iss regulations handbook-1

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ISS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ISS Regulations Handbook

2013 - 2014


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Introduction

The purpose of this handbook is to lay out in one place how ISS International

School applies local requirements and regulations as set by the Private Education

Act.

As it is important that all members of our community are aware of these

regulations they will be sent out by email and will be placed on our website. This

handbook complements our Elementary/Middle/High School and Faculty

handbooks that describe the operations and policies that govern day to day school

practices.

Please approach one of our Principals or the Head of School should you needfurther clarifications.

With best wishes,

Margaret Alvarez

Dr. Margaret Alvarez

Head of School


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Table of Contents

Page

Refund Policy .. 3

Dispute Resolution .. 6

Student Assessment 7

Assessment Process 14

Hospital Insurance .. 17


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Refund Policy

ISS REFUND POLICY (as indicated in the Student Contract)

2.1Notification and ArrangementISS shall inform the Student immediately within three (3) working days if

i. It fails, for any reason, to commence the Course on the Course Commencement Date;ii. It terminates the Course, for any reason, prior to the Course Commencement Date;iii. It fails, for any reason, to complete the Course by the Course Completion Date;iv. It terminates the Course, for any reason, prior to Course Completion Date; orv. The Students Pass application is rejected by Immigration and Checkpoint Authority

(ICA)

ISS shall, within seven (7) working days of notifying the Student in writing ofabove circumstances (i) to (iv), provide the Student with information and details

of the alternative confirmed course arrangement to allow the Student to make

timely and appropriate decision on the alternative arrangement.

2.2 Withdrawal for Cause:

Subject to Clause 9, the Student shall be entitled to immediately withdraw from

the Course by giving written notice to ISS of his/her intention to do so if ISS is in

breach of any of its obligations under this Agreement or fails to perform its

obligation(s) under the circumstances in Clause 2.1 (i) to (iv).

2.3 Refunds for Withdrawal for Cause:

For circumstances under Clause 2.1, ISS shall, within seven (7) working days after

notifying the Student, refund to the Student:

i. The entire amount of the Course Fees; andii. The Miscellaneous Fees

ISS shall also, as soon as practicable after receiving the Students notice ofwithdrawal under Clause 2.2 (and in any event no later than seven (7) working

days after receiving such notice) refund to the Student the amounts stated in this

Clause 2.3.


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2.4 Refunds for Withdrawal without Cause:

Where the Student withdraws from the Course for any reason other than those set

out in Clause 2.2 or Clause 9, ISS shall, subject to Clause 3.5, as soon as practicable

after receiving the Students written notice of withdrawal (and in any event no

more than seven (7) working days after receiving such notice) refund to the

Student the following sums (less any applicable bank administrative charges

properly paid/payable under Clause 3):

% of [the aggregate amount of the

fees paid under Clause 1.11 and 1.12]

If Students written notice of withdrawal is

received

75% (Maximum Refund) More than 30 days before

the

Course Commencement Date

50% Before, but not more than 30 days before theCourse

Commencement Date

30% After, but not more than 60 days after the Course

Commencement Date

0% More than 60 days after the Course

Commencement

Date

2.5 Cooling-Off Period

ISS shall provide the Student with a cooling-off period of 7 working days after

signing this Agreement. Within these 7 days and regardless whether the Course

Commencement Date has passed, the Student can submit written notice of

withdrawal to ISS and receive the Maximum Refund amount stipulated by ISS

under Clause 2.4 (less any Course Fees consumed by the Student if the withdrawal

date is later than the Course Commencement Date and the Student has started the

Course, any ISS administrative charges which are stipulated in the Miscellaneous

Fees and any applicable bank administrative charges properly paid/payable underClause 3).

Any dispute in respect of how much Course Fees have been consumed pursuant to

this clause may be referred to mediation at the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC)

or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb) through the CPE Student Services

Centre pursuant to Clause 5.3, and only in respect of such decision, the decision of

the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) or Singapore Institute of Arbitrators

(SIArb) shall be final and binding on all parties.


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ISS shall also bring to the Students notice Schedule 3 by notifying the student of

his rights under the cooling-off period, and receive written acknowledgement as

provided therein by the Student thatSchedule 3 has been brought to his notice. In

the event that the notice in Schedule 3 has not been brought to the Students

attention, the cooling-off period of 7 working days shall only commence from the

date thatSchedule 3 has been brought to the Students notice, and the Student has

acknowledged the same. The Student shall have the right to withdraw from the

Course and receive a refund as stated in this Clause 2.5 any time before the notice

in Schedule 3 has been brought to the Students attention.

This Clause 2.5 takes precedence over ISS refund policy stated in Clause 2.4.

2.6 Deemed Withdrawal:

A Student who transfers from the Course to another course with ISS shall, for thepurposes of this Clause 2, be deemed to have withdrawn from the Course and the

provisions of Clause 2.4 shall apply save as otherwise agreed between ISS and the

Student.

2.7 Change of Course:

Further to Clause 2.6, a fresh ISS Student Contract under this format shall be

executed between ISS and the Student for any change of Course, whether with the

same PEI or otherwise.


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Dispute Resolution

The ISS International School has put in place a process on Dispute Resolution to

receive and resolve official feedback, complaints and grievances. This is in line

with the open and responsive culture that we want to encourage in ISS. The aim of

Dispute Resolution is to ensure that all comments from interested parties aregiven due consideration and dealt with professionally and effectively. The parties

offering the comment would also be responded to within a fixed time-frame.

These feedback, complaints and grievances are acceptable via hard copy (letter) or

soft copy (email) from students, parents, staff and members of the public. Upon

receipt of a formal feedback or grievance, it will be forwarded to the relevant

heads of department to investigate matter raised. If the matter has impact across

departments or requires the input of the management team, this would be brought

up for discussion at the senior management team meetings. Where needed, the

Headmaster and the departmental heads will discuss this with the CEO to evaluatethe situation and explore possible solutions.

ISS will acknowledge all feedback, complaints and grievances within 3 working

days of receipt of the feedback being lodged. They will be addressed and resolved

internally at the first instance.

If both parties are unable to come to a resolution, the matter will be referred for

mediation at the Singapore Mediation Centre, and if the dispute is not resolved

through mediation, the dispute will be referred for arbitration by an arbitrator

appointed by the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. All feedback and complaints

are targeted to be resolved within 21 days.

All input will be filed in a Feedback/Complaints File for central reference.

Information to be logged includes nature of the feedback/complaint, staff

involved, resolution process and time taken to complete the process.


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Student Assessment

(Much of this refers to Middle and High School students and the

policy includes action to be taken in case of appeal of

examination results)

PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT

The primary purpose of assessment is to improve student

learning.

For students

Effective assessment :

Gives students the opportunity to demonstrate what they haveunderstood

Gives students the opportunity to understand their ownprogress and plan the next stages of their own learning

Gives students the opportunity to understand learning goals andcriteria for success

Gives students the opportunity to share reflections with peers Gives students the opportunity to build confidence and self-

esteem

Gives students the motivation to set and achieve realistic goals

For teachers

Effective assessment:

Enables us to determine degrees of prior knowledge beforeconnecting new learning

Enables us to ascertain degrees of understanding at variousstages of the learning process

Enables us to identify and support learning differences andlearning styles


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Enables us to plan the next stages in the learning process Enables us to monitor and modify our curriculum, our teaching

and our assessment practices

For parents


Provides the opportunity to be partners in the learning process Provides accurate information on their childrens progress Provides accurate information on their childrens strengths, and

areas in need of support

Provides information to assist their children in planning for thefuture, both immediate and longer term

For curriculum leaders


Provides data necessary for effective curriculum evaluation andrevision

For other schools


Provides the data necessary for admissions and grade/yearplacement decisions

Provides the opportunity to place students effectively within alearning continuum


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Section 1 Statement of Philosophy

Our mission is to provide a multicultural educational environment

for our students in which they achieve academic success, personal

growth and become socially responsible and active global citizens

with an appreciation of learning as a life-long process. We

accomplish this through an international and dynamic curriculum

delivered by an enthusiastic and experienced faculty and staff in

partnership with students, parents and guardians, in a caring and

supportive community.

Assessment plays a crucial role in the achievement of these aims.

Assessment is the gathering and analysis of information about

student performance. It identifies what students know, understand,

can do and feel at different stages in the learning process.

It is central for our goal of guiding students through the five

essential elements of learning : the understanding of concepts, the

acquisition of knowledge, the mastering of skills, the development ofattitudes and the decision to take responsible action.

The assessment and reporting processes provide information to

students, teachers, parents and outside specialists who have

responsibility for the student.

Section 2 Assessment Practices at ISS

Assessment at ISS is used

as a diagnostic process to identify the nature of assistanceneeded by students and to improve courses and units within the

curriculum.

as a teaching process to provide continuous feedback to students


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as a means of determining the levels of achievement reached byour students

to inform parents of their childrens progress to allow the school to monitor the effectiveness of curriculum

Assessment at ISS is recognized as an integral part of teaching and

learning and is closely linked to IBO requirements as set out in the

guides to the three programmes offered by the school and in Standard C

4 (Assessment) of the IBs Standards and Practices guide. The purpose

and means of assessment is clearly explained to the students at all times.

Although the IB Learner Profile itself is not assessed, the aims of the

Profile form the philosophical basis of all assessment practices at ISS.

ISS recognizes and employs two types of assessment, which interact

and are mutually supportive:

Formative assessment is an integral part of the learning experienceISS recognizes that the use of assessment in a formative sense, to judge

regularly the effectiveness of both teaching and learning processes, is

essential in allowing teachers and students to identify strengths and

areas capable of improvement.

Formative assessment practices employed at ISS include : short oral and

written tests; multiple choice and one-word answer tests; peer and selfassessment; self-evaluation rubrics; debates; role-play; oral feedback

from teachers; reflective portfolios; discussions with students;

exhibitions of work; cartoons and storyboards.


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Objectives addressed by specific assessment tasks are shared with

students and feedback is given as soon as possible. However, marks and

grades do not derive from formative assessment.

Summative assessment is the judgment made by the teacher of thestandard of achievement reached by each student at the end of each

stage of the particular programme. Assessment tasks at ISS reflect the

objectives and assessment criteria of the programmes and are carefully

chosen to measure the achievement level expected for the relevant age

group. Summative assessment generates the marks and grades awarded.

Summative assessment practices employed at ISS include : in-class and

ex-class essays; student presentations live or PowerPoint, case studies;

poster design; newspaper articles; use of developmental workbooks;

assessment portfolios; observation of students; practical workshops

and experiments; viva voce; research assignments; unit tests;

standardized testing; formal examinations; videotaping of performance;persuasive; creative and analytical writing tasks; written responses to

literature; letters and diaries; film and book reviews; listening and

speaking tasks; comprehension exercises.

It is intended that students will be provided with the major assessment

task(s) and criteria at the beginning of each unit and are given task-

specific rubrics in order to assist them in the planning and creation of

summative assessment tasks.

It is both a requirement of the IB programmes and an aim of all ISS

teachers that students experience a variety of assessments tasks.

Plagiarised work is not accepted from any students mature enough to

understand the concept and the Harvard system of referencing is taught


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from grade 4. Students are required to complete the schools

Declaration of Academic Honesty and to include it in major assignments,

examinations, the MYP Personal Project and the DP Extended Essay.

Pre-testing, in either oral or written form, is used to establish the

current level of student learning before new units of enquiry are begun.

Each Curriculum Coordinator will review unit assessment tasks with

each dept. or team members at least twice per year.

Assessment is monitored by the curriculum coordinators who review

all unit plans, as published on Atlas Rubicon, on a quarterly basis to

ensure alignment between what is taught and what is assessed.

Curriculum coordinators, meet with each subject area faculty at the

start of each academic year and assist each faculty to complete the

Faculty assessment practices survey. Coordinators also meet with

teachers each semester to discuss assessment practices identified in the

Self-appraisal of assessment practices questionnaire.

Internal and external assessment is used to assist teachers and

coordinators in the development and improvement of curricula in order

to meet student needs. Internal assessment is used by teachers to

improve units of work individually and within faculties. External

assessment, in the form of moderation reports in the Middle Years

Programme and examination results in the Diploma Programme, is used

by teachers to develop courses, which meet the requirements of

external organisations.


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Assessment in the IBMYP

Assessment in the MYP is criterion based, full details of assessment

practices can be found in two ISS publications, they are as follows:

IB MYP Handbook

Reporting at ISS

Curriculum Overviews

Assessment in the IB Diploma

Assessment in the MYP is criterion based, full details of assessment

practices can be found in two ISS publications, they are as follows:

IB DP Handbook

Reporting at ISS

Curriculum Overviews

Assignments

Major assignments : Should be typed, complete with a cover page, with

the teachers name, students name, class, and date on the work,. It

should be properly bound by staple.

Exams

Exams are one of the many different types of assessment used to inform

student learning. All High School students will sit exams two times in a

year. The first set are in December and the second are in late April early

May. These exams are set internally and help inform both teachers and

students.

In Middle School, students sit exams once a year at the end of Semester

2.


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Assessment process

a) Examination and/or academic boards ensure that for eachcourse, the assessment principles, processes, methods and

practices are aligned with the learning outcomes and contents.

b) Academic Department has a process to plan examinationvenues and examination timetable.

c) Academic Department clearly communicates all necessaryexamination information in a timely manner to all students:

exam timetable exam venues and exam duration

d) Academic Department has a process to ensure the integrity ofassessments e.g. having external invigilators, proper handling

of assessment papers etc.

e) All major (end of course or end of module) assessment papersare approved by Examination Board.

f) Academic Department has a process to ensure the validity,reliability and fairness of all assessment papers.

g) Academic Department regularly reviews the assessmentprocesses for continual improvement.

Assessment results

a) Academic Department has procedures to inform students ofthe assessment results and award in a timely manner.

b) Final exam results are released within three months uponcompletion of the final examination and/or assignment of the

course. Where the course is provided by external partners or


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foreign institutions, Academic Department is responsible to

ensure that this requirement is strictly adhered to.

c) Academic Department has procedures to ensure that studentsmeet the natural progression criteria before they are allowed

to proceed to the next level.

d) Academic Department has procedures to ensure that studentsmeet the award criteria before awarding the certificate to

uphold the standards and the integrity of the courses offered.

All awards must be approved by the Examination Board.

e) Assessment results are used by the academic and/orexamination boards to review the course content, delivery and

assessments.

f) Academic Department has appeal procedures (including a fairand reasonable period for appeal) for academic results and/or

awards which is clearly communicated to the students.

g) Academic Department releases appeal results within fourweeks (for in-house courses) and not later than eight weeks

(for examination administered by partner organisation) from

the date of appeal.

h) The procedures are fair without compromising the integrity ofexamination process and grading standard. Academic

Department ensures the integrity of any assessment and does

not compromise on the assessment standards set by the

Academic and Examination Boards. Assessments are valid,

reliable and fair to the students.

i) Final decisions for all appeals are endorsed by the ExaminationBoard before appeal results are released to the students.

j) Academic Department has a moderation process for theacademic results.


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k) Academic Department regularly reviews the procedures forhandling assessment results and appeals for continual

improvement.


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Hospitalisation Insurance

In alignment with Singapore regulations, ISS purchases an insurance for each

student. The details can be found below.


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iss regulations handbook-1

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