Policies

Cancellations or Adjustments by Celebration Wine Academy

Celebration Wine Academy reserves the right to cancel or adjust course start dates at their discretion. Course cancellations and adjustments of start dates will be communicated no later than five (5) business days before the start date of the course. If a cancellation or adjustment of the course start date must take place, Celebration Wine Academy will make every effort to accommodate each student, including attempting to move them to the adjusted start date or into another course. If the student or payee cannot be satisfied by Celebration Wine Academy's attempts of accommodation, a full refund may be requested. If any course materials have been received by the student prior to the request for a refund, the cost of the course materials already received will be deducted, and the remainder of the course fee will be refunded to the student. 

Cancellations Requested by Students

Students will have 15 days prior to the start of an in-person course to request a full refund minus a $50 administration fee. If any course materials have been received by the student prior to the request for a refund, a $50 administration fee along with all cost of the course materials will be deducted from the refund amount. Within 15 days of a course start date, refunds will not be issued. 

For online courses, cancellations may be made seven (7) business days prior to the course start date only if the student has not yet accessed the Online Classroom. Refunds and transfers may not be issued for any cancellations made less than 7 business days in advance, or for cancellations requested after the student has already accessed the Online Classroom.

Transfers of Course Enrollments 

Requests to transfer a registration to another course or student may be requested up to 10 business days before the course start date, and are subject to availability. If a transfer is possible, the transfer will be executed after any difference in course fees is paid. If any course materials have been received by the student prior to the request of transfer, the student is financially responsible for any study materials, the difference in course fees, and exam fees not covered by the initial payment prior to the transfer being executed. For more information or to request a cancellation or transfer, the student must contact the Director of Education at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com.

Exam Resits & Rescheduling

We understand that some students may want or need additional time to study for their exam before taking it. Other students may need to re-sit the exam in the event they do not receive a passing grade. 

Any student interested in deferring their exam date, may do so once within 365 days after their course has ended for the below listed Deferral Fee. After the 365 days, or if deferring more than once during that period, the student will be required to reschedule their exam and pay the corresponding Rescheduling Fee. Students must notify Celebration Wine Academy of a deferral via email at least 15 business days prior to the exam date in order to avoid a rescheduling fee.

We never want to see a student fail their exam, but it happens. If a student does not pass the exam, that exam can be retaken as soon as you feel ready to resit based on the availability of exam dates for the Re-sit Fee listed below. Re-sits may occur as many times as needed until success is achieved, provided the qualification has not been withdrawn or undergone a significant update. To re-sit an exam, contact Celebration Wine Academy for scheduling. 

Deferral Fee: $50

Reschedule & Re-sit Fee for WSET Level 1 in Wines: $100

Reschedule & Re-sit Fee for WSET Level 2 in Wines: $150

Reschedule & Resit Fee for WSET Level 3 in Wines (Theory Only): $150

Reschedule & Resit Fee for WSET Level 3 in Wines (Tasting Only): $150

Reschedule & Resit Fee for WSET Level 3 in Wines (Full Exam): $275

Celebration Wine Academy strives to provide exceptional wine education and WSET classes, and support our students in every way we can. Feedback is always appreciated and encouraged to ensure we make your time with Celebration Wine Academy a positive experience.
 

If you feel you have been subject to an unsatisfactory or unacceptable situation or action, we want to know so that we may have an opportunity to correct any concerns to the best of our ability. If your concern is related to the classroom experience, you should first direct the complaint to your course instructor in writing. Our instructors are trained to deal with and resolve complaints related to the course.
 

If you find the instructor's solution is not satisfactory, or if you have a complaint unrelated to the classroom experience (e.g., complaints regarding maladministration, malpractice, acts of discrimination, and conflict of interest), you should submit your complaint in writing to Dina Given, Director of Education, via email at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com. 

The following information should be included in the complaint:

• Your full name and contact information
• Date and time of incident
• Name of instructor
• Level of Certification Class
• Full description and details of the incident, and what      actions have been taken (if any) to resolve the issue

If the complaint is about a WSET exam grade, Celebration Wine Academy will follow WSET complaints and appeals processes and manage the initial communication with WSET. Any complaints or appeals about an exam result must be made within 10 business days of receiving your exam result. 

​

All complaints and appeals will be handled with a guarantee of confidentiality. You will receive a response from Celebration Wine Academy within 5 business days of receipt of your complaint (excluding weekends and holidays).
 

Celebration Wine Academy must receive a formal written complaint and have an opportunity to propose a resolution before the complaint can be referred to WSET. If you are dissatisfied with the resolution handed by Celebration Wine Academy you may then contact QA@wsetglobal.com with the detailed complaint.  

As an APP, Celebration Wine Academy is required to identify to WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and Celebration Wine Academy’s processes and procedures. 

This policy applies to all Celebration Wine Academy staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Celebration Wine Academy. 

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgement, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or Celebration Wine Academy when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications. 

Examples of Conflicts of Interest include: 

• The assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned; 
• The moderation of assessment of candidates by an individual who has a personal interest in the result of the assessment for any or all individuals concerned; 
• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP; 
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment; 
• The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate scripts; 
• The employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programs or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP; 
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially. 

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if family member of one of Celebration Wine Academy’s educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through Celebration Wine Academy, or when an employee of Celebration Wine Academy, or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through Celebration Wine Academy, we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam. 

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available. 

Any staff member or student of Celebration Wine Academy who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Dina Given, Director of Education, via email at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com as soon as possible. Dina Given will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and Celebration Wine Academy determine the conflict is not manageable, Dina Given will inform any impacted APP staff or students. 

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or Celebration Wine Academy because we are required to report conflicts to WSET. 

Celebration Wine Academy is committed to protecting your privacy. We aim to respect all personal information you share with us, or that we receive from others, and keep it safe.
 

We collect your personal information when you provide it to us directly, for example, by subscribing to the Celebration Wine Academy newsletter or mailing list. We also collect your information when you register for a course or an exam with Celebration Wine Academy. Further, we must provide WSET in the UK with some of your personal information for the purpose of identification and managing your qualifications and results. Any data transmitted to WSET will be handled in accordance with WSET Data Protection Policy.
 

Personal information is also collected whenever you use a website or mobile application. This includes the use of the WSET Online Classroom for online courses, whereby personal data is stored for the duration of a student's registration for tracking student progress, providing tutorial support and monitoring course quality. The most common type of information our systems collect is in the form of cookies (cookies are small text files sent by your computer each time you visit our website) but can also include personal information transferred by the device you are using to access our website.
 

Certain information will be collected by Celebration Wine Academy, such as your name, birthdate, contact information, purchases, payment details, login credentials, any correspondence with us, and health information if you request a reasonable adjustment or special consideration.

Your personal information is collected to allow us to provide education services (course registration, process sales, sit for exams, administer or conduct exams, communicate results, etc.), send you marketing communications, comply with our legal obligations, respond to enforcement requests, and investigate any non-compliance issues.
 

Your sensitive information will be stored in an electronic database that can only be accessed via password and only available to the Director of Education and the Main APP Contact. Paper documents that are not possible to be stored electronically (such as exams, candidate number and others) will be stored in a safety box with a lock key only accessible to the Director of Education and the main APP Contact. Celebration Wine Academy also stipulates that any data collected will not be sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
 

If you would like more information about our data protection policy, please contact Dina Given, Director of Education, at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com.  

We aim to make Celebration Wine Academy a safe and inclusive environment where students want to study and employees want to work. We show respect to individuals and value differences. Everyone is entitled to a safe and healthy work and study environment where diversity is valued, respect is given, and differences are celebrated.
 

We are committed to creating a sense of belonging and treating everyone fairly and equally without discrimination based on race, color, religion, belief, age, pregnancy or maternity, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, political views, sexual or gender orientation, marriage and civil partnership, or disability. We are committed to compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to non-discrimination.
 

Celebration Wine Academy promotes open access to WSET qualifications for those who meet the legal drinking age. We are committed to accommodating candidates with special educational needs, disabilities, or temporary injuries to access WSET exams without changing the demands of the assessment in line with our Reasonable Adjustment and Special Consideration policies.
 

If any student believes that they have been discriminated by any staff member of the Celebration Wine Academy they should contact Dina Given, Director of Education, at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com to promptly to address the matter.  

Both WSET and Celebration Wine Academy want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allows us Celebration Wine Academy to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications. 

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification. 

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be: 

• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment activity; 
• Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format; 
• Providing access facilitators during assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader; 
• Re-organizing the assessment room, such as removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate. 

Celebration Wine Academy will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with Celebration Wine Academy, we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, Celebration Wine Academy will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information. 

For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact Dina Given, Director of Education, at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com with: 

• Your full name; 
• contact information; 
• description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and 
• supporting documentation. 

You must submit this information at least six (6) weeks before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy. 

Celebration Wine Academy will keep records of all reasonable adjustment applications.

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or other event outside of their control at the time of the exam that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that have a material impact on your, the student’s, ability to take the exam or on your performance. To be eligible for special consideration, you must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for the temporary illness, injury or other uncontrollable event. A special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster). 

You may be eligible for special consideration if: 

• Your performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of your control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement or exam room conditions; 
• Reasonable adjustments which were agreed in advance of the exam proved inappropriate or inadequate; 
• The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria. 

Applying for special consideration 

If you have taken an exam, or your exam is immediately approaching, and you feel that you have a temporary injury or illness, or other uncontrollable event that has interfered with your ability to complete your exam, please contact Dina Given, Director of Education, at dina@celebrationwineacademy.com as soon as possible. Celebration Wine Academy will provide you with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within five (5) business days after the effected exam. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy. 

If there has been serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, Celebration Wine Academy will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request a special consideration. 

Celebration Wine Academy will keep records of all applications for special consideration. 

Both Celebration Wine Academy and WSET have policies and procedures in place to protect WSET students and safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications. Celebration Wine Academy ensures compliance with Celebration Wine Academy and WSET’s policies through this Malpractice and Maladministration Policy, which gives a framework for both us and you to identify, report and manage potential malpractice or maladministration. 

Non-compliance with Celebration Wine Academy or WSET Policies and Procedures can fall into two distinct, but related, categories: 

1. Maladministration, where the non-compliance is generally unintentional, or the result of mistakes, carelessness, inexperience or poor processes; and 
2. Malpractice where the non-compliance is intentional or the result of a negligent or reckless action without consideration of the consequences of the action. 

Context is important and the line between maladministration or malpractice is not always clear: for example, maladministration incidents may become malpractice (e.g. if you fail to implement corrective measures, repeat the same or similar incident, or attempt to misrepresent or hide information during an investigation); or there may be mitigating factors that turn potential malpractice into maladministration. Though malpractice and maladministration are distinct concepts, they can shade into one another. Malpractice and maladministration are always case, context and fact specific. Both APPs and students can commit malpractice and maladministration. 

There are many ways that malpractice or maladministration could occur, including new ways we have not seen yet. Examples of malpractice or maladministration by Celebration Wine Academy are:

• Failure to adhere to the terms of Centre Agreement or WSET Policies and Procedures; 
• Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations; 
• Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures; 
• Late student registrations; 
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates;
• Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance;
• Insecure storage of exam materials; 
• Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam; 
• Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance; 
• Issue of incorrect exam results, or failure to issue results to students in a timely manner; 
• Failure to timely respond to WSET;
• Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers; 
• Failure to report changes in APP ownership/personnel/location/facilities;
• Denying WSET access to information, documentation, workforce,  facilities; 
• Failure to return exam 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;
• Breach of confidentiality; 
• Misleading advertising/publicity;
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect; 
• Failure to a disclose a Conflict of Interest.

Examples of malpractice or maladministration by a student are:

• Cheating, or facilitating cheating, including the use of unauthorized devices or materials; 
• Disruptive behavior in an exam; 
• Plagiarism in the exam;
• Impersonation (including forgery of signatures); 
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect; 
• Breach of confidentiality.

In general, we also expect that both Celebration Wine Academy staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behavior including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff as misconduct and may report student misconduct to WSET as necessary. If a student wishes to appeal the sanctions for malpractice or maladministration imposed by WSET, they should refer to the procedures in WSET’s Complaints Policy.

Reporting & Investigating Concerns

As an APP, we aim to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and Celebration Wine Academy policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by you, our students, or our staff. 

We are required to notify WSET immediately of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration, so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy. 

We ask that you also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with Celebration Wine Academy as soon as possible by following the process outlined in our Complaints policy. Celebration Wine Academy will report the instance to WSET Quality Assurance. If you suspect any malpractice or maladministration happening at Celebration Wine Academy, you should contact WSET directly and report the non-compliant activity to Quality Assurance: QA@wsetglobal.com. During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to Celebration Wine Academy or to you directly to request further information or conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly. 

If the non-compliance incident occurs during a WSET exam, the Invigilator will note the conduct and will notify the Exam Officer directly. The student could be removed from the classroom if the violations are in plain sight. Celebration Wine Academy will then immediately notify WSET which will conduct an investigation.
 

Penalties

WSET will consider all relevant information on a case-by-case basis, balancing the facts with potential or actual effects, and against the seriousness of the sanctions against those effects. WSET records all malpractice and maladministration incidents for both APPs and students. If WSET identifies malpractice or maladministration, they will consider its impact and may apply sanctions. WSET will take all reasonable steps to ensure the sanctions do not disadvantage uninvolved students affected by malpractice or maladministration. However, in some cases, they may need to disallow or withhold results and/or certificates. 

Potential sanctions on Celebration Wine Academy may include: 

• Written warning
• Training or re-training
• Additional monitoring / visits
• Suspension or withdrawal of the APPs site approval, APP status, ability to renew its certification, or to run a specific WSET qualification

Potential penalties for non-compliance by a student may include:

• Written warning
• Nullify exam results
• Disqualification from a qualification, from participating in WSET courses or exams, or from using WSET logos or postnominals

Appeals must follow the procedures detailed in the Complaints Policy.