Student Handbook

Students are expected to, at all times:

• Treat others with respect, dignity and fairly
• Respect the rights and privacy of other students and staff members.
• Accept cultural, gender, race, sexual preference, political affiliation, disability, religious belief and other individual differences of other students and staff members.
• Engage in practices that provide a positive, safe and secure environment for all.
• Follow all reasonable instructions and directives provided by our staff members.
• Attend classes punctually and be responsible for your own learning and development by ensuring that you maintain progress with your learning.
• Participate in the training and assessment activities actively and positively.
• Seek out help and assistance where required.
• Not bring any dangerous items onto any training and/or assessment sites, such as lighters and knives
• Not to smoke in or around the training and/or assessment sites
• Maintain the peace of the learning environment.
• Act and present their work honestly and ethically, without plagiarism or cheating.
• Be free from any prohibited drugs and substances, including alcohol.
• Not be aggressive or behave in a violent manner towards any individual.
• Not use or behave in an offensive, bullying, discriminatory or harassing manner
• Refrain from any activity that deliberately obstructs, offends, harms or injures others.
• Make use of our facilities, equipment, and resources responsibly and respectfully without intentionally destroying or damaging them
• Abide by all laws, regulations and terms of enrolment.
• Ensure that the organisation’s reputation is not adversely affected

A serious breach of this code can lead to actions such as suspension or cancellation of your enrolment with Connected Training.

On enrolment, students receive a copy of the Students Code of Conduct. A signed copy of the declaration is required to be returned to Connected Training. This is added to your file of acknowledgement that you understand and agree with the terms set. This needs to be done prior to your training starting.

Privacy Notice

Connected Training has a responsibility to collect, use and store personal and sensitive information on our students in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations:

• As a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), we collect your personal information so that we can process and manage your enrolment in accordance with our obligations as an RTO.
• Your information is collected through administrative tools such as the Enquiry Form on our website, the Enrolment Form, Recognition of Prior Learning Application Form, Credit Transfer Form, Complaint Form, Appeals Form, Payment Refund Form, surveys and questionnaires. Information is also collected through your completed assessment submissions. 
• The personal information collected about you will enable us to deliver the training program you have enrolled into.
• We will retain personal information about you relating to your enrolment with us for a period up to 30-years. This includes your personal details and your training and assessment outcomes.
• We will also retain records of your training activity and are required to do this in accordance with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (NVETR) Act 2011.
• Personal information about you along with information about your training and assessment activity is entered and retained within our secure computer network and software systems. The data is protected and backed up frequently to our secure server located in Australia, in accordance with relevant legislation.
• Where personal information is collected in hard copy formats, the responses are entered into our software systems, the information reviewed and/or analysed (where required), and the hard copies are then destroyed.
• Connected Training is required by law to make student information available to Government bodies and agencies such as the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, or any relevant State or Territory Training or Funding Authority.
• Under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator (Data Provision Requirements) Instrument 2020, we are required to collect personal information about you and disclose that personal information to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). NCVER is responsible for collecting, managing, analysing and communicating research and statistics about the Australian VET sector.
• NCVER will collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with the law, including the Privacy Act 1988 and the NVETR Act 2011. This information may be used and disclosed by NCVER to the Australian Government department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE), Commonwealth authorities, State and Territory authorities (other than Registered Training Organisations) that deal with matters relating to VET and VET regulators for the purposes of those bodies, including to enable:
  • Populating authenticated VET transcripts;
  • Administering vocational education training, including program administration, regulation, monitoring and evaluation;
  • Facilitation of statistics and research relating to education, including surveys and data linkage; and
  • Understanding the VET market, such as how the VET industry operates, for policy development purposes, workforce planning and consumer data.
• NCVER may also disclose personal information to persons engaged by NCVER to conduct research on NCVER’s behalf and NCVER does not intend to disclose your personal information to any overseas recipients. You can refer to NCVER’s Privacy Policy here for more information on how NCVER handles your personal information.
• You may receive a student survey which may be run by an Australian government department or an NCVER employee, agent, third-party contractor or another authorised agency. Please note, you have the right to opt-out of the survey at the time of being contacted.
• You have the right to access information we retain that relates to you. You can do so by viewing the information on your online learning platform, or by completing a Student Information Release Form and we will action your request within 2 business days.
• Where a third-party requests for personal information about you, we will seek written permission from you before disclosing any information. The only exception is where an employer or a job network provider has paid for your training and they have requested for your training activity information and outcomes, or where we require the services of an organisation for the purposes of our operations such as a Compliance Consultant and sharing your personal information is required, or where we are bound to by law such as with the national regulator – ASQA, and with NCVER.
• At any time, you may contact us to correct any personal information we hold about you, this includes your legal name and your contact information.
• Where we receive any unsolicited personal or sensitive information, it will be treated and managed according to the Australian Privacy Principles.
• Connected Training uses Google Analytics and Cookies on our website which provides us with the ability to track and report website traffic, and the tools we would need to better understand our website visitors and users. This information would help us strategise and help inform our future operations. These cookies are stored on Google’s servers in the United States and may transfer this information on to third-parties, if required by law, or for information processing on its behalf.
• It is important to note that no personal information is recorded and this data is only used for website management and improvement purposes. You can choose to disable cookies by changing your web browser’s settings and to opt-out of Google Analytics. It is important to note that by disabling the Google Analytics function may affect a user’s experience on our website.
• If you have concerns about this Privacy Notice, or about how we are managing your personal and sensitive information, we encourage you to reach out to us.
• Under the Privacy Act 1988, you have the right to make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) about the handling of your personal information by us.

Student Code of Conduct

To ensure all learners receive equal opportunity to gain the maximum benefit from their training program, learners are expected to:

• Treat others with respect, dignity and fairly
• Respect the rights and privacy of other learners and staff members.
• Accept cultural, gender, race, sexual preference, political affiliation, disability, religious belief and other individual differences of other learners and staff members.
• Engage in practices that provide a positive, safe and secure environment for all.
• Follow all reasonable instructions and directives provided by our staff members.
• Attend classes punctually and be responsible for your own learning and development by ensuring that you maintain progress with your learning.
• Participate in the training and assessment activities actively and positively.
• Seek out help and assistance where required.
• Not bring any dangerous items onto any training and/or assessment sites, such as lighters and knives
• Not smoke in or around the training and/or assessment sites
• Maintain the peace of the learning environment.
• Act and present their work honestly and ethically, without plagiarism or cheating.
• Be free from any prohibited drugs and substances, including alcohol.
• Not be aggressive or behave in a violent manner towards any individual.
• Not use or behave in an offensive, bullying, discriminatory or harassing manner
• Refrain from any activity that deliberately obstructs, offends, harms or injures others.
• Make use of our facilities, equipment, and resources responsibly and respectfully without intentionally destroying or damaging them
• Abide by all laws, regulations and terms of enrolment.
• Ensure that the organisation’s reputation is not adversely affected

Complaints and Appeals Policy

In accordance with Clauses 6.1 to 6.6 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, Connected Training is committed to providing a fair and transparent complaints and appeals process that is publicly accessible and easily understandable.

General Complaints and Appeals Principles

Connected Training resolves to:

• Review and finalise all complaints and appeals as soon as possible, and no longer than 60-days, unless absolutely necessary.
• Keep the complainant or appellant informed of the process and update them on the progress of their complaint or appeal every fortnight.
• Record the details of the complaint or appeal and all other pertinent information in our Complaints and Appeals register and maintain the records securely.
• All written records, including the Complaint or Appeals Form, any follow-up letters and the outcome letter is to be saved on our Complaints and Appeals register on the SMS, only accessible by authorised personnel.
• Utilise any complaints and appeals received as an opportunity for continuous improvement and take immediate corrective action to eliminate or mitigate the likelihood of re-occurrence.
• Treat any and all information received in a complaint or appeal in the strictest of confidence.
• Where a complaint is received about a particular staff member, the staff member is not to be involved in the complaints handling process.
• Not negatively impact or discriminate against the complainant or appellant for submitting a complaint or appeal.
• Ensure the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are adopted at every stage of the complaint and appeal process.
• Ensure this policy is publicly available – in our Learner Handbook and on our website.
• Handle all complaints and appeals at no cost to the complainant or appellant.
• Provide adequate support mechanisms, such as providing the complainant or appellant to be accompanied or assisted by a support person at any meeting or interview.
• Provide for review by an appropriate party independent of the RTO and the complainant or appellant, at the request of the individual making the complaint or appeal, if the processes fail to resolve the complaint or appeal; and
• Co-operate with any statutory body or external agency that may investigate the handling of a complaint or appeal.

Access and Equity Policy

In accordance with Clause 1.7 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, Connected Training is responsible in determining the support needs of individual learners and in providing access to the educational and support services necessary for a learner to undertake and maximise their chances to complete the requirements of their course.

General Individual Learner Needs Principles

Connected Training has a process in place where we engage with learners at different points in their enrolment and learning journey with an aim to identify any individual needs and support that they may require in the course of their training with us:

• Enquiry phase – where we engage with the learner to determine their training and career goals, as well as their education and work history. This will enable us to align the learner with a particular course.  
• Enrolment interview – where we gather information about the learner, including personal information such as their English language proficiency, their education background, any special needs, and their individual needs. This will enable us to ascertain if the learner will require any specific support and whether we are able to cater for it, or whether they are to be referred to another provider or a separate organisation for the support required. The enrolment form also advises us if the learner may be eligible for a Credit Transfer of the nationally recognised training they have already completed, or a Recognition of Prior Learning where their informal training and their work experience can be assessed to provide them with a pathway to competency for one or more units of competency in the course.
• Core Skills Indicator assessment – where we assess if the learner has the required language, literacy and numeracy skills to undertake the training program. This outcome of the assessment will inform us whether we will be able to support the learner throughout their course, or whether they will need to be referred to a specialist program provider to assist them in acquiring the required skills before being accepted into the program.

This multifocal approach enables us to accurately identify a learner’s needs and arrange for applicable support services promptly.

Refund Policy

Connected Training will provide a full refund for any services not provided, where we fail to deliver a course or unable to fulfil our service agreement as part of our guarantee to our learners and clients. Where Connected Training is unable to deliver a course or fulfil our service agreement, we will calculate the refund based on the units of competency not yet delivered to the learner or client.

Approved refunds will be actioned within 10 business days. If the learner had paid for their fees via electronic funds transfer, they will be refunded via the same method using the authorised bank account nominated by the learner and must be in the name of the learner for security purposes. If the learner paid via credit or debit card, the refund will be processed to the credit or debit card they had paid with.

Where a learner has purchased texts, training workbooks or materials, Connected Training will not refund the monies for this expense.

Learners who give notice to cancel their enrolment 10 business days or more prior to the commencement of a program, will be entitled to a full refund of fees paid.

Learners who give notice to cancel their enrolment 9 business days or less prior to the commencement of a program will be entitled to a refund of up to 75% refund of the course fees paid. The amount retained by Connected Training is required to cover the costs of staff, materials and resources which will have already been committed based on the learner’s initial intention to undertake the training.

Learners who cancel their enrolment within 28-days of the course commencing will only be entitled to a refund of up to 25% of any course fees paid in advance. The amount retained by Connected Training is required to cover the costs of staff, materials and resources which will have already been committed based on the learner’s initial intention to undertake the training. An exception to this policy is where Connected Training fails to fulfil its service agreement and the fees are refunded under our guarantee to clients. Learners who cancel their enrolment after 28-days of the course commencing will not be entitled to a refund of fees. Discretion may be exercised by the CEO if there is extenuating or significant personal circumstance that led to their withdrawal.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Policy

In accordance with Clause 1.12 of the Standards for RTOs 2015, Connected Training will provide learners with the opportunity to seek recognition of prior learning (RPL) through a systematic process. RPL is a process that assesses a learner’s competency which has previously been acquired outside of the formal training and education system, to determine if a learner meets the requirements for a unit of competency. The RPL process removes any duplication of training and assessment and enables learners to gain formal qualifications based on the informal training and education they possess.

General Recognition of Prior Learning Assessment Principles

When a learner applies to undertake an RPL process, Connected Training will be guided by the following:

• All learners are entitled to apply for RPL in a nationally recognised training program in which they are enrolled into;
• Learners will be encouraged to apply for RPL prior to the commencement of their training program – Connected Training engages with the learner during the enrolment process, asking if they would like to apply for RPL, but they may apply for recognition at any time throughout their enrolment period;
• There are no fees applicable for a learner to apply for RPL;
• Learners may only apply for RPL for units which are included on our scope of registration;
• The principles of assessment – fairness, flexibility, validity and reliability; as well as the rules of evidence – validity, sufficiency, authenticity and currency will be applied to all RPL assessments; and
• We may only award RPL for entire units of competency, not parts of a unit of competency.

Fees and Charges Policy

It is important that prospective learners and clients are aware of our fees and charges prior to their enrolment with Connected Training.

The following information must be included and maintained on our website to ensure its accuracy and currency:

• The applicable course fees, resource fees, and any other charges such as the re-issue of certificates or statement of results, and any photocopying or printing fees that may apply.
• Payment terms and options, including when the fees are to be paid by and what methods of payment we accept.
• Any non-refundable deposit or administration or enrolment fees that may apply.
• Guarantee provided by Connected Training to honour our commitment in delivering the agreed upon training and assessment services;
• Any discounts, fee reductions or exemptions that may be available for certain groups of enrolments, such as those with a concession card holder, those who are referred by a family or friend, etc; and
• Refund policy.