancelled applications We will only cancel an applicant’s record from the current year’s scheme if we receive: • more than one application from the same applicant • a fraudulent application • a letter informing us about the death of an applicant Applications from previous application cycles can only be cancelled with permission from you. This might happen if an applicant is holding a DCF place (Delayed Confirmation decision). 16 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 4 Replies and Confirmation 17 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 4 − Replies and Confirmation 4.2 How training providers tell UCAS if an applicant with a conditional offer has secured a place 4.1 How applicants reply to offers When you’ve received all outstanding exam results and decided if an applicant has met any academic and non-academic conditions, you need to make a Confirmation decision. This applies to every applicant who has accepted a conditional offer from you. This formally tells us, and the applicants, that they have a place on your training programme. Training providers offering either type of School Direct training programme must ensure that the Confirmation decision has been agreed with their accrediting provider before it’s recorded. Applicants reply to offers online using Track, where they have the option to: • firmly accept an offer (F) • decline an offer (D) Once we’ve received all the decisions for an application from the training providers, we ask an applicant to make their replies. They can only accept one offer and must reply within 10 working days. It is possible for applicants who’ve been offered their preferred place to accept an offer before the other training providers they’ve applied to have responded. To do this, they simply withdraw their application from the providers they’ve not yet heard from. If they do not reply within the 10 working day period UCAS declines all outstanding offers on the applicant’s behalf. We call this ‘Decline by Default’ (DBD). Applicants are advised to negotiate directly with you if they’ve failed to reply to offers in time. If this happens, applicants can take up places at your discretion using Apply 1 – as long as they haven’t used Apply 2. If the applicant has used Apply 2 in this instance, they need to nominate you as their Apply 2 choice before you can make a second offer to them – which they then accept if they want a place on your training programme. When applicants reply to offers, we update their records – meaning you can see their replies in web-link. Please don’t contact applicants after making offers to ask them for replies. Applicants don’t need to reply until they have received a decision about all the choices they’ve made in Apply 1. Applicants who’ve responded to their offers in Track can make changes within seven days of their original response. They do this by contacting UCAS. After this time, they cannot change their replies unless all affected training providers agree. If you’re in this situation, and you agree to the proposed change, please contact the HEI Team. They’re responsible for recording any agreements on an applicant’s record and must receive all agreements before changing an applicant’s replies. The types of decisions used in Confirmation are: • Accept in Confirmation Using the ‘Accept in Confirmation’ decision informs the applicant (and UCAS) that the place you offered them on your training programme is now guaranteed. • Reject in Confirmation Using the ‘Reject in Confirmation’ decision informs the applicant (and UCAS) that they have failed to meet one or more of the offer conditions and do not have a place on the training programme. • Confirmation Amendment The ‘Confirmation Amendment’ decision can only be used for an applicant that holds a confirmed place with you (an unconditional offer that they have firmly accepted). This decision allows you to amend the details of the place they hold with you – for instance the training programme, start date, training location or campus could be changed. This should only be used if the change has been agreed by the applicant. • Confirmation Withdrawal The ‘Confirmation Withdrawal’ decision can only be used for an applicant that holds a confirmed place with you (an unconditional offer that they have firmly accepted). This decision effectively prevents the applicant applying for any other training programmes during the application cycle, so should only be used in exceptional circumstances. The most common use of this decision occurs when an applicant that holds a place with you informs you that they no longer want to train to become a teacher. 18 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 19 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 4.3 Delayed Confirmation Decision (DCF) The deadline for making Confirmation decisions (confirmation of conditional offers accepted by an applicant) is 18:00 on 31 October 2014. After this we record a ‘Reject By Default’12 for any conditional offer that has not had a confirmation decision recorded against it. DCF decisions can help some applicants whose exam results will be published after the deadline or those that have been asked to take subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses. To avoid these candidates being ‘Rejected by Default’ you can record a Delayed Confirmation (DCF) decision – in web-link – from early September 2014. Applicants holding a DCF place can be confirmed at any time throughout the next application cycle. On 31 August 2015 we will reject all 2014 applicants with outstanding DCF decisions. You must contact affected applicants to advise them that their places cannot be confirmed in the current cycle and that the places will be held up to the 31 August 2015, or an earlier date if stipulated by you. You can send: Setting in web-link Coming or Not Letter GT12B Coming / Enrol GT12E Not coming GT12N No response GT12 These applicants’ online Track records will show Delayed Confirmation. We will include DCF applications when we calculate your capitation fee. In the event of a reject decision being made, we will reimburse you in the following admissions cycle. 4.4 Confirmation decisions: what UCAS does After you’ve recorded your Confirmation decisions, we send applicants a letter informing them whether they have or haven’t met their offer – and email those who’ve withdrawn. For applicants who you’ve confirmed have a place, there are four letters that can be sent and each one explains how they need to respond. This is carried out in web-link in the ‘Training Provider requirements’ section. 12 See ‘Important Information’ in Section 2 for an explanation of the term. 20 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Required action from applicant You want applicants to email you to confirm whether or not they will be taking up the place. You want applicants to email only if they are taking up the place. You want applicants to email you only if they will not be taking up the place. You do not want to receive any email confirmation from applicants. Section 5 Making changes 21 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Section 5−Making changes 5.1 Making changes There are a number of instances in the application process when you might need to amend or change a decision. Training providers offering either type of School Direct training programme must ensure that any changes made are agreed with their accrediting provider prior to recording them. The following information outlines some of the most common types of changes, and how to make them. We ask applicants to inform us, and all training providers to which they have applied, if any information changes from the details supplied in their application. 5.2 Changes prior to recording a decision during Apply 1 or Apply 2 If you need to change anything before you’ve recorded an initial decision, you must contact the applicant to discuss the change(s) you want to make. If the applicant is not prepared to be considered for the change(s) you are considering – e.g. a different training programme, start date, training location or campus – and you cannot consider them for the original choice – then you should record a reject decision. If the applicant is willing to be considered with the changes you want, then you can update the original choice details when you record your initial decision. 5.3 Making changes after a decision has been recorded and before applicants reply If you need to change anything before an applicant has replied to their offers, you must inform the applicant before doing so. All of the following changes can be made in web-link, odbc-link or xml-link as an ‘amended decision’. Interview If you agree a change of interview date with an applicant, you can record the new date using an amended decision. Conditional offers You can: • record a ‘Reject’ decision • amend or add to the conditions of the offer • change the training programme, entry date, or training location or campus for the offer • change the offer to ‘unconditional’ • change the offer to ‘unconditional’ and change the training programme, date of entry, or training location or campus • withdraw the application to your institution – but not to other training providers Unconditional offers You can: • record a ‘Reject’ decision – to make any general corrections • amend or add to the conditions of the offer • change the training programme, entry date, or training location or campus for the offer • change the offer to conditional • change the offer to conditional and change the training programme, date of entry, or training location or campus • withdraw the application to your institution – but not to other training providers 5.4 Making changes after applicants have accepted offers If the applicant has accepted your offer you must have the applicant’s agreement before you can change any offer details. Please obtain the applicant’s agreement before making an offer for a changed training programme and / or year of entry. This also applies when an amended decision is made. 22 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 With the applicant’s agreement, you can change a training programme, date of entry, or training location or campus in web-link, odbc-link or xml-link. Choose ‘LA Amend’ to make any changes for applicants holding conditional offers. Choose ‘Confirmation Amendment’ to make any changes for applicants holding unconditional offers. Unconditional offers Once an applicant accepts an unconditional offer, you are committed to providing a place on that training programme, for that date of entry, and at that training location or campus. You can only change an unconditional offer that has been accepted by the applicant, with the applicant’s full agreement. Conditional offers If an applicant has accepted a conditional offer, you can change the training programme, date of entry, or training location or campus, at the applicant’s request or with their full agreement. 23 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Summary of changes The table below shows the amendments that you can make using an amended decision on web-link, (as well as xml-link or odbc-link). The notes cover changes that you can make using other transactions. Confirmation decisions have not been included in the table. Status can be changed by training provider to: New decision R E, M, S, G (Unsuccessful) W (Withdraw) I (Interview) C (Conditional offer) U (Unconditional offer) C + change year, training programme, campus, modular, year or month of entry, or part-time U + change year, training programme, campus, modular, year or month of entry, or part-time DCF (Delayed Confirmation) Original decision and reply W, E, M, R S, G I Yes (1) No Yes Yes No Yes C (with no reply) Yes Yes U (with no reply) CF Yes Yes (6) Yes No UF No (7) No DCF Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes (2) Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes (4) No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (3) No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes (5) Yes No No No No No Yes No No Notes 1. You can send a ‘Reject’ decision with the reason for rejection in addition to sending the original R decision. You can amend the reason at any time using the reject decision again. 2. You can amend an interview date and time. 3. Once an applicant has replied, an amended offer is allowed on the CF choice – provided that there is a change of training programme, campus, modular, entry year or month, or part-time flag. 4. You use a ‘Withdrawal’ decision with a reason code (W1 to W6) to withdraw a CF applicant’s place. The ‘Withdrawal’ reason codes are listed in the ‘Making decisions’ section. 5. You use a Confirmation amendment to change the training programme details and entry dates for UF applicants if you have discussed the changes with the applicant. 6. You can reject an applicant if they have failed to meet the conditions of the offer only. 7. A UF decision can be changed to a ‘Reject’ if the applicant fails to meet one or more conditions. In this instance, the provider applies a confirmation reject decision. 24 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 5.5 Changing Confirmation decisions If you record an incorrect Confirmation decision, please contact the affected applicant immediately to begin negotiating changes to rectify the error. You must ensure that your own literature, admissions policies, and procedures explain what will happen so that these applicants know they will be treated equitably. If you make an incorrect Confirmation decision, you must: 1. inform the applicant of the error and ask them to contact UCAS and have the correct decision recorded on their application 2. call the HEI Team to request the mistake is corrected – with the applicant’s full permission Complete withdrawal Applicants can completely withdraw their application at any stage of the application cycle by calling the Customer Contact Centre. We withdraw the application and send each affected training provider online notification. An applicant who accepts an offer and then withdraws their application may ask to be reinstated. We can only do this with your agreement. 5.6 Allowing an applicant that has accepted your offer to apply elsewhere If an applicant that has accepted an offer from you wants to apply to a different training programme that you do not offer, or to a different training provider, they will need your agreement to do so. You do not have to agree to this. • If you do agree to this, use the Confirmation Reject decision. This will reject the applicant and allow them to use Apply 2 to apply elsewhere. We strongly recommend you ask the applicant to provide a written request and keep this as evidence during the application cycle. • If you do not agree to this change, the applicant will either take up the training programme they had committed to with you or, if they choose not to commit, you should use a Confirmation withdrawal decision to completely withdraw their application, barring them from applying elsewhere during the 2014 application cycle. 5.7 Changes to training programme information Before making any changes to your data, speak with your UCAS Teacher Training administrator at your HEI, SCITT or School Direct lead school − or contact the UCAS Data Collection Team on 01242 544864 or send an email to [email protected]. All changes are made in Net.update and web-link. The training programme database and website can be updated within 24 hours of any changes – with the exception of adding a new training programme, which may take up to four working days. English, mathematics and science qualification requirements for consideration All training providers use Net.update to inform us if they want to receive applications from applicants based on the English, maths, and science GCSEs or equivalent qualifications that they may hold. For admission to all your training programmes, you must make sure one of the following three options applies. • Applicants must possess the necessary English and mathematics (and science for those applying to work in primary and middle years) qualifications at time of application. • Applicants will be considered if they expect to acquire the necessary qualifications before the start of the training programme. • Applicants without the required qualifications can be considered if they are willing to sit an equivalence test. If you change your qualification entry requirements for any of your training programmes during the application cycle, you must use Net.update to alter your training programme records. You might decide you need to change the details of your training programmes – such as a change of accrediting provider, programme outcome or a shift from non-salaried to salaried. If so, you need to set up a new programme, inform the applicants affected, and once you have their agreement, move them into the new programme, before discontinuing the previous programme. 25 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Discontinued and suspended training programmes If a training programme will not be offered for 2014 entry, or for any subsequent years of entry, you should ensure it’s recorded as ‘discontinued’ in Net.update. However, if there’s a possibility it might be offered in 2015, you should ensure it’s recorded as ‘suspended’ in Net.update13. In either case, the appropriate action must be taken. You must contact applicants as soon as the decision has been taken and explain the situation so that they can decide on the best course of action. You must then make every effort to help those applicants affected. • Advise applicants of their options, and depending on their application status, they may be able to accept an offer from another provider or use Apply 2 to apply for a new training programme. • Consider the possibility of offering the applicants places on one of your other training programmes. • Try to obtain places for these applicants at other training providers in your region. • Offer deferred places, if you know that a suspended training programme will be offered again in 2015. When these applicants have confirmed how they want to proceed, you must inform the HEI Team. You must remember to contact applicants who accepted deferred places for suspended or discontinued training programmes in previous application cycles. 13 UCAS provides procedures for discontinuing or suspending training programmes, but we will not be liable for any consequences resulting from the use of these procedures. You must, therefore, ensure that your action complies with your terms and conditions. We recommend that you take your own legal advice before discontinuing or suspending any training programmes. 26 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Appendices 27 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Appendix A − Fraudulent applications − including criminal convictions declaration and applicant terms and conditions The submission of fraudulent applications through the UCAS Teacher Training scheme continues to give cause for concern. The three main categories of fraud are: • applications from those intent on securing a place by deception • applications from those intent on securing bursaries, grants and loans by deception • applications from those intent on securing a student visa for the purpose of entering the UK by deception The UCAS Verification Team exists to raise awareness of fraud amongst training providers and to continually introduce improved measures to combat fraud in the applications processing system. At the centre of its operation is the Hunter fraud detection database through which all applications are processed. The database holds records of all applications previously referred for investigation. Each new applicant record is compared to each of the applicant records already held on the database and the user is alerted where matches are identified. Where there are sufficient grounds for suspicion, the applicant record is flagged and an investigation initiated. The situation is monitored on a daily basis. Hunter Alert is the name given to the cumulative list of cancelled applicants in the current applications cycle. The list is published on the last working day of each month and is available in the Members & providers’ section of the UCAS website at www.ucas.com/members-providers/our-systems/ fraud-and-similarity. This is a password-protected area of the website. Where an applicant is referred for investigation, the UCAS Verification Team will write to the applicant and / or the referee seeking to establish the veracity of the application. If they respond and provide the documents and / or information requested and these details support the details declared in their application, we will allow their application to proceed as normal and they will be notified in writing. If they 1 respond but fail to provide the requested documents and / or information within the time specified1 or provide documents and / or information that fail to support the details declared in their application or provide forged documents and / or false information, their application will be cancelled and they will be notified in writing. If they fail to respond, their application will be cancelled and they will be notified in writing. Applicants who have paid their application fee using a credit or debit card without the knowledge or permission of the card holder will receive a letter from the Verification Team advising that their application has been cancelled without notice. If their application is cancelled, they have the right to appeal. In order for an appeal to be considered, it must be submitted in writing, accompanied by any outstanding documents and / or information and received in the relevant admissions cycle. All appeals will be considered by our Head of Admissions Services within 28 calendar days from the date of the postmark. The applicant may make a further appeal to the Chief Executive. The final decision will be notified to the applicant and / or the referee in writing and letters copied to the relevant training providers. During the course of an enquiry, copies of all correspondence (and related documents if requested) will be sent to each of their choices. The addressee will be the Fraud Correspondent for the relevant training provider. It is important that the contact details for your Fraud Correspondent are kept up-to-date and that the information they receive is disseminated appropriately at your training provider. We expect that you will maintain records of the details of applicants whose applications have been cancelled as fraudulent. By so doing, you will be able to set up a means of detecting an approach made by suspect applicants and take appropriate steps to ensure that we are informed. Therefore, a positive response to alerts by us is recommended and you should contact us if you have any information that can substantiate initial concerns or indeed can disprove them. In no circumstances should consideration on academic grounds be given to anyone notified as suspect before appropriate checks on the validity of their application have been carried out. Initially two weeks and then a further week after a reminder. 28 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 You are reminded that whilst in the past the majority of fraud has been perpetrated against those training providers located in and around London, this is no longer the case. Ample evidence has been collected proving beyond doubt that fraudsters will target any training provider they consider vulnerable. We consider that the vast majority of fraud continues to be perpetrated by mature, independent, late and direct2 applicants, to whom particular attention should be paid. As in the past, August onwards is particularly favoured by fraudsters. Our rules state that no individual should be accepted by direct means for training programmes recruited through the UCAS Teacher Training scheme and this is particularly important during the last few months of the cycle when appropriate application procedures should be followed at all times. Training providers should of course undertake their own verification checks (identity, qualifications, references, criminal records, child protection etc) before applicants are allowed to enrol. For further information, you can contact the Verification Team by telephone on 01242 545 494, or fax on 01242 544 952 or email at [email protected]. Criminal record checks Applicants are asked two questions on criminal record checks. Firstly, they are required to confirm that they agree to a criminal records check. The following help text in italics is what each applicant will see for this question: Criminal record check As the training programmes for which you are applying will involve working with children, you will be required to disclose any criminal convictions, cautions or bindovers, irrespective of when they occurred and agree to an enhanced DBS or Disclosures Scotland check, depending on where the training programme is offered. 2 Secondly, applicants are asked to declare if they have any spent or unspent convictions or other punishments that would show up on an enhanced criminal records check each time they add a relevant training programme into their application. The following text is what each applicant will see for this question: Criminal convictions declaration This training programme has entry requirements which require you to disclose further information regarding any spent or unspent convictions or any past criminal activities, and also requires an enhanced criminal records check. Further checks are also required under the DBS scheme since this training programme requires regular contact with children or vulnerable adults. If you have spent or unspent convictions from a court outside Great Britain, additional checks may be carried out depending on the records available in respect of the applicable country. An enhanced criminal records check may show all spent and unspent criminal convictions including (but not limited to) cautions, reprimands, final warnings, bind over orders or similar and, to the extent relevant to this training programme, may also show details of any minor offences, fixed penalty notices, penalty notices for disorder, ASBOs or VOOs. Please tick if you have any spent or unspent convictions or other punishments that would show up on an enhanced criminal records check. If you tick the box you will not be automatically excluded from the application process. Finally, it is recommended that you read the declaration accompanying this question and if these issues are in any way relevant to you, you should obtain further advice from appropriate bodies. UCAS Teacher Training will not be able to assist you in this respect. You will be asked this question each time you add a training programme that requires a criminal conviction declaration. Direct’ means those who have not used the UCAS application form. 29 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Text displayed through declaration link: Certain professions or occupations such as (but not limited to) teaching, medicine, dentistry, law, accountancy, actuarial, insolvency, healthcare, social work, veterinary medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy, osteopathy, chiropractic, optometry and professions or occupations involving work with children or vulnerable adults, including the elderly or sick people, are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). • • Different rules apply to such professions or occupations with regard to disclosure of information about criminal convictions. You may be required to disclose information regarding any convictions even if they are spent. Some training programmes in respect of such professions or occupations involve an integral work placement and you may not be able to undertake such placement and complete your studies if you have criminal convictions. Furthermore, while you may be permitted to study for one of the above professions or occupations, you may not be able to register and practise upon completion of your training programme. You should be aware that in respect of these training programmes: • The training provider may ask you to provide further information regarding any convictions (including spent convictions). If they do so, you must comply with their request. • Where required, the training provider will send you instructions regarding how to provide the information they require. They may send you documents to fill in. Where such documents come from will depend on the location of the training provider you are applying to. Please visit the websites for the organisations below for further information. • Depending on the type of check, different levels of information will be revealed. The information revealed may include unspent convictions and spent convictions (including cautions, reprimands and final warnings or similar). Information about minor offences, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs), anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) or violent offender orders (VOOs) and other locally held police information may be revealed where it is appropriate to the training programme • • • for a particular occupation or profession. The information will be disclosed irrespective of when it occurred. This means that if you have a criminal conviction (spent or unspent) or, in certain circumstances, any minor offence, this information may be made known to the training provider (but not UCAS) as part of the check. If the check reveals that you have had a conviction, (including any caution, reprimand, final warning, bind over order or similar) or any other relevant information including (in certain circumstances) any minor offence, PND, ASBO or VOO, the university or college will need to assess your fitness to practise in the profession or occupation to which your training programme relates. Applicants to medicine, for instance, should be aware that the General Medical Council will not permit students deemed unfit to practise to be entered on the medical register and so they will not be able to practise as doctors. Similar restrictions may be imposed by other professional bodies including (but not limited to) those connected with law, teaching, accountancy, social work, healthcare, veterinary services, pharmacy, financial and insurance services and the armed forces. You may also be subject to further checks (before and / or after you complete your training programme) by prospective employers who will make their own assessments regarding your fitness to practise in the relevant profession or undertake the relevant occupation. If these issues are in any way relevant to you, you should obtain further advice from appropriate bodies. UCAS will not be able to assist you in this respect. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you may also be required to comply with any other procedures that may come into force to identify any individual that is barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, including elderly or sick people. How will training providers handle my application if I declare a criminal conviction? If you select ‘Yes’ to declare that you have a criminal conviction, you will not be automatically excluded from the application process. 30 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 The information concerning criminal convictions will be passed to appointed persons at training providers. In line with best admissions practice, they will consider your application separately from your academic and achievement merits. During this consideration, they may ask you to provide further information about your conviction. If they are satisfied, your application will proceed in the normal way although they may add certain conditions to any offer they may make. Otherwise they will notify you of their decision. Failure to declare a criminal conviction may result in expulsion from your training provider. All information concerning criminal convictions must be treated sensitively, confidentially and managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. You may find further details about how a criminal conviction declaration is handled (including the right to appeal a decision) on training providers’ websites. In addition, you may also find the details below useful. Region agency website address England and Wales: Disclosure and Barring Service www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ disclosure-and-barring-service Scotland: Disclosure Scotland www.disclosurescotland.co.uk • I confirm that the information given on this application is true, complete and accurate and all my own work. No information requested or other material information has been omitted. I give my consent to the processing of my data by UCAS and training providers. • I have read the declaration and the information about the personal use of data and accept the terms and conditions they contain. If UCAS cancels my application in accordance with those conditions, I shall have no claim against UCAS or any training provider. We also advise applicants to read the general information on our website and the specific information for teacher training in England, Scotland or Wales. Applicant declaration We include the following text in italics as a link from the declaration in Apply to tell applicants what they are agreeing to when they complete the declaration. Declaration Please read this declaration and tick the box to confirm that you accept its terms, so we can process your application. You must tick the box to confirm that you accept the terms of the declaration, otherwise we cannot accept or process your application. This means that you agree to our general terms and conditions for use of the UCAS website, the privacy policy and the terms of the declaration as follows: a. The information you supply Northern Ireland: Access Northern Ireland www.accessni.gov.uk You will be asked this question each time you add a training programme that requires a criminal conviction declaration. Applicant statements Before applicants can send their online applications to us, they must enter ticks in the boxes to confirm that they comply with the following three statements. • I confirm that I am the applicant. If we, or a training provider, have any reason to believe that you or your referee has: • left out any information, including any qualifications you have completed, qualifications with an unsuccessful grade or qualifications for which you are still awaiting results • given false or misleading information • supplied a personal statement, or parts of a personal statement, that you have not written yourself we may take any necessary steps to check with you and other parties whether it is accurate or complete. 31 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 We have the right to cancel your application without giving you your application fee back, if we determine (having carried out any necessary checks) or have reasonable belief, that your application contains false information, or you have not written your personal statement. If you have any reason to believe that information we have about you is not accurate or complete, you must tell us. b. Your personal statement Your personal statement must be all your own work. We will carry out checks to verify that your personal statement is all your own work. If your personal statement appears to have been copied from another source, we will inform the training providers to which you have applied. They will then take the action they consider appropriate. c. Misuse of credit or debit card If you pay your application fee using a credit or debit card that you do not have permission to use, we will cancel your application. We may also cancel your application if your payment is not honoured i.e. a bank or credit card provider refuses to pay us. d. If we need more information about you We, and the training providers, may, at any time, ask you, your referee or your employer to provide more information about your application. For example, we may need to see proof of • your identity • your status • your qualifications • your employment history If we do not receive that information by a set date, or if the information is not satisfactory, we can cancel your application without giving you your application fee back. If your application is cancelled, you will not be able to submit another application for entry in 2014. e. How many places can you have? If you make an application through more than one of our application schemes; UCAS Teacher Training, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) or the Conservatoires UK Admissions Service (CUKAS), you may find yourself with more than one confirmed place. If this happens, we will ask you to accept one and withdraw from any others. f. Your contract Your application is a contract between you, us and the relevant training providers. No one else can enforce any part of this contract under the terms of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or any other legislation. g. If we make a mistake We try to process applications and decisions efficiently and accurately. However, to the extent permitted by law, we will not be liable to you for any mistakes or delays, or any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of any mistakes or delays, or if the training providers change their decisions later. h. What the training provider expects from you If you accept an offer of a place from a training provider, you must accept the terms and conditions in their prospectus or in the contract they send you at the same time as or before you accept the offer. You must read these terms and conditions carefully. They may allow the training provider to change or withdraw an offer of a place. If you have any questions about those terms and conditions, you should ask the training provider before you accept any offer of a place. If the place is at an associated college, and you accept it, you may also have to follow the terms and conditions of its partner institution. i. If the course cannot be offered If you become a student, under your contract with the training provider, the provider must do all they can to provide the educational services described in their prospectus. If the training provider is unable to provide these services for any reason, they must do all they can to keep the disruption to your education as small as possible. 32 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 j. Criminal convictions You must have undergone a criminal records check through the Disclosure and Barring Scheme or Disclosure Scotland before you can start your first teaching placement. You might also be asked to cooperate with other checks which come into force in England and Wales at any time during the application process or later. If you are taking a teacher training course in Scotland, you will need to comply with the requirements of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. k. Cancelling your application You have the right to cancel your whole application. If you let us know within seven days of the date on our official welcome letter to you, we will refund your application fee. To do this, please contact our Customer Contact Centre. If you want to cancel your application after seven days, you can use Track at www.ucas.com or call our Customer Contact Centre. Your application fee will not be refunded. View the Contact us page on our website. l. Obtaining your consent From time to time, as set out in this declaration, our privacy policy or otherwise in connection with your application, we will obtain your consent before we proceed with certain matters. We will always obtain your consent by you ticking on the appropriate checkboxes. Data Protection Act UCAS seeks to comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 in all respects. You confirm that the information you have given is complete and accurate. When you agree to the terms of use of the application scheme, you consent to the processing of your personal data (as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998) by the UCAS Group of companies and educational establishments in accordance with our privacy policy. This means that you accept that: a. we will share the details of your application with the training providers to which you apply at any time during the application cycle so that they can consider it b. we may use details in your application to verify your identity by means of official, publicly available or commercially available identity checking services. If any adverse information is revealed about you, we will give you the opportunity to provide an explanation c. we may keep a copy of your application and use the information to collect and publish statistics or monitor equal opportunities (or both). No published information will identify you as an individual d. we may use or disclose information on your application for research and monitoring purposes, but no information that could identify you as an individual will be published e. we may cooperate with, and may share your personal data with banks, other organisations and their agents about any products and services which you apply for, by checking on your identity and status as a UCAS Teacher Training applicant, or an accepted applicant, and the commencement date and duration of your study f. we will, if appropriate, share information with relevant professional and/or regulatory bodies in connection with enquiries relating to ultimate fitness to practise g. we will correspond with your exam board or awarding organisation about your results and in connection with any survey they undertake or commission on their behal h. if your application includes material that appears to have been copied from another source, we may notify the training providers to which you have applied. Where you request us to do so, we may (but are not obliged) to enter into dialogue with those parties with a view to resolving the matter i. we will supply details from your application and associated examination results to the Higher Education Statistics Agency j. we will share your personal data with other companies in the UCAS Group, who (with your consent) may use it to keep you informed by electronic means, or (unless you object) may use it to keep you informed by other means of information, services and products that they think are relevant to you as a student k. we will share information from your application with government departments responsible for skills funding in the UK 33 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 l. we will share your personal data with the National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) who may use this to keep you informed of any information, services and products that they think are of relevance to you Confidentiality We confirm that the information provided in your application, including further information given to support your application and associated with the progress of your application through the UCAS Teacher Training scheme, will normally be confidential between: a.you b. the UCAS Group of companies c. your referees d. appropriate staff at the training providers to which you have applied and their consultants or professional advisers e. your school, college or training organisation; including its governing body or controlling authority f. your parents or legal guardian, where appropriate g. professional or regulatory bodies in connection with enquiries relating to ultimate fitness to practise h. your exam board or awarding body or their respective agents i. your student support assessment body j. the higher education funding councils for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland k. the Higher Education Statistics Agency l. Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, including Learning Records Service (previously MIAP) m. departments with remits in educational matters forming part of the devolved Government in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland n. departments responsible for skills funding: the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), the Education Funding Agency (EFA), the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning & Skills (DCELLS), the Department for Employment & Learning Northern Ireland (DELNI) and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) or any successor bodies continuing similar responsibilities o. accredited researchers or research bodies which request data for research purposes p. the training provider which accepts you, to create a student record about you for the Higher Education Statistics Agency and its statutory customers q. for international applicants, the British Council or appropriate agency r. for applicants who also apply to study at institutions in the Republic of Ireland, The Central Applications Office Ltd.(Universities and other Higher Education Institutions) located in Galway, Ireland s. The UK Border Agency in connection with verification procedures for the entry of an international applicant into the United Kingdom for study purposes Other uses To prevent and detect crimes of any nature, including fraud and those relating to national security, we reserve the right to, or we may have to, give outside organisations, including the police and other crime prevention and detection agencies, the Home Office, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the UK Border Agency, the Student Loans Company, the NHS, local authorities, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, examination boards or awarding bodies, the Department for Work & Pensions and its agencies, and other international admissions organisations, information from your application and associated records. We will keep your application for up to seven years to prevent or detect fraud. We also reserve the right to authenticate your identity by using identity checking services. How to get a copy of the information that UCAS holds about you We confirm that, in line with the terms of the Data Protection Act, you are entitled to a copy of all your personal data that we hold. We charge £10 for this service to cover administrative costs. If you would like a copy of the information, please write to us giving your full name, address, Personal ID and enclosing a cheque or postal order for £10, payable to UCAS (please write your name and address on the back of the cheque or postal order). If you want to pay by debit or credit card, please contact our Customer Contact Centre. 34 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Similarity detection How the checking is done Introduction Copycatch analyses personal statements sentence by sentence. Complete copying of statements is rare, but copying part or all of a sentence is more common. Copied sentences are often modified but Copycatch is able to identify sentences where this might have taken place, and indicates this on the highlighted report for consideration at the training provider. The Similarity Detection Service provides admissions staff and decision makers with additional information for consideration when making decisions about applicants. All personal statements processed through the UCAS Teacher Training scheme are checked with a specially developed version of the similarity detection software, Copycatch. Each incoming personal statement is compared against a library of personal statements already held by UCAS, and a library of sample statements collected from a variety of websites and other sources, including paper publications. After a new application has been processed, its personal statement is added to the library. Any statements with a potential similarity level of at least 10% are reviewed by the Similarity Detection Service. Applicants who have used their personal statement from a previous year’s application will not be matched with their own statement. However, if the personal statement from the previous cycle was copied, the current statement may be detected as similar to another source. Training providers will be notified, by an email to the Fraud Correspondent, of any cases considered to be of interest. This would normally be daily, except during periods leading up to a deadline or days following statutory holidays. Applicants will also be notified that the Similarity Detection Service has identified their personal statement as having similarities to other personal statements already received. The decision about what action to take, if any, about cases notified to you rests with individual training providers in accordance with your own policies and procedures. Filter settings The program uses a set of filters to ensure that the sentences identified are the closest match to those in the applicant’s personal statement. The process then checks that there is sufficient inherent similarity in these sentences for them to be identified as potentially copied. Finally, it checks that there are a significant number of potentially copied sentences in the incoming statement. More details of the matching process can be found on the secure area of the members and providers section of the UCAS website. If you do not have a username and password to access this area of the website, please call our HEI Team on 0844 984 1111. Viewing matched personal statements You can access the individual marked up personal statements through the link provided on your notification email. What is checked? We have a library of personal statements to compare new applications against. This library is continually augmented with new personal statements as they are received. We also have a library of example personal statements from a variety of websites. 35 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Appendix B − Residential category 4Refugee Residential category (compiled with the help of UKCISA) Applicants select a residential category from the list on the Apply system. We send training providers the residential categories as a guide to fee payers’ status, but you should carry out your own checks. Applicants choose one of the following residential categories. 5 Humanitarian Protection or similar Residential Category codes 1 UK citizen or EU national You are a UK or EU national, or are the child or grandchild, or the spouse or civil partner of a UK or EU national, and have lived in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or Overseas Territories (OT) for the past three years, but not just for full-time education. Or: You are the child of a Swiss national and have lived in the EEA or Switzerland or OT for the past three years, but not just for full-time education. If you have been living in the EEA, Switzerland or OT for three year partly for full-time education, you also lived in the EEA, Switzerland or OT prior to that three year period. 3 Child of a Turkish worker You are the child of a Turkish national who has lawfully worked in the UK, and you have lived in the EEA, Switzerland or Turkey for the past three years. You have been granted Exceptional Leave to Enter or Remain, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave or you are the spouse, civil partner or child under 18 of such a person at the time of the asylum application. 6 Settled in the UK If you have been living in the EEA, Switzerland or OT for three years partly for full-time education, you also lived in the EEA, Switzerland or OT prior to that three year period. 2 EEA or Swiss national Either: You are an EEA or Swiss national working in the UK, or you are the child, spouse or civil partner of such a person or you are the parent or grandparent of an EEA national working in the UK. You have lived in the EEA or Switzerland or OT for the past three years, but not just for full-time education. If you have been living in the EEA, Switzerland or OT for three years partly for full-time education, you also lived in the EEA, Switzerland or OT prior to that three year period. You have been recognised as a refugee by the British government or you are the spouse, civil partner or child under 18 of such a person at the time of the asylum application. You have Indefinite Leave to Enter or Remain in the UK or have the Right of Abode in the UK and have lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man (or more than one of these) for three years, but not just for full-time education. (However, this does not apply if you are exempt from immigration control, for example, as a diplomat, a member of visiting armed forces or an employee of an international organisation or the family or staff member of such a person: if this is your situation your residential category is Other). 7Other Based on the answers to the questions below, you fit into ‘other’ category. The UCAS Teacher Training Apply help text includes the following series of questions to help applicants determine their provisional residential status. Q1 Are you a UK or EU national or the direct descendant (child or grandchild) or the spouse or civil partner of a UK or EU national? YES:go to question 2 NO: go to question 5 Q2 For three years or more prior to the start of your training programme, have you lived in the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland or Overseas Territories (OT)? YES:go to question 3 NO: go to question 5 36 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Q3 For any of that three year period, have you only been living in the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland or OT to receive full-time education? Q10 Are you the child of a Turkish national and is your parent living (and has lawfully worked) in the UK? YES:go to question 4 NO: code: UK citizen or EU national YES:go to question 11 NO: go to question 12 Q4 Prior to that three year period, did you live in the UK, EU, EEA, Switzerland or OT? Q11 For three years or more prior to the start of your training programme, have you lived in the EEA, Switzerland, OT or Turkey? YES:code: UK citizen or EU national NO: go to question 5 Q5 Are you an EEA or Swiss national working in the UK or the child or the spouse or civil partner of such a person or the direct ascendant (parent or grandparent) of an EEA national working in the UK? YES:go to question 6 NO: go to question 7 Q6 For three years or more prior to the start of your training programme, have you lived in the EEA, Switzerland or OT? YES:code: EEA or Swiss national NO: go to question 7 Q7 Are you a child of a Swiss national and for three years or more prior to the start of your training programme, have you lived in the EEA, Switzerland or OT? YES:go to question 8 NO: go to question 10 Q8 For any of that three year period, have you only been living in the EEA, Switzerland or OT to receive full-time education? YES:go to question 9 NO: code: EEA or Swiss national Q9 Prior to that three year period, did you live in the EEA, Switzerland or OT? YES:code: EEA or Swiss national NO: go to question 10 YES: code: child of a Turkish worker NO: go to question 12 Q12 Are you a refugee recognised by the UK government or were you the spouse, civil partner or child under 18 (of either the refugee or their spouse or civil partner) at the time of the asylum application? YES:code: Refugee NO: go to question 13 Q13 Have you been granted Humanitarian Protection or any other form of immigration permission to stay in the UK as the result of having applied for refugee status or were you the spouse, civil partner or child under 18 (of either the refugee or their spouse or civil partner) at the time of the asylum application? YES:code: Humanitarian Protection or similar NO: go to question 14 Q14 Does your permission to stay in the UK have any actual or implied time limit attached to it, for example a specific date or when your parent’s posting to the UK will end? YES:code: other NO: code: Settled in the UK In all other cases, please put ‘Other’ as your residential category. Notes For the purposes of a provisional status, the UK includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. However, when it comes to the fee status designated by your training provider, you should note that different rules may apply if you have not lived on the UK mainland for three years prior to your training programme start date. 37 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 The European Union (EU) includes the following 28 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (not including the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Estonia, Finland, France (including the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guyana, Reunion), Germany (including Heligoland), Greece, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including Ceuta, Melilla, the Balearic Islands and the Canaries), Sweden, and the United Kingdom (with Gibraltar). The European Economic Area (EEA) consists of the countries of the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For the purposes of residence, this includes the whole of the island of Cyprus. The Overseas Territories (OT) are: Anguilla; Aruba; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Ducie & Oeno Islands; Falkland Islands; Faroe Islands; French Polynesia; French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Greenland; Henderson, Mayotte; Montserrat; Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten); Pitcairn, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan de Cunha); St Pierre et Miquelon; the Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies; Turks and Caicos Islands and Wallis and Futuna. The Home Office will have sent you a letter confirming your status if you are officially recognised as a refugee or if you have been granted Exceptional Leave to Enter or Remain, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave in the UK. If your circumstances change leading to different answers to these questions, you should immediately tell the training providers you have chosen. For example, if either of your parents is granted UK or EU citizenship or if either of your parents is granted refugee status. Appendix C − Disability codes Applicants with disabilities Applicants state whether or not they have any disabilities. Applicants select a statement from a drop-down list that best describes their disability. Applicants with no disability select ‘No disability’ from the drop-down list. The Apply system also provides a section for applicants to state any special needs or support required at the assessment stage due to their disability. The codes for disabilities, special needs and medical conditions. A No disability. B You have a social /communication impairment such as Asperger’s syndrome /other autistic spectrum disorder. C You are blind or have a serious visual impairment uncorrected by glasses. D You are deaf or have a serious hearing impairment. E You have a long standing illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease, or epilepsy. F You have a mental health condition, such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorder. G You have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D. H You have physical impairment or mobility issues, such as difficulty using your arms or using a wheelchair or crutches. I You have a disability, impairment or medical condition that is not listed above. I You have two or more impairments and / or disabling medical conditions. For further information, visit the ‘Advice for International Students’ page on the UK Council for International Student Affairs website (www.ukcisa. org.uk) or the ‘Studying’ page on the Home Office UK Border Agency website (www.ukba.homeoffice.gov. uk). 38 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Appendix D − Terms and conditions 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In these terms and conditions the following expressions will have the following meanings unless inconsistent with the context. Applicant − applicant applying for postgraduate teacher training programmes within the United Kingdom. Applicant Data − shall mean all applicant data provided to the Training Provider pursuant to the terms of the UTT Manual. Business Day − any day other than a Saturday or Sunday or a public or bank holiday in England. Capitation Fee − means the fee(s) and / or costs set out in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1. Charges − means the fee(s) and /or costs set out by UCAS in respect of the Services in accordance with Schedule 1 and Clause 4 of this Appendix. Commencement Date − means the date the joining form is signed by the Training Provider which is the date the Membership Agreement becomes effective. FOIA − the Freedom of Information Act 2000 together with any guidance and / or codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner in relation to such legislation. Intellectual Property Rights − all intellectual and industrial property rights including patents, registered trade marks, registered designs, utility models, applications for and rights to apply for any of the foregoing, unregistered design rights, unregistered trade marks, rights to prevent passing off for unfair competition and copyright, database rights, topography rights and any other rights in any invention, discovery or process, in each case in the United Kingdom and all other countries in the world and together with all renewals and extensions. Membership Agreement − shall include collectively the joining form signed by the Training Provider, the UTT Manual and this Appendix. Purpose − means the purpose of deciding whether to offer a postgraduate teachers training programme to the Applicant. Services − the services to be provided by UCAS to the Training Provider pursuant to the terms of the UTT Manual. Training Provider − means the training provider specified in the joining form. Training Provider Obligations − means those obligations outlined in the UTT Manual. UCAS − either University and Colleges Admissions Service (registered number 2839815), a company limited by guarantee with registered office at Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 3LZ, or UCAS Media Limited (registered number 2737300), a limited liability company with registered office at the same address. UTT Manual − the UCAS Teacher Training Manual to which this Appendix is attached. Duration 1.2 The Membership Agreement will commence on the date of signature of the joining form and will continue unless terminated by either party by providing thirty days notice. 2 The services 2.1 UCAS shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide the Services to the Training Provider in accordance with the UTT Manual and with reasonable care and skill. 2.2 The Training Provider shall comply with its obligations specified in the UTT Manual. 3 Charges and payments 3.1 The total Charges due in respect of the Services shall be the amounts calculated in accordance with Schedule 1. 39 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 3.2 UCAS shall invoice the Training Provider in respect of the Charges together with all VAT due in accordance with the timescales set out in Schedule 1. 5 Warranties 3.3 UCAS shall invoice any other Charges due under this Agreement exclusive of VAT when such Charges arise. 5.1.1 all data (including any Applicant Data) provided and communicated (whether in writing or otherwise) to UCAS by the Training Provider in connection with the Membership Agreement shall be true, complete and accurate in all material respects and shall be updated from time to time to ensure data is current 5.1.2 it has full right, power and authority to enter into the Membership Agreement 5.1.3 it is of sound financial standing and the Training Provider is not aware of any circumstances which may adversely affect such financial standing in the future 5.1.4 it has full right, power and authority to share the data (including any Applicant Data) with UCAS 5.1 The Training Provider warrants, represents and undertakes to UCAS that: 3.4 The Training Provider shall pay each invoice submitted to it by UCAS, in full and in cleared funds, within 30 days of the date of the invoice. 3.5 If any undisputed sum payable under the Membership Agreement is not paid when due then the party entitled to payment may claim interest from the due date until payment is made in full both before and after any judgment, at 2 per cent per annum over HSBC Bank plc base rate from time to time. The parties agree that this clause 3.5 is a substantial remedy for late payment of any sum payable under the Membership Agreement in accordance with section 8(2) Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. 6 Termination 4 Intellectual Property 4.1 UCAS authorises the Training Provider to use the Intellectual Property Rights of UCAS for the purposes only of exercising its rights and performing its obligations under the Membership Agreement. The Training Provider will have no other rights whatsoever in respect of the Intellectual Property Rights of UCAS. 4.2 All Intellectual Property Rights which arise during the term of the Membership Agreement and (i) are created at UCAS’ request by or on behalf of the Training Provider in the course of and solely for the purposes of the provision of the Services, (ii) are created on a bespoke basis for UCAS, or (iii) are specified in the Membership Agreement as being the subject of assignment pursuant to this clause 4.2 will belong to UCAS. The Training Provider hereby assigns all such Intellectual Property Rights to UCAS, by way of assignment of future Intellectual Property Rights, with full title guarantee and without charge to UCAS (including all such Intellectual Property Rights arising in respect of any adaptations, modifications and/or enhancements of any of UCAS’ Intellectual Property Rights). The Training Provider agrees to do or procure the doing of all such acts and things and to execute or procure the execution of all such documents as may be required to vest ownership of all such Intellectual Property Rights in UCAS. 6.1 Either party may by written notice served on the other party terminate the Membership Agreement immediately if the other party commits any material breach or any persistent material breach (as the phrase “persistent material breach” is defined in clause 6.3) of any of the terms of the Membership Agreement and, where the breach is capable of remedy, fails to remedy such breach in accordance with written notice provided by the other party not in breach, specifying the breach and requiring it to be remedied within a reasonable period. 6.2 UCAS may by written notice served on the Training Provider terminate the Membership Agreement immediately if the Training Provider: 6.2.1 being a company, is unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section 123 Insolvency Act 1986, makes a proposal for a voluntary arrangement or convenes a meeting of its creditors to consider such a proposal, becomes subject to any voluntary arrangement, has a receiver, manager, or administrative receiver appointed over any of its assets, undertaking or income, passes a resolution for its winding-up (save for the sole purpose of a solvent liquidation to effect a reconstruction or amalgamation), is subject to a petition granted by any court for its 40 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 winding-up, has a provisional liquidator appointed, has a proposal for a compromise or arrangement sanctioned by the court pursuant to section 899 Companies Act 2006 (save for the sole purpose of a solvent reconstruction or amalgamation), has an administrator appointed in respect of it or is the subject of an application for administration filed at any court or a notice of appointment of an administrator filed at any court or a notice of intention to appoint an administrator filed at any court by any person or is the subject of a notice to strike off the register at Companies House. 6.2.2 Being an individual, partnership or firm has entered into any composition or arrangement with its creditors, has a petition presented by it or by any other person for its bankruptcy, has a bankruptcy order made against it, has applied to the Court for an interim order under section 253 Insolvency Act 1986, has submitted a proposal for a voluntary arrangement to a nominee under section 256A Insolvency Act 1986, has a petition presented for an Administration Order under Part III Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994 (“the Order”), has a petition presented for winding up as an unregistered company under Parts IV or V of the Order, has an interim receiver of its property appointed under section 286 Insolvency Act 1986, is unable to pay its debts within the meaning of sections 267 and 268 Insolvency Act 1986, has a receiver or manager appointed over any of its assets, has a receiver appointed under the Mental Health Act 1983, dies or by reason of any illness (including mental disorder or infirmity), accident or injury or any other cause whatsoever becomes unable to comply with its obligations under the Membership Agreement; or 6.2.3 Has any distraint, execution or other process levied or enforced on any of its property. 6.3 For the purposes of clause 6.1 a breach will be considered persistent and incapable of remedy if the same breach occurs on two (2) or more occasions in any consecutive period of three (3) calendar months (“persistent material breach”). 6.4 UCAS may any time by notice in writing terminate the Membership Agreement as from the date of service of such notice if there is a change of control, as defined by Section 416 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, in the Training Provider. The Training Provider shall notify UCAS within two (2) months of any change of control taking place. 6.5 The Training Provider warrants that neither it nor any of its officers or employees has or will have any interest in any matter where there is or is reasonably likely to be a conflict of interest with UCAS arising in connection with entering into or performing the Membership Agreement or where any such conflict will or is reasonably likely to arise for any employee of UCAS, save to the extent fully disclosed to and approved by UCAS. The Training Provider shall check for any conflict of interest at regular intervals throughout the term of the Membership Agreement and in any event not less than once in every six months and shall notify UCAS in writing immediately upon becoming aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest and shall work with UCAS to do whatever is necessary (including the separation of staff working on, and data relating to, the Membership Agreement from the matter in question) to manage such conflict to UCAS’ satisfaction, provided that, where UCAS is not so satisfied, it may terminate the Membership Agreement forthwith on written notice to the Training Provider. 6.6 The termination of the Membership Agreement, howsoever arising, is without prejudice to the rights, duties and liability of either the Training Provider or UCAS accrued prior to termination. The conditions which expressly or impliedly have effect after termination will continue to be in force notwithstanding termination. 7 Force Majeure 7.1 Neither party will be liable to the other for any failure or delay or for the consequences of any failure or delay in performance of the Membership Agreement if it is due to any event beyond the reasonable control of a party to the Membership Agreement including, without limitation, acts of God, war, industrial disputes, protests, fire, flood, storm, tempest, epidemic, explosion, terrorism, national emergencies, or industrial disputes other than those affecting the workforce of a party to the Membership Agreement (“Force Majeure”), and the party so delayed will be entitled to a reasonable extension of time for performing such obligations. If the Force Majeure in question continues for more than 30 days either party may give written notice to the other to terminate the Membership Agreement. In either case the notice to terminate must specify the termination date, and once such notice has been validly given, the Membership Agreement will terminate on that termination date. 41 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 8 Liability 8.1 Subject to clause 8.3 each party’s aggregate liability under each Membership Agreement (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, restitution or otherwise) in respect of any loss of or damage to tangible property (which for the avoidance of doubt includes data) (whether belonging to the other party or a third party) howsoever caused will be limited to £5,000,000 (five million pounds). 8.2 Subject to clause 8.3, each party’s aggregate liability under the Membership Agreement (other than in respect of a breach of clause 11 by either party) (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, restitution or otherwise) in respect of any loss or damage other than that referred to in clause 8.1 howsoever caused will be limited to an amount equal to twice the Charges paid under the Membership Agreement in an application cycle. 8.3 Neither party excludes its liability (if any) to the other party: 8.3.1 for personal injury or death resulting from its negligence 8.3.2 for any matter which it would be illegal for it to exclude or to attempt to exclude its liability; or 8.3.3 for fraud 9 Insurance 9.1 The Training Provider will, prior to the Commencement Date, at its own cost take out and maintain the following insurance cover (the “Required Insurance Policies”), covering all of the Training Provider’s activities carried out pursuant to or in relation to the Membership Agreement, as well as any other insurance required by law, providing cover for the Training Provider and its officers, employees, agents and sub-contractors: 9.1.1 public liability insurance with a minimum limit of indemnity of £5,000,000 (five million pounds) 9.1.2 employers’ liability insurance with a minimum limit of indemnity of £1,000,000 (one million pounds) in accordance with the Training Provider’s legal obligations from time to time; and 9.1.3 product liability insurance with a minimum limit of indemnity of £1,000,000 (one million pounds); and 9.1.4 professional indemnity insurance with a minimum limit of indemnity of £1,000,000 (one million pounds) 9.2 The Required Insurance Policies will: 9.2.1 be maintained with reputable insurers approved by UCAS (such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed); and 9.2.2 provide for minimum limits of indemnity for the amounts specified in clause 9.1 in respect of the relevant cover for any one occurrence 9.3 The Training Provider shall produce evidence to UCAS on reasonable request of the terms of the Required Insurance Policies and payment of all premiums due on each policy. 9.4 The Training Provider warrants that nothing has or will be done or be omitted to be done which may entitle any insurer to refuse to pay any claim under any of the Required Insurance Policies, result in any of the Required Insurances being or becoming void, voidable or unenforceable or which might otherwise prejudice any of the Required Insurance Policies. 10 Confidentiality and Data Protection 10.1 Each party shall keep confidential any confidential information (“Confidential Information”) disclosed to it by the other. Confidential information includes, without limitation, the Applicant Data, information which is marked or expressed as being confidential, the contents of the Membership Agreement including these terms and conditions, and any information which could reasonably be deemed to be confidential from its nature, content or the circumstances in which it is provided. 10.2 The Training Provider shall not disclose Confidential Information to anyone else except to its employees, agents and sub-contractors who need the information to effect proper performance of the Membership Agreement and / or to its professional advisers who are subject to a duty of confidentiality. 10.3 The Training Provider shall not use Confidential Information provided for any purpose other than to perform its obligations under the Membership Agreement. 42 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 10.4 Each party shall be responsible for ensuring that any person to whom information is disclosed by them complies with the terms of this clause 10. 10.5 The provisions of clauses 10.1 to 10.4 will not apply to the whole or any part of the Confidential Information which is: 10.5.1 lawfully obtained after the date of the Membership Agreement free of any duty of confidentiality otherwise than directly or indirectly from the other party to the Membership Agreement 10.5.2 already in the other party’s possession (which can be demonstrated by that other party from written records), other than as a result of a breach of this clause 10 10.9 The Training Provider shall process the Applicant Data by secure means, including encryption of portable or mobile devices or any other processing equipment that may be vulnerable , in order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure. 10.10 The Training Provider shall only process the Applicant Data for the Purpose. 10.11 Should UCAS be required to comply with a request for access to information by a data subject, the Training Provider shall use all reasonable endeavours to assist UCAS and supply all copies of the Applicant Data within the requested timescales. 10.12 The Training Provider shall ensure that both hard and soft copy Applicant Data shall be protected by technical and organisational security controls. 10.5.3 in the public domain other than as a result of a breach of this clause 10 10.5.4 necessarily disclosed pursuant to a statutory or regulatory obligation but then only to the extent of such required disclosure 10.13 The Training Provider shall ensure that it immediately reports any breaches of security that may impact on confidentiality, integrity or availability of the Applicant Data and potentially lead to a breach of the Data Protection Act in writing to UCAS. 10.5.5 disclosed to the professional advisers, lawyers, auditors and bankers of each party under terms of confidentiality and those professional advisers, lawyers, auditors and bankers are bound by a duty of confidence; or 10.14 The Training Provider shall securely delete all Applicant Data within fourteen days of it being confirmed in writing as received by UCAS during the Term or on expiry or termination of the Membership Agreement. 10.5.6 disclosed with prior written consent of the other party 10.15 The Training Provider shall not process the Applicant Data outside the EEA including but without limitation hosting the Applicant Data on servers outside the EEA, without the written consent of the Data Controller and shall ensure that its employees undertake appropriate Data Protection and security training on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance with these terms and conditions. 10.6 The provisions of this clause 10 are without prejudice to any employee’s rights under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 to make protected disclosures. 10.7 These obligations of confidentiality shall survive termination of the Membership Agreement. 10.8 UCAS is a data controller as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”) in respect of the Applicant Data. If in the course of performing Services the Training Provider acts as data processor (as defined in the Act) in respect of such data, the Training Provider will perform its obligations under each Membership Agreement in accordance with (and so as to enable UCAS to comply with UCAS’ obligations under) the Act and any future legislation enacted in replacement of the Act. 11 Freedom of Information 11.1 The Training Provider acknowledges that UCAS is subject to the requirements of the FOIA, and shall assist and cooperate with UCAS to enable UCAS to comply with its Information (as defined in FOIA) disclosure obligations. 11.2 The Training Provider shall: 11.2.1 transfer to UCAS all requests for information which term includes requests for information as defined in FOIA that it receives as soon as practicable and in any event within 2 Business Days of receiving a request for information 43 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 11.2.2 provide UCAS with a copy of all information in its possession or power in the form that UCAS requires within 5 Business Days (or such other period as UCAS may specify) of UCAS’ request; and 11.2.3 provide all necessary assistance as reasonably requested by UCAS to enable UCAS to respond to the request for information within the time for compliance set out in section 10 of the FOIA 11.3 UCAS shall be responsible for determining in its absolute discretion whether any information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA and any applicable codes of practice. 11.4 In no circumstances shall the Training Provider respond directly to a request for information unless authorized to do so in writing by UCAS. 11.5 The Training Provider acknowledges that UCAS may, acting in accordance with applicable laws, be obliged to disclose Information without consulting or obtaining consent from the Training Provider, or having taken the Training Provider’s views into account. 11.6 The Training Provider shall ensure that all information is retained for disclosure and shall permit UCAS to inspect such records as requested from time to time. 12 Audit and records 12.1 UCAS may audit the Training Provider’s performance of the Membership Agreement at any time, including after performance of the Training Provider’s obligations, but shall not do so more than once in each calendar year unless (i) required to conduct any additional audit for legal or regulatory reasons or (ii) UCAS reasonably considers that one or more additional audits are necessary in any given year. The Training Provider shall co-operate with UCAS and its appointed auditors. UCAS shall pay the fees of any third party auditor. 13 General 13.1 Each right or remedy of UCAS under the Membership Agreement is without prejudice to any other right or remedy of UCAS under this Membership Agreement or any other Membership Agreement. 13.2 If any condition or part of the Membership Agreement is found by any court, tribunal, administrative body or authority of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable then that provision will, to the extent required, be severed from the Membership Agreement and will be ineffective without, as far as is possible, modifying any other provision or part of the Membership Agreement and this will not affect any other provisions of the Membership Agreement which will remain in full force and effect. 13.3 No failure or delay by UCAS to exercise any right, power or remedy will operate as a waiver of it nor will any partial exercise preclude any further exercise of the same, or of some other right, power or remedy. 13.4 UCAS may assign, delegate, license, hold on trust or sub-contract all or part of its rights or obligations under the Membership Agreement. 13.5 The Membership Agreement is personal to the Training Provider who may not assign, delegate, license, hold on trust or sub-contract the Membership Agreement or any of its rights or obligations under the Membership Agreement without UCAS’ prior written consent which may be withheld or given under such conditions as UCAS thinks fit, and provided (i) that the Training Provider shall remain responsible for all services performed by any permitted sub-contracted Membership Agreement and (ii) that such services shall be performed under the same conditions as if executed by the Training Provider. 13.6 The parties to the Membership Agreement do not intend that any of its terms will be enforceable by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by any person not a party to it. 13.7 The Membership Agreement contains all the terms which UCAS and the Training Provider have agreed in relation to the UTT scheme and supersedes any prior written or oral agreements, representations or understandings between the parties relating to such Services. The Training Provider acknowledges that it has not relied upon any warranty, representation, statement or understanding made or given by or on behalf of UCAS which is not set out in the Membership Agreement. Nothing in this clause 13.7 will exclude any liability which one party would otherwise have to the other party in respect of any statements made fraudulently. 44 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 13.8 Nothing contained in these terms and conditions nor in any of the Membership Agreement, and no action taken by the parties pursuant to the same, will be deemed to constitute a relationship between the parties of partnership, joint venture, principal and agent or employer and employee. Neither party has, nor may it represent that it has, any authority to act or make any commitments on the other party’s behalf. 13.9 The Membership Agreement (including any special terms and conditions agreed between the parties) may only be varied or amended in writing and signed by the parties. 14 Notices 14.1 Any notice, demand or communication in connection with the Membership Agreement will be in writing and may be delivered by hand, first class post, Special Delivery post, or facsimile (but not by e-mail), addressed to the recipient at its registered office or its address or facsimile number (as the case may be) as stated in the Membership Agreement (or such other address or facsimile number which the recipient has notified in writing to the sender in accordance with this clause 14, provided that such notification is received by the sender not less than seven Business Days before the notice is despatched). 14.2 The notice, demand or communication will be deemed to have been duly served: 14.2.1 if delivered by hand, at the time of delivery 14.2.2 if delivered by first class post or Special Delivery post, 48 hours after being posted 14.2.3 if delivered by facsimile, at the time of transmission, provided that a confirming copy is sent by first class post to the other party within 24 hours after transmission provided that where in the case of delivery by hand or transmission by facsimile such delivery or transmission occurs either after 4.00 pm on a Business Day, or on a day other than a Business Day, service will be deemed to occur at 9.00 am on the next following Business Day 14.3 For the avoidance of doubt, where proceedings have been issued in the Courts of England and Wales the provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules must be complied with in respect of the service of documents in connection with those proceedings. 15 Dispute resolution 15.1 This clause 15 will not prevent a party to the Membership Agreement (“the affected party”) from: 15.1.1 seeking injunctive relief in the case of any breach or threatened breach by the other party of any obligation of confidentiality or any infringement by the other party to the Membership Agreement of the affected party’s Intellectual Property Rights; or 15.1.2 commencing any proceedings where this is reasonably necessary to avoid any loss of a claim due to the rules on limitation of actions 15.2 If any dispute arises out of the Membership Agreement (“a Dispute”) the parties will attempt to resolve it by negotiating in good faith. Subject to clause 15.1 the procedures set out in the rest of this clause 15 will be followed prior to the issue of any proceedings or in relation to any Dispute concerning matters of procedure and management. 15.3 Any Dispute which the parties fail to resolve within 14 calendar days of its first notification by one party to the other will be referred to UCAS’ Director of Finance and Corporate Services and the Training Provider’s nominated equivalent senior person for resolution. 15.4 If the relevant Dispute remains unresolved within 14 calendar days of its referral to the parties’ representatives pursuant to clause 15 the Dispute will be referred to UCAS’ Chief Executive Officer and the Training Provider’s nominated equivalent senior person for resolution. 15.5 If the relevant Dispute remains unresolved within 14 days of its referral to the parties’ representatives pursuant to clause 15.4, then either party may commence proceedings in accordance with clause 15. 16 Jurisdiction 16.1 The formation, existence, construction, performance, validity and all aspects whatsoever of the Membership Agreement or of any term of the Membership Agreement will be governed by English law. The English Courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes which may arise out of or in connection with the Membership Agreement. The parties agree to submit to that jurisdiction. 45 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 Schedule 1 Charges 1. Financial year 1.1. The initial financial year shall end on the 31 July immediately following the Commencement Date. 1.2. Subject to paragraph 1.1 above, the financial year shall run from the 1 August to 31 July inclusive in all subsequent years. 2. All Charges 2.1. In any financial year the Charges due under this Agreement shall be calculated as set out in this Schedule 1. 2.2. UCAS shall have the right to vary the amount of any or all Charges in line with UCAS’ applicable fees, as required from time to time by the UCAS Board, and shall provide a minimum of 3 (three) months’ written notice to the Institution of any such variation. 2.3. The Charges may be amended annually, under paragraph 2.2 of this Schedule 1, by UCAS and UCAS shall have sole and exclusive discretion in respect of the Charges, including but not limited to the Capitation Fee, and other charges. 3.2. The Training provider shall be notified by UCAS of the level of the Joining Fee as soon as is reasonably practicable to do so, and in any event prior to the Training Provider entering into the Membership Agreement. 3.3. The Joining Fee is solely and exclusively in relation to the initiation, set-up and other administration costs of Training Provider’s membership to the UTT and is non-refundable; specifically the Joining Fee entitles the Training Provider to access the UTT and does not count in respect of any usage of the Services whatsoever. 4. Capitation fee 4.1. The Capitation Fees are those charges the Training Provider shall pay per Applicant to whom the Training Provider has made an unconditional offer and the Applicant has accepted the offer. The Capitation Fee is currently £17.00 exclusive of VAT per Applicant but is subject to paragraph 2.3. UCAS specifically reserves the right to vary this Capitation Fee on 3 months’ notice in writing to the Training Provider, which shall only occur once in any 12 month period. 4.2. UCAS shall invoice the Training Provider in August and February in each of the Admission Cycles in arrears. 2.4. UCAS will invoice such Charges as set out in this Schedule 1 and the Training Provider shall pay in accordance with Clause 3 of these terms and conditions. 2.5. All Charges due under the Membership Agreement are exclusive of VAT, or such similar tax as may be set from time to time. 2.6. The fee notice from UCAS shall form part of the Membership Agreement for the purposes of calculations under this Schedule 1. 3. Joining fee 3.1. On acceptance by UCAS of the training provider’s membership agreement, the training provider shall be liable for a “joining fee” as set down in the notice of charges from UCAS. 46 UCAS Teacher Training Admissions Manual 2014 © UCAS 2013 All rights reserved. UCAS is a registered trade mark. UCAS, a company limited by guarantee, is registered in England and Wales number: 2839815 Registered charity number: 1024741 (England and Wales) and SC038598 (Scotland) UCAS reference: UTT1014 Publication reference: 7244 gttr Formerly
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