Complaints and Appeals

How to deal with student complaints

At Adventure and Wine, we convey reliably efficient and effective service levels to our students. In any case, there might be events where the service given to the students does not meet the requirements. we have well-composed policies for complaints and appeals that stipulate how students can submit a complaint and how Adventure and Wine can help them with the solution. The policy includes:

• Who Can Make a Complaint

Anyone who has been adversely affected by or has witnessed the cause of a dissatisfaction may make a complaint. (anyone acting on behaf of the affected person must do so with written consent form  the Complainant.

• Process

If a student has a complaint and wants to register it, they can approach Hethaer Stuart at Adventures And Wine by heatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com. Once we received the complaint, we ensure that it will be considered critically so we can provide the students with a solution that meets their expectations.

• People and Timeliness

Once received, the complaint will be taken up by Adventures and Wine.  The student can expect acknowledgment of the complaint within (7) working days. After the acknowledgment, the response with the solution or outcome will reach the students within 10 working days.

• Referral to WSET

If the above steps have all been completed and the student is still dissatisfied, they may wish to file a complaint with WSET about Adventure and Wine. This must be counted as the last resort by the students to resolve the issues. Students can reach out to the WSET by emailing them at QA@wsetglobal.com with a full description of the complaint and steps taken to date.

General Rules for Filing the Complaint

• The complaint must include the name of the complainant and a detailed explanation of the complaint.
• Any complainant that provides any proven false statements will see their entire complaint or appeal terminated.
• By submitting a complaint or an appeal, any complainant commits to reporting facts completely and truthfully.
• The Complaint policy does not deal with alleged illegal, financial, or regulatory issues.
• No complaint can be processed if it is submitted anonymously.

Conflicts of Interest

As an APP Adventures and Wine  is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential and perAeived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and Adventures and Wine processes and procedures.

This policy applies to all Adventures and Wine  staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Adventures and Wine 

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or Adventures and Wine  when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest include: The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;

• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned;
  • The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP;
  • The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment;
  • The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially.

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if family member of one of Adventures and Wine  educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through Adventures and Wine  or when an employee of Adventures and Wine  or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through Adventures and Wine  we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.

Any staff member or student of Adventures and Wine  who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Heather Stuart atheatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com.  Please refere to the complaints policy for further instruction. as soon as possible. Heather Stuart will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and Adventures and Wine  determine the conflict is not manageable, Adventures and Wine  will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or Adventures and Wine  because we are required to report conflicts to WSET.

Data Protection and Privacy

Data Protection and Privacy Policy:

All Data Collected Will be in line with WEST’s Privacy Policys

Contact Heatherstuart@adventuresandwine with questins about this policy.

This Data Protection and Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and disclosed. Adventure and Wine is committed to protecting your data and privacy. By accessing or using our Service, you demonstrate that you have read, understood, and agreed to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.

How Do We Use The Information We Collect?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

• To process transactions.
• To administer any site feature.
• To send periodic emails.
• To improve student service (your information helps us to more effectively respond to your student service requests and support needs).
• To improve our service (we continually strive to improve our service offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you).
• To personalize your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs).

What Information Do We Collect?

We collect information from you when you visit our service, register, subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, or fill out a form.

• Debit/credit card numbers.
• Age.
• Password
• Email Addresses.
• Mailing Addresses.
• Name / Username.
• Phone Numbers.
• Billing Addresses.
• Job Titles.

 

Do We Share The Information We Collect With Third Parties?

We will likely share your personal information, and possibly some non-personal information, with WSET to enable them to perform these services for us and you.

WSET will have acess to the above information for documentation, and of course enrolement and completion.

WSET will not have acess to or collect any payment or CC information.

We may engage trusted third-party service providers to perform functions and provide services to us, such as hosting and maintaining our servers and our service, database storage and management, e-mail management, storage marketing, credit card processing, student service, and fulfilling orders for products and services you may purchase through our platform.

We may also disclose personal and non-personal information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to respond to claims, legal process (including subpoenas), to protect our rights and interests or those of a third party, the safety of the public or any person, to prevent or stop any illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity, or to otherwise comply with applicable court orders, laws, rules, and regulations.

 

When Do We Use Student Information From Third-Parties?

You can control how much of your information social media websites make public by visiting these websites and changing your privacy settings. We receive some information from the third parties when you contact us.

How Do We Use Your Email Address?

We do not send unsolicited commercial emails. By submitting your email address, you also agree to allow us to use your email address for student audience targeting on sites, where we display custom advertising to specific people who have opted-in to receive communications from us. Email addresses submitted only through the order processing page will be used for the sole purpose of sending you information and updates about your order.

Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.

 

How Do We Protect Your Information?

All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our Payment gateway providers database only to be accessible by those authorized with special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. After a transaction, your private information (credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc.) is never kept on file. We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you place an order or enter, submit, or access your personal information.

Is The Information Collected Through Our Service Secure?

Neither people nor security systems are foolproof, including encryption systems. Besides, people can commit intentional crimes, make mistakes, or fail to follow policies. Therefore, while we use reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. If applicable law imposes any non-disclaimable duty to protect your personal information, you agree that intentional misconduct will be the standards used to measure our compliance with that duty.

Can I Update Or Correct My Information?

Students have the right to request the restriction of certain uses and disclosures of personally identifiable information as follows.

1. The rights you have to request updates or corrections to the information we collect depend on your relationship with us.
2. Update or correct your personally identifiable information.
3. Change your preferences concerning communications and other information you receive from us, or
4. Delete the personally identifiable information maintained about you on our systems (subject to the following paragraph), by cancelling your account.

Sale of Business

We reserve the right to transfer information to a third party in the event of a sale, merger, or other transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of us or any of its Corporate Affiliates or that portion of us or any of its Corporate Affiliates to which the Service relates.

If we discontinue our business or file a petition or have filed against us a petition in bankruptcy, reorganization, or similar proceeding, provided that the third party agrees to adhere to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Affiliates

We may disclose information (including personal information) about you to our Corporate Affiliates. For purposes of this Data Protection and Privacy Policy, “Corporate Affiliate” means any person or entity which directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under common control with us, whether by ownership. All data passed to WSET will be handled in accordance with WSET’s Data Protection Policy.

How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

When we no longer need to use your information and there is no need for us to keep it to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, we’ll either remove it from our systems or depersonalize it so that we can’t identify you.

 

Cookies

A Cookie is a small piece of data stored on your computer or mobile device by your web browser. We use Cookies to personalize the Content that you see on our website. Most web browsers can be set to disable the use of Cookies. We use “Cookies” to identify the areas of our website that you have visited. However, if you disable Cookies, you may not be able to access functionality on our website correctly or at all. We never place Personally Identifiable Information in Cookies.

Payment Details and Kids On the Platform

We do not address anyone under the age of 21. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 21 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from our servers. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 21. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please Contact Us at heatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com

Changes To Our Privacy Policy  and Collection of Personal Information

If we decide to change our Data Protection and Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page, and/or update the Data Protection and Privacy Policy modification date below. We will collect personal information that you submit to us or we may also receive your personal information from third parties as described above.

DIVERSITY AND EQUALITY POLICY

Adventure and Wine is committed to encouraging diversity and equality among our workforce, candidates, students and stakeholders. In the light of official WSET guidelines, the diversity and equality policy of Adventure And Wine has been devised and is available for all candidates upon request.

The policy’s purpose is to:

• Oppose and avoid all forms of unlawful discrimination. This includes pay and benefits, terms and conditions of employment, dealing with grievances and discipline, dismissal, redundancy, leave for parents, requests for flexible working, and selection for employment, promotion, training, or other developmental opportunities.
• Peomote equal opportunity in education of students of all backgrounds and genders.
• Encourage a comfortable and safe educational environment for all students.
• Not unlawfully discriminate because of the legally protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
• Provide equality, fairness, and respect for all in our employmes and students whether temporary.

The organization commits to:

• Create a working and educational environment free of bullying, harassment, victimization, and unlawful discrimination, promoting dignity and respect for all, and where individual differences and the contributions of all staff and students are recognized and valued.
• Encourage equality as well as diversity in the workplace and classroom as they are good practice and make business sense

Questions Regarding Diversity and Equality

• Please reach out to Heatherstuart@adventuresandwine with any questions. We follow Wyoming State guidelines in accordance with Title 9.

This commitment includes training managers and all other employees about their rights and responsibilities under the diversity and equality policy. Responsibilities include staff conducting themselves to help the organization provide equal opportunities in employment, and prevent bullying, harassment, victimization, and unlawful discrimination.

Reasonable Adjustments Policy

Both WSET and Adventures And Wine want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allows us Adventures And Wine to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications.

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:

• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment activity;
  • Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format;
  • Providing access facilitators during assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader;
  • Re-organising the assessment room, such as removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate.

Adventures And Wine will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with Adventures And Wine we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, Adventures And Wine will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information.

For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact Adventures And Wine at heatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com with:

• Your full name;
  • contact information;
  • description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and
  • supporting documentation.

You must submit this information at least 6 weeks before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

Adventures And Wine will keep records of all reasonable adjustment applications.

Special Consideration Policy

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside of their control at the time of the exam that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that have a material impact on your, the student’s, ability to take the exam or on your performance. To be eligible for special consideration, you must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for the temporary illness, injury or other uncontrollable event. A special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster).

You may be eligible for special consideration if:

• Your performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of your control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement or exam room conditions;
  • Reasonable adjustments which were agreed in advance of the exam proved inappropriate or inadequate;
  • The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s

ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria.

Applying for special consideration

If you have taken an exam, or your exam is immediately approaching, and you feel that you have a temporary injury or illness, or other uncontrollable event that has interfered with your ability to complete your exam, please contact Adventures And Wine by e-mailing  heatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com as soon as possible. Adventures And Wine will provide you with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within one calander week after the effected exam. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

If there has been serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, Adventures And Wine will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request a special consideration.

Adventures And Wine will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Malpractice and Maladministration Policy

Adventures and Wine protects the interests of our students and safeguards the integrity of WSET qualifications by ensuring compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures. Non-compliance with Adventures and Wine and WSET Policies and Procedures generally falls into one of two categories:

Maladministration, where non-compliance is accidental rather than intentional, and malpractice, where non-compliance is deliberate or the result of negligence.

Whether a situation is maladministration or malpractice will be determined by Adevntures and Wine and WSET following an investigation.

If you think an incident has occurred, please email us immediately at heatherstuart@adventuresandwine.com Please include a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the suspicions and allegations.

Definition:

1.      Maladministration:

Albeit a type of malpractice, it is when the recorded negligence or non-compliance is accidental and not intentional. It is, in effect, any practice or activity that results to be perceived as non-compliant with the administrative requirements and regulations.

2.      Malpractice:

This is where the defiance from the official compliance is actually intentional which may also be viewed as a result of deviance from official procedures that are enforced by WSET.

Examples of Malpractice and/or Maladministration can include but is not limited to:

• Disruptive behaviour in an examination.
• Failure to comply with the APP Code of Conduct.
• Impersonation (including forgery of signatures).
• Any action that is/was likely to lead to an adverse effect.
• Failure to respond to WSET in a timely manner.
• Failure to return examination papers within the specified timeframe or to follow delivery and tracking regulations.
• Failure to adhere to the terms of Centre Agreement or WSET Policies and Procedures.
• Insecure storage of assessment materials.
• Breach of confidentiality.
• Failure to disclose Conflict of Interest.
• Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner.
• Denial of access to information, documentation, workforce, facilities.
• Late student registrations.
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates.
• Failure to report changes in ownership/personnel/location/facilities.
• Infringement of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights, and brand identity.

If you believe you experienced or witnessed an insident of malpractice or maladministration.

Sanctions:

The following sanctions are applicable to students in case they are found to be involved in defiance of Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.

Sanctions Applicable to Students
Sanction	Description
Written Warning	The student is issued with a written warning that if the offence is repeated within a set period of time then further specified sanctions will be applied.
Exam Result Declared Null and Void	A student’s exam result is disallowed. This may include invalidation and recall of a certificate already issued.
Disqualification from a Qualification	The student is disqualified from participating in the concerned qualification with immediate effect and further excluded from participating in any further WSET qualifications for a period of 12 months.
Student Disqualification	The learner is disqualified from participating in any courses or assessments leading to WSET qualifications.

The students are also encouraged to expose Malpractice and Maladministration if they happen to spot any. It is here that we would like to refer our students to the complaint policy so that if they ever get to encounter or witness an incident of Malpractice and Maladministration.

 Investigation:

For the duration in between which the investigation/s is being carried out, the APPs and the WEST also hold the authority to:

• Demand for additional information and details from the parties that are involved in the incident.
• Conduct interviews with the involved parties in a variety of different formats (written, face-to-face, online, etc.).
• The non-compliance may be reported to the legal regulatory authority in case there are any chances for the development of adverse effects.
• The WSET can also arrange for an official representative to carry out the investigation and even pay a visit to the location where the potential WSET activities are being carried out.

 

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Introduction:

The cancellation policy exists to facilitate both, APPs as well as the students to eliminate the possibility of disputes generating. There are numerous circumstances for which the policy contains different clauses; each of which is discussed below in detail in hopes that these are no unturned stones and that this policy is justly accepted by all students with no conflict to ever sprout in the presence of this policy.

Legal Consent:

By agreeing to this policy, you agree to all the conditions stated below. You don’t have any legal power or authority to make claims that go against this policy. It is requested that students read this policy completely and before they agree to it, they have actually understood all the clauses stated in this Cancellation and Refund policy. As per the information contained in this policy, Adventures and Wine holds the power to make changes to the policy at any time and is not liable to inform anyone beforehand. It is advised that students and all associates keep themselves updated at all times.

Cancellation by a Student:

In case a student needs to make cancellation to their enrollment in a class as well as require the fees they have paid back in cash, then it is for the best that they try to do it as early as possible so that the seat may be offered to another student in due time. In the event of cancellation, if the cancellation has been made 14 days or more before the date class starts, then the student will receive 100% cashback or they may credit it to be used if they wish to enrol in a course in the future. If the cancellation has been made within 7-14 days before the class starts, then it will receve 50% of the enrolment fee refunded.  Canclation within 7 days, 5 busness days of the class Students will not receve a refund for the class. In all cases Students are eligible to Credit to another class within 365 days of the Cancalation notification.

Life of the Credit:

If you have been refunded in the form of credit, then the credit needs to be used within the following 365 days one year from the day it has been credited. Otherwise, the credit will lose all its value and the students will have no power to make complaints or take any action.

Leaving Class or Failure to Complete

 Once a student has attended the first course session, no refunds or credits will be issued.

Cancelations by the APP

If for any reasons the APP needs to cancle a class all course fees will be reimbursed to the student within two weeks of cancelation.