Policies & Procedures

Policies & Procedures

1.     Complaints & Appeals

At Southern California School of Whisk(e)y & other spirits (SCSW), we strive to provide the highest level of service and spirits education for every student. Though great care is taken to maintain our high-quality standards, there may be times we do not meet the expectations of our students. If this occurs, we would appreciate every opportunity to provide the best resolution to limit such complaints in the future, which can only be achieved through listening to our students, understanding their concerns, and taking the necessary action to improve our service.

SCSW provides the following complaints and appeals structure in hopes that each student will feel their voice is heard and a forthcoming resolution will meet their satisfaction:

  • All complaints should be submitted through email and directed to SCSW’s Chancellor, currently Jared K. Chapman (jared@socalschoolofwhiskey.com)
  • All complaints will be kept in the strictest of confidence and will not impact the student’s relationship with SCSW
  • All complaints should contain the following:
    • Submitter’s name and contact information
    • Full details of the complaint (attach any supporting documents)
    • Details of any previous attempts to resolve the problem
    • What action or response is expected to resolve the dissatisfaction
  • The Chancellor and President will work together to resolve the complaint
    • Expect to receive acknowledgment of the complaint within three (3) business days
    • Expect a resolution to the complaint within twenty (20) business days of receipt of acknowledgment
  • Once a resolution is received, the submitter will have one (1) week to respond to indicate their level of satisfaction with the resolution
    • If the resolution provides little satisfaction, the submitter will be invited to meet personally with the Chancellor and President to make an appeal
    • Several times and dates that are convenient for the Chancellor and President to meet together with the Submitter will be provided within five (5) business days
  • For WSET Awards Courses Only: If the submitter remains unsatisfied with the resolution from the appeal meeting with the Chancellor and President, then they may wish to contact WSET’s Quality Assurance Team to file a complaint (qa@wsetglobal.com)

2.     Conflict of Interest

SCSW strives to maintain integrity and promote confidence in all of our educational courses and business practices. As such, it is necessary for us to assess, manage, and minimize any possible conflicts of interest.

  • Conflict of interest is generally defined in terms of situations where one person or organization receives or provides benefits by virtue of their position
  • SCSW will seek to minimize conflicts of interest by continually assessing and managing any potential threats.

3.     Privacy & Data Protection

SCSW strives to maintain and protect the privacy and data of all our students by complying with all regulations concerning privacy information, including but not limited to collection, retention, destruction, and disclosure of such data.

  • The personal data collected by SCSW will only be used to maintain student records, communicate with students, and register students with WSET Awards
  • SCSW will not share any personal data with third parties unless approval is given by the student, except for email marketing services used by SCSW, IT service providers for data storage, banks for processing payments, couriers, or to cooperate with a law enforcement agency as required by law
  • SCSW will strive to ensure all personal data is kept to the highest level of security standards
    • Student records will only be destroyed after being stored securely for three years following the student’s last interaction with SCSW or if the account was deactivated
    • Some personal data (e.g., name, date of birth, address) may be necessary to remain securely stored due to legal or regulatory requirements

4.     Diversity & Equality

SCSW strives to maintain an open, transparent, and welcoming environment committed to upholding the principles of diversity and equality.

  • All students will always be treated fairly and equally
  • All materials will be free from discriminatory words, phrases, images, etc.
  • Students with special circumstances can request reasonable adjustments or accommodations
  • All students may lodge a complaint following the Complaints & Appeals policy above if they feel they have been unfairly discriminated against by SCSW

5.     Reasonable Adjustments

SCSW strives to maintain the best learning environment for all students, recognizing that some students may have special needs that require reasonable adjustments or accommodations to be made so they are not unduly disadvantaged compared to other students

  • A reasonable adjustment will be considered so long as they do not give a student an unfair advantage
  • A reasonable adjustment can
    • Change standard assessment arrangements (e.g., allowing extra time)
    • Adapt assessment material (e.g., larger font)
    • Provide a facilitator (e.g., sign language interpreter or reader)
    • Re-organize the room (e.g., removing visual stimuli for an autistic candidate)
  • Requests for reasonable adjustments must be made at the time of enrollment to allow for necessary preparations to be made to accommodate
  • All records of Reasonable Adjustments will be included in Student Records

6.     Special Consideration

SCSW strives to maintain the best assessment environment for all students, recognizing that some students may have been disadvantaged during assessment due to temporary illness, injury, indisposition, or adverse circumstances

  • Special considerations will be concerned as long as they do not give a student an unfair advantage
  • Cases for special consideration include
    • Performance on assessment was affected by circumstances beyond the student’s control (e.g., recent personal illness, accident, bereavement, or examination room conditions)
    • Alternative assessment arrangements previously agreed upon proved to be inappropriate or inadequate
    • The application of special consideration would not mislead the user of the certificate as the candidate’s attainment
  • Requests for special consideration must be made within five (5) days of the assessment date and must be supported by independent documentation
  • All records of Special Considerations will be included in Student Records

7.     Malpractice & Maladministration

SCSW strives to protect the interests of our students and safeguard the integrity of our school and the qualifications we provide by staying up-to-date on rules and regulations, subject knowledge, as well as the polices and procedures of WSET.

  • Maladministration refers to accidental non-compliance
  • Malpractice refers to intentional noncompliance or negligence
  • Such incidents include:
    • Failure to adhere to the terms of Centre Agreement or WSET Policies and Procedures
    • Failure to comply with the APP Code of Conduct
    • Failure to carry out course or assessment delivery in accordance with WSET Awards requirements
    • Failure to adhere to WSET Awards’ candidate registration and certification procedures
    • Late student registrations
    • Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates
    • Withholding of information from WSET Awards which is critical to maintaining the rigor of quality assurance
    • Insecure storage of assessment materials
    • Submission of false or inaccurate information to gain a qualification
    • Cheating, including the use of unauthorized devices or materials
    • Disruptive behavior in an examination
    • Plagiarism of any nature by students
    • Impersonation (including forgery of signatures)
    • Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect
    • Breach of confidentiality
    • Failure to a disclose Conflict of Interest
    • Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner
    • Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers;
    • Failure to report changes in ownership/personnel/location/facilities
    • Denial of access to information, documentation, workforce, facilities
    • Failure to respond to WSET Awards in a timely manner
    • Failure to return examination papers within the specified timeframe or to follow delivery and tracking regulations
    • Infringement of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights, and brand identity
    • Use of unqualified and/or unregistered educators or internal assessors
    • Misleading advertising/publicity

8.     Cancelations & Refunds

SCSW strives to provide the highest level of service and spirits education to every student, seeking to maintain an open, transparent, and welcoming educational environment. We recognize that sometimes circumstances beyond our control may force either SCSW or a student to cancel the course, requiring a refund to be made in good faith.

  • In the event of a cancelation on the part of the school, the student will be refunded all money, including the non-refundable registration fee.
  • If the student cancels prior to 7 days before the course date begins, they will be refunded all money, except the $50 non-refundable registration fee.
  • If the student cancels after 7 days before the course date begins, they will be refunded tuition only.