IRSE Professional Exam March 2022: Terms and conditions for the Certificate of Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals

V1 approved by exam sub-committee under the authority of Education & Professional Development Committee December 2021

1. Fees paid are non-refundable unless the IRSE is at fault.
2. The exam date of Saturday 26 March 2022 is fixed and cannot be changed.
3. The candidate is responsible for informing exam@irse.org of any special requirements, including any additional time requirements, for them to sit exam modules by 1 February 2022 including the submission of any additional detail, for example medical certificates.
4. Appeals will not be allowed for the Certificate in Railway Control Engineering Fundamentals (Module A) under any circumstances.
5. Exam candidates will be given fixed time periods during which they will be able to log into and start their module. These will be fixed and will not be able to be changed.
6. Full results will be shared with IRSE Council for their monitoring of institution activities. Results of candidates who have passed the Certificate will be published in IRSE News unless the candidate has informed exam@irse.org by 1 March 2022 that they wish their results not to be published.
7. Answers to exam questions submitted by candidates may be used anonymously for training purposes.
8. Candidates will not receive copies of the exam answers that they submit under any circumstances and the candidate specifically agrees to waive any rights under Freedom of Information etc. in this respect.
9. Full scripts of correct answers will not be published or shared with candidates.
10. Candidates agree to sitting exam module(s) online in their own home / office using their own / work computer and agrees to the following terms and conditions around these arrangements:
    • 10.1. The candidate agrees that the IRSE has no liability whatever for any issues the candidate may experience when taking the exam associated with:
      • 10.1.1.The speed / reliability / stability of the candidate’s internet connection.
      • 10.1.2.Any perceived hardware deficiencies in the computer the candidate uses to sit the exam. E.g. speed / reliability of the machine or size / clarity of the screen.
      • 10.1.3.Any software compatibility issues between the software utilised for sitting the exam and any other software resident on the computer that the candidate uses to sit the exam.
      • 10.1.4.Any other issues related to IT equipment utilised by the candidate in sitting the exam or submitting their answers, which the candidate perceives may have disadvantaged them.
      • 10.1.5.Any issues associated with the environment in which the candidate chooses to take the exam, which the candidate perceives may have disadvantaged them. e.g. background noise / sources of distraction etc.
      • 10.1.6.Any disadvantage the candidate may perceive associated with their non familiarity with the software utilised for sitting the exam
      • 10.1.7.The clarity / legibility of any scanned images which the candidate submits as part of their exam answers.
    • 10.2.The software utilised for sitting the exam includes Anti Plagiarism functionality, and the candidate consents to the use of this functionality to screen their answers to the exam. The Anti Plagiarism function includes a check of the candidate’s answers against published sources and against all answers provided by other candidates.
    • 10.3.The software utilised for sitting the exam includes “Remote Proctoring” functionality for the purposes of fraud prevention. This will need to be installed on the computer used by the candidate for the exam. The Remote Proctoring functionality will amongst other things:
      • Monitor the candidate visually during the exam including their continued presence, the absence of other individuals and the use of listening devices such as headphones.
      • Log all other software used on the candidate’s computer during the exam (including access to websites, access to email and messaging services, access to files on the computer, etc.)
      • Record the candidate’s IP address during the exam

    In the event that the candidate believes that the Remote Proctoring software may have identified an adverse action on the part of the candidate during the exam, then the candidate should submit a written explanation within 24 hours of the end of the exam to exam@irse.org including their name, candidate number and the full details of the suspected adverse action and the explanation for it.

    • 10.4.The candidate agrees not to copy or attempt to copy the examination questions from the software utilised for sitting the exam. The candidate further agrees not to discuss or communicate the content of the exam questions to any person within 24 hours of completing the examination (by any means including but not limited to telephone, social media, email, face to face discussion, chat rooms / discussion groups etc) nor to attempt to place any information relating to the content of the examination questions in the public domain.
    • 10.5.The candidate warrants that their answers to the examination questions will be entirely their own work, and that during the examination they will not communicate or attempt to communicate with any other person in order to gain any advantage in the examination. Members of the IRSE are bound by the IRSE Code of Professional Conduct, which requires (amongst other things) honesty and integrity. Whether they are a member of the IRSE or not, the candidate agrees to apply these professional standards.
    • 10.6.The candidate agrees that they will not seek to gain unfair advantage during the examination by consulting with textbooks, previously prepared notes, internet sites or any other sources of information or reference.
    • 10.7.The exam process will include a methodology for checking the identity of the candidate to a recognised photo ID document (e.g. passport). The candidate consents to this and to the IRSE storing (in accordance with normal data protection rules) images associated with the implementation of this methodology.
    • 10.8.The candidate agrees that on receipt by IRSE of credible evidence of a breach by the candidate of conditions 10.3, 10.4, 10.5 or 10.6, then the IRSE reserves the right to impose sanctions on the candidate as it deems appropriate, which may include one or more of the following:
      • 10.8.1.Not issuing a result for the relevant candidate / module.
      • 10.8.2.Revocation of any IRSE Licenses the candidate may hold.
      • 10.8.3.Expulsion of the candidate from IRSE membership indefinitely.

The candidate agrees that the IRSE’s decision in this matter is final and is not subject to any appeal either to any other body or to any court of law. The candidate further agrees that in such circumstances the IRSE will not be liable to refund the fee paid by the candidate to take the relevant exam / module.

The candidate specifically forgoes any right to appeal the results of the examination arising from any issues listed in condition 10.1.