ATTICS International Malpractice and Maladministration Procedure

These policies are developed exclusively for ATTICS International. Any copying, sharing, or reuse without written consent is not permitted.

Purpose

ATTICS International is committed to maintaining the integrity, credibility, and impartiality of all its training, assessment, examination, certification, and technical service activities.

The purpose of this procedure is to define processes for preventing, identifying, reporting, investigating, and resolving cases of malpractice and maladministration, ensuring fairness and protection of stakeholder trust.

Scope

This procedure applies to:

It covers all activities including:

Definitions

Malpractice:

Any deliberate act or omission intended to gain unfair advantage, manipulate outcomes, or compromise integrity.

Maladministration:

Unintentional errors, negligence, or failure to follow procedures that may affect service or assessment outcomes.

Examples

Candidate Malpractice

Staff or Centre Malpractice

Maladministration

• Incorrect assessment records
• Failure to follow examination procedures
• Administrative errors in certification issuance
• Inadequate invigilation

Technology-Enabled Malpractice

Specific examples include unauthorized screen sharing during online assessments, use of artificial intelligence tools to generate assessment responses, manipulation of digital timestamps, and exploitation of remote proctoring system vulnerabilities, with corresponding detection and prevention measures defined in the Remote Assessment Protocol.

Policy Statement

ATTICS International:

Reporting Procedures

Any suspected malpractice or maladministration must be reported immediately to:

Investigation Process

Initial Review

Determine nature and seriousness of allegation.

Evidence Collection

Gather statements, records, and material evidence.

Investigation Panel

An independent panel reviews findings.

Decision

Determine whether malpractice or maladministration occurred.

Sanctions and Actions

Apply appropriate penalties or corrective actions.

Communication

Inform affected parties of outcomes.

Digital Forensics Protocol

For technology-related malpractice allegations, ATTICS International follows a digital forensics protocol preserving original evidence, maintaining chain of custody documentation, and utilizing specialized tools to analyze electronic evidence without alteration, with findings admissible in appeal hearings.

Possible Sanctions

For Candidates

For Staff or Centres

Sanction Proportionality Framework

Sanctions are applied according to a published proportionality framework considering the severity of malpractice, intent, consequences, precedent, and mitigating circumstances, ensuring consistent treatment across all cases and preventing arbitrary or discriminatory sanctioning.

Appeals

Any party may appeal decisions through ATTICS International’s Complaints & Appeals Policy.

Records and Confidentiality

All cases shall be:

Prevention Measures

Malpractice Risk Register

ATTICS International maintains a Malpractice Risk Register identifying potential vulnerabilities across assessment methods, delivery locations, and technologies, with corresponding control measures, responsible parties, and review dates documented and reviewed quarterly.

Continual Improvement

Findings from malpractice cases shall be analyzed to strengthen procedures, training, and controls.

Compliance with International Standards

This procedure ensures alignment with ISO/IEC 17024:2012 requirements for maintaining certification integrity (clause 7.10), ISO 21001:2025 principles for ethical educational governance, and ISO 9001:2015 risk-based thinking approach, with specific reference to preventing, detecting, and responding to activities that compromise service credibility.

Related Documents

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

Distribution

This policy is distributed to all employees via the company intranet and is available to stakeholders upon request. All personnel are responsible for reviewing and complying with the latest version available in the document management system.