Guidance on our policies and processes
Data protection
We are committed to respecting the personal data you supply to us. The information we collect will be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used and we will do our utmost to ensure that such data will be accurate, complete and kept up to date. Whenever personal data is obtained from you, you will have access to information as to how that data will be used.
All other communications from us will be dependent on your “Preferences” that you choose when you applied to become a CIM studying member. These can always be changed by logging onto the web site and going to My CIM My Details, Preferences.
Promotional email communications will include an unsubscribe option in order for you to be at ease when signing up and so that it is easy for you to change your mind. However, please note that the studying member e-news and study alerts may not include these options as they provide essential information for your studies, without which you may miss out on important information regarding assessments and updates to your qualification.
Please note that calls to our customer contact centre may be monitored for training purposes.
As a studying member your personal information will be shared with your chosen accredited study centre.
If you are an international studying member then your personal information will be passed to your local branch or regional office.
Appeals policy
The appeals policy enables studying members, and accredited study centres and exam centres to make enquiries regarding our processes, and provides a framework for those processes to be challenged.
Complaints
If you are unhappy in any way with the teaching of your qualification then please inform your tutor in the first instance. You should also familiarise yourself with your accredited study centre’s student charter and/or grievance procedure.
If you are still not satisfied and want to make a formal complaint then we advise that you do this in writing direct to the Course Manager at your study centre and that you send a copy to The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s education division. We will follow up all written complaints.
Equal opportunities
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is committed to providing equal opportunities for all members irrespective of ethnicity, gender, disability, sexuality, age, class or religion. Equal opportunity and valuing diversity are core values of the organisation.
Customer Service Policy
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is committed to assisting all its customers, aiming to provide a service that is responsive, helpful, effective and efficient.
Reasonable adjustments and special consideration policy
The Awarding Body of The Chartered Institute of Marketing is able to offer reasonable adjustments to those studying members who are considered or consider themselves to have a permanent physical or mental or other impairment. Evidence must be provided, which ideally include medical reports.
The Awarding Body is also able to offer reasonable adjustments to studying members who are considered or consider themselves to have a temporary physical or mental or other impairment. Evidence of such temporary conditions must be provided, which ideally include medical reports. Examples of temporary conditions include broken limbs, mental impairment, long-term sickness (ie more than a couple of weeks), or recovery from a serious operation.
Reasonable adjustment and special consideration policy
Special consideration and extenuating circumstances
Special consideration may be given by the Awarding Body to studying members experiencing extenuating circumstances in situations that could not have been foreseen, such as temporary illness, bereavement, accidents, indisposition, injury or external circumstances that impacts on a studying member’s performance, occurring just before or during an examination sitting, or assignment submission deadline.
Reasonable adjustment and special consideration policy
Use of languages
The normal language of assessment for The Chartered Institute of Marketing is to use is (British) English language, as English is the globally recognised business language of choice. All of our assessment papers will be written in (British) English and all studying members will be required to complete these assessments in English also.
If English is not your first language, you will need to provide us with evidence of at least IELTS 6.5 proficiency or Trinity ISE III/IV before you can sit CIM assessments.
Code of conduct for examinations
Along with your assessment entry details you will receive a leaflet entitled “Rules for candidates’. Please read these carefully as any breach of the rules detailed in this document will be penalised by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Assessment rules for candidates
Plagiarism and collusion
Plagiarism and collusion are serious offences and any student found to be copying someone else’s work or using work from another source without recognising and disclosing that source will be penalised. Consequently, you are asked to sign a declaration form to say that you have identified and acknowledged all sourced material. Situations where plagiarism and/or collusion are suspected will be taken very seriously and work will be reviewed by the senior examiner and/or another senior academic. Anyone found to be in breach of these regulations may be subject to one or more of the following sanctions:
- Disqualification from membership.
- Refused award of the unit or qualification.
- Disqualification from other CIM assessments/qualifications.
- Refused right to re-take units/qualifications.
Unfortunately, plagiarism and collusion are on the increase, and in order to protect the credibility of its qualifications, CIM students are now required to submit an electronic copy as well as a hard copy of their assignment to their tutor. The study centre will then send the electronic copy into CIM, which enables assignments to be put through plagiarism software to pick up cases of plagiarism, and more importantly, to protect the majority of students who work with integrity to achieve their qualifications.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that he/she understands what constitutes an academic offence, and in particular what constitutes plagiarism and collusion and how to avoid them.
Change of assessment centre or subjects
To change your allocated assessment centre, or to amend the subjects you have indicated you will be taking assessments for, you need to contact us within seven days of receiving your assessment confirmation letter. (Please note that there may be an administration charge of £30.00 for making changes).
Late entries
You will not be allowed to register for an assessment session after the stated assessment registration deadline, apart from in exceptional situations, in which case, a late entry fee of £100 per subject will apply. This is irrespective of the assessment method (examinations or assignments).
Transfer of assessment registration (from one assessment session to a later one)
After registration for an assessment session has been received, you will not be allowed to change your assessment registration to a future assessment session without further payment, except in extenuating circumstances. This applies to registration for any form of assessment.
All requests for transfer of assessment registration made on the basis of extenuating circumstances should be made in writing with supporting evidence (usually medical) to the Head of the Awarding Body (or Director of Education) for consideration.
These requests will be reviewed by the academic misconduct and irregularities panel.
Extension and deferral processes
If you are needing to request an extension or a deferral, please check the Guidance on extensions and deferrals for assignments and/or examinations
Confidentiality and assessments
If you work in an organisation that deals with sensitive material or issues, you must seek the advice of your line manager about their inclusion in an assignment. Where confidentiality is an issue, Studying Members are advised to anonymise their assignment/project so that it cannot be attributed to their particular organisation. The Chartered Institute of Marketing for its part accepts responsibility for marking the assignment/project following the confidentiality procedures it has laid down. All CIM examiners have to sign a confidentiality agreement and cannot mark any assignment/project where there is a conflict of interest. In addition, no work is published without the prior agreement of a Studying Member and their organisation (as appropriate). All assignments/projects are stored securely and after twelve months, are shredded confidentially.
Final grades
Final grades will be sent to you by the standard results release process in February, May, August or December, depending on when assignments/projects were submitted for marking.
Enquiries, Re-marking and Feedback Policy
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Enquiries, Re-marking and Feedback Policy enables Studying Members and Study and/or Exam Centres to make enquiries regarding a number of issues, including our processes, and provides a framework for those processes to be challenged.
Enquiries, Re-marking and Feedback Policy link
Referencing and professionalism
A professional approach to work is expected from all studying members. You must therefore:
- Identify and acknowledge all sources/methodologies/applications used. You must use a harvard referencing system to achieve this.
- Express your work in plain business English. Marks are not awarded for use of English, but a good standard of English will help you to * express your understanding more effectively.
All work that you submit must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own judgment. Direct quotations from the published or unpublished work of others, including that of tutors or employers, must be appropriately referenced. Authors of images used in reports and audiovisual presentations must be acknowledged.
Malpractice policy
Malpractice by studying members is described below, but is not limited to these statements.
CIM reserves the right to deem as malpractice other acts that might occur.
Malpractice by studying members is deemed to occur when unauthorised means are used to gain an unfair advantage in an assessment situation.
Examples of studying member malpractice:- Plagiarism
- Collusion between studying members to pass off work carried out jointly as though it were one studying member’s work only Impersonation of another studying member during an examination or assessment
- Fabrication of results and/or evidence
- Failing to abide by the Institute’s regulations or advice from an accredited study centre, assessor, examiner and/or invigilator misuse of assessment material
- Alteration of any results documents, including certificates
- Attempting to deceive examiners
- Possession of unauthorised material in the examination or assessment room
- Failure to adhere to the Institute’s published assessment regulations
- Disruptive behaviour in the examination room, e.g. offensive language, aggressive, violent or noisy conduct
Resubmission policy
With the exception of Marketing Leadership and Planning, CIM does not permit resubmissions for assignment-based units. Students who have not passed an assignment-based assessment must complete a new brief, relating to the appropriate session. Although emerging themes has a generic assignment brief, students should still be encouraged to take a fresh look at their work and produce a submission that is different from what was originally submitted.
Trying to improve an existing submission may be counter-productive because the appropriateness of the choice of theme in the original submission may be the reason why the work did not reach the required standard. In addition, the requirements of the unit requires the submission to be contemporary and this can only be achieved by focusing on emerging themes which are current and relevant at the time of writing.
The Senior Examiner will give a clear steer regarding relevant emerging themes, and this guidance material will be updated on a regular basis. Studying members should be mindful of this guidance when focusing on choosing a theme that is relevant to their organisation and its sector.
Marketing Leadership and Planning – resubmissions allowed for D grades
With regards to Marketing Leadership and Planning (MLP), studying members who have been awarded a D grade only in their submissions for MLP are allowed to resubmit against the original brief. This exception to the resubmission rule has been allowed because of the amount of research and time required to produce an 8,000 word submission.
The original assignment will not be returned so it is important that candidates keep an electronic copy of their submission. Only one resubmission is allowed. All resubmitted projects, if they pass, will be capped at a C grade.
- MLP projects originally submitted in December must resubmit, reusing the December brief in June.
- MLP projects originally submitted in March must resubmit, reusing the March brief in September.
- MLP projects originally submitted in June must resubmit, reusing the June brief in December.
- MLP projects originally submitted in September must resubmit, reusing the September brief in March.