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The SFCCA Code of Conduct (CoC)

All prospective Learners, both members and non-members seeking to undertake, undertaking or having completed courses (trained persons) are required to accept the terms and conditions of this Code of Conduct, as updated from time-to-time, for continuing membership of SFCCA/ to hold any Certificates issued.

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A Learner who pays a SFCCA course fee is automatically confirming reading, accepting and agreeing to adhere to the legal Terms & Conditions in the SFCCA Code of Conduct/Terms of Use below as updated from time to time:

 

A.  General Requirements - SFCCA Members/Trained Persons Shall NOT

 

  1. Lie or provide incomplete information in their application forms or CPD data to the SFCCA, or in information to the Association provided via their employers.

  2. Act in any manner which is unethical and detrimental to their employer, fellow employees, SFCCA or its members.

  3. Violate any laws in the performance of their duties including but not limited to financial crime, data privacy, securities regulations, conflicts-of-interest, gifts & entertainment, anti-discrimination, sexual harassment, and Fair Dealing (aka Treating Customers Fairly (TCF)).

  4. Undertake or facilitate cyber-crime activities designed to disrupt the ability of SFCCA to provide website access and/or deliver eLearning for its courses via its LMS and other service providers.

  5. Continue to use SFCCA designations or certified status if they no longer work for a Corporate Member and have not taken up individual membership.

 

B.  General Requirements - SFCCA Members/Trained Persons WILL

  1. Work for their employers with loyalty and respect, including adhering to all financial crime laws and regulations, including around data privacy, gifts & entertainment, and securities regulations.

  2. Adhere to their employer’s controls around conflicts-of-interest including timely reporting of information (e.g. on financial investments, gifts & entertainment) and seeking suitable approvals prior to undertaking any activities that would potentially violate their terms of employment.

  3. Bring to the attention of their employer through the governance organization and whistleblower channels any suspected compliance violations and/or unethical or illegal actions conducted by employees, which may attract either reputational or punitive financial actions against their employer.

  4. Serve all their employer’s clients taking into account laws/ regulatory requirements for Fair Dealing, Data Privacy and Anti-Bribery, amongst others.

  5. Ensure, that interactions whether internal or external to clients and vendors, or with the SFCCA and other members, are based on mutual respect, are fair and are free of unwarranted discrimination and harassment.

  6. Ensure that all information provided to SFCCA in the course of the application process and subsequently (e.g. for CPD purposes) is true and accurate.

  7. Meet the Association’s requirements for continuing professional development (CPD) and respond to any random checks performed by the SFCCA.

  8. Participate in any community that SFCCA creates and lend support to other members, to the extent possible/practical.
  9. Abide by the rules that SFCCA creates for running the Association's social media groups. Non-adherence can be grounds for termination from that group even if the membership is unaffected. 

  10. Provide feedback (see C3 below) to the SFCCA via the elected Academic Council to help enhance our course content, testing, and delivery.

 

C.  Specific Requirements - SFCCA Members/Trained Persons UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT

  1. eLearning & Examination Rules & Requirements

    1. With effect from 10th August 2023, invoices are issued only on request. From 17 Sept 2024 invoices are being issued for all eligible Singaporeans who are applying for SFC-UTAP grants.

    2. With effect from 1 Dec 2022, besides the videos, it is compulsory to complete all readings (handouts) and complete the preparatory unmarked quizzes on Canvas LMS prior to taking the main proctored examination. By enrolling to take the final examination the Learner automatically confirms having completed all these.

    3. Whilst SFCCA HD videos have gone through various audio normalisations/ noise reduction and the Video On Demand (VOD) Content Delivery Network (CDN) helps manage poor internet speeds, Learners who seek to optimise their learning experience, are required to:

      • Complete the SFCCA training on a high-quality laptop or PC (no mobile) with a 64-bit processor, 16GB RAM

      • Have a high-speed internet connection (5Mbps or more),

      • Use updated Chrome (above version 60) or Firefox

      • Have external speakers (e.g. Creative) (strongly recommended)

      • Note that the Videos are in MP4 and not all tablets support these videos

    4. For the auto-proctored examination ensure uninterrupted internet access (min 2Mbps of Upload & Download speed), a high-quality laptop/PC, HD camera & microphone; to avoid rebooking & an exam/admin (Resit) fee.

    5. Learners must ensure registration on a "self service" basis to take the exam on demand without prior scheduling, and follow the online auto-proctored Examination Rules & Requirements.

    6. Enrolment for the CISI Regulatory Module, payment and taking their online exam (live proctoring) would be by their rules & requirements. W.e.f. 10 Feb 2024, completion of their regulatory module is mandatory.

  2. Refunds

    1. If an applicant pays the Course fees on our Payments pages (for Singaporeans & for All Others) after reviewing their eligibility but are actually not eligible, the monies will be refunded with all charges on their account.

    2. For eligible Learners (other than SFC grant applicants), fees once paid for Professional/ Associate courses are non-refundable where timely access (within 14 working days of receipt) is provided to the LMS/ online videos.

    3. For SkillsFuture Credit (SFC) applicants: please be guided by the SFC FAQ for the refund process for cancellations 1 day before the course start date. Once the course has commenced, monies are not refundable.

    4. The Fellow programme allows a partial refund where "In case a Learner fails the course, 50% of monies received by SFCCA are refunded".

      • This is for overall failure on the course and the refund is completed within 14 working days of SFCCA conveying this decision by email.

    5. Per C7-4 below, course fees are also non-refundable if a Learner fails an examination

    6. Per C8-3 below, course fees are also non-refundable for any cheating 

    7. Nonetheless, should a Learner have paid the fees and SFCCA has not provided access to the training videos within 14 working days of the payment's receipt, then the Learner can claim a 100% refund from SFCCA

    8. If the course is not completed (final exam passed) in the required time i.e., 6 (Professional/Associate)/ 12 (Fellow) months, the Course fee is not refundable; to extend the course the current Course Fee must be paid again. Learners have another 6 months for resits (at a fee) in case they fail. Resits are captured in C7 below.

    9. Annual Membership Fees are currently waived for 1 year after enrollment, although the subscription payment must be setup upfront.

      1. Monies once received are non-refundable if the membership is given up subsequently.

      2. Annual Membership Fees will be revised overtime and must be paid by existing members at the current level, and the difference is not refundable.

    10. All refunds requests/communication where applicable should be with training@sfcca.com.sg

  3. Feedback

    1. If a Learner is dissatisfied with the content, or audio quality of any video, or of any final exam question, or the LMS, or the testing platform, they should email their feedback to training@sfcca.com.sg titled "Feedback"

    2. Where the Academic Council and the SFCCA Managing Director jointly believe that the issue can be addressed and is in line with Singapore regulatory requirements or relevant best practise, there such enhancement(s) will be executed (if practical) within 14 working days of making that decision

    3. Such feedback will be maintained in a Feedback Register for internal record purposes from 6 Oct 2022

  4. Examination Appeals

    1. Most of our examinations are based on objective criteria, i.e., a 70% pass mark.

    2. While resits are possible per C7 below, there is no scope of appealing a pass/fail decision for an objective exam.

    3. The two Fellow Assignments have a subjective review by the SFCCA Managing Director and in case of 3 failed attempts, the Learner may appeal to the Academic Council via training@sfcca.com.sg

    4. Voting for Fellow Assignment appeals would be through unanimous decisions only, avoiding conflicts of interest

  5. Grant of License & Copyright

    1. In consideration of a Learners payment of our course fees, we grant the Learner a licence to use the eLearning course for self-development/training to enhance their professional skills.

    2. This licence is limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable, and is subject to the rights and obligations granted under these Terms.

    3. This licence is personal to the Learner and cannot be shared or exchanged with others.

    4. All eLearning training content accessed via Canvas LMS and the final examination executed on Neo Exam, and other SFCCA articles/videos, are owned by SFCCA and protected by Singapore and international copyright laws.

    5. SFCCA retains all proprietary rights to the SFCCA Content. The SFCCA Content may not be reproduced, transmitted or distributed without the prior written consent of SFCCA.

    6. Our training can be used for non-commercial purposes only as specified here, e.g., to enhance a Learners organisation's policies & procedures (incl. internal training), provided that these are not "substantial word-for-word copies" i.e., the essence is used. Specifically, a Learner cannot:

      1. Substantially use any SFCCA course material that has a course fee, with the intention of either using it or its derivative in either commercial or non-commercial training.

      2. Substantially use any other SFCCA “members only” content (e.g., articles, videos, free eLearning) with the intention of either using it or its derivative in either commercial or non-commercial training of non-members.

      3. Allow any third-party to access the SFCCA videos by sharing their LMS account login details, for any reason.

      4. Record and/or facilitate the viewings of the videos by third parties, through any means, and for any reason.

      5. Allow any third-party access to SFCCA quizzes or the final examination questions through recording these by any means including during the post-exam display of incorrect answers.

    7. A FCC consultant can undertake SFCCA courses. However, this must not be with the intention of copying our model or content. In particular, content developers for competitor courses are not allowed on our courses.

  6. Personal Data (PDPA)

    1. A Learner paying our course fees agrees to their personal data being collected, used or disclosed in the manners described below.

    2. SFCCA works with third party service providers for the LMS, Proctored Testing, Membership setup, and Payments:

      • In this context a login account will need to be created for Canvas LMS:

        1. For the LMS, limited personal data (Learners name and email) will reside outside Singapore as we set up the Learner/ they self-enroll.

        2. Learners have Lifetime Access (or as long as SFCCA is operational) to the training videos and updates i.e., we do not delete their personal data on completion of the course.

        3. We provide periodic Update Videos of (consolidated) course enhancements, which graduated Learners can also conveniently review to update themselves.

        4. Learners who do not complete their Course per our requirements have their Lifetime Access terminated and their name struck off SFCCA's membership rolls.

      • As part of the registration for the Neo Exam proctored testing:

        1. The Learner will have to use their email and setup a password for an account.

        2. The Learner will have to do an email and OTP phone verification for KYC.

        3. The Learner will need to enter their full name to be used for the Certificate

        4. A Photo ID copy will be clicked by camera as a part of the registration.

        5. The Learner is required to display the partially covered National ID, Driving License, or Passport Number so that only the last 4 characters are visible.

        6. This is the responsibility of the Learner and SFCCA will not accept any responsibility for data shared against this advice/ requirement and subsequently misused by anyone for any reason.

        7. "For the proctored assessments, the data will reside on the GCP and AWS Servers in Singapore/India or in the EU. The proctored testing vendor is Singapore PDPA, GDPR Compliant. Our data retention on the Proctored Testing platform is for 2 years from the time of examination." (Search webpage on "PDPA")

      • We use Joinit.com to onboard Members. The membership data is password protected/ they are PCI Compliant.

      • The Course Fee card payments are handled by PayPal Singapore, a MAS regulated entity.

      • The Annual Membership Fee card payments are handled by Stripe Singapore, a MAS regulated entity.

      • We have taken due care (on a reasonable best-efforts basis) to ensure that third parties we outsource to/ work with, are well established service providers trusted by large companies and big brand universities.

      • Prospective learners (especially Singapore based course participants) can ask questions, if any, by email to training@sfcca.com.sg before paying the fees.

    3. A Learners contact emails (not phone numbers) will be shared via an online members directory with other SFCCA members.

    4. SFCCA may contact the Learner by email/phone either directly/via its agents to facilitate marketing of its other courses or events or other products/services; any agents appointed will have limited use of the data as specified.

    5. SFCCA will also share a Learners personal data to comply with a court order, other legal processes or other legal requirements of any governmental authority (including detecting, investigating and preventing any crime, offence or breaches)

    6. SFCCA will also use a Leaners personal data to comply with our internal policies and any applicable laws, rules and regulations, codes of practice, guidelines and any other legal purposes.

  7. Resits

    1. A maximum of 3 attempts will be allowed, and after 2 attempts a 6-week rest period will be enforced.

    2. While recertifications are allowed, this is only after an enforced rest period of 60 days in which the Learner will be given a list of areas to improve on.

    3. Only Learners scoring 100% in the first attempt are eligible for the Scholar's List of that certificate. 

    4. The course fee is non-refundable and a resit fee of SGD50 applies for all resits (other than where specified).

    5. Where a Learner fails an examination, the post-exam display of incorrect answers will be suppressed. However, a broad list of areas needing focus can be provided separately, on request.

  8. Disciplinary Actions

    1. We reserve the right to terminate this agreement and block a Learners access to SFCCA eLearning courses as a result of their misrepresentation, default, misconduct, or breach of their obligations related to or under this agreement.

    2. The Learner agrees to indemnify and hold SFCCA, our contractors, licensors, directors, officers, employees, and agents, harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses including attorneys' fees, arising out of their unauthorized use of SFCCA eLearning course content or any violation or breach of this agreement or any provisions hereof.

    3. Learners must not cheat/get a 3rd party to do the online auto-proctored exam for a SFCCA course. If caught they are debarred from membership for 5 years and any course/exam fees paid are non-refundable and also cannot be reused after 5 years.

    4. Learners must adhere to the SFCCA "Members Only" LinkedIn Group Rules in their posts and comments. SFCCA may suspend or block members from the group who cannot follow these rules (even if membership is unaffected).

    5. Disciplinary actions against members/trained persons will be undertaken by the management of the Association, wherever necessary. Violation of this Code of Conduct can be grounds for a members suspension pending enquiry, membership termination, certificates issued revoked, and designations/ SFCCA certified status revoked.

    6. In the event of potential/actual membership termination/revocation of certificates issued by the SFCCA, the Association is entitled to make suitable enquiries from the member’s/trained person's employer/regulators, inform the entire membership body, take out any public notice, and undertake any other actions (e.g. consulting with its external legal counsel); filing a police report; pursuing legal actions in the country where the member/trained person is resident or in Singapore for e.g., financial claims for IPR violations), at its own sole discretion. SFCCA will undertake such actions in a reasonable and proportionate manner as it deems appropriate albeit on a best-efforts basis.

    7. SFCCA members and trained persons waive their rights to file defamation suits against SFCCA as a counter to such termination/revocation actions, understanding and accepting that these are a result of violations of the Code of Conduct which is a condition for continuing membership and to hold SFCCA certificates/designations/certified status.

 

D.  Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

  1. We provide the eLearning training materials ‘as is’ and without any warranties, whether express or implied, except those that cannot be excluded under statute.

  2. We also do not warrant that the eLearning training materials will be error free, including technical inaccuracies.

  3. The Learner expressly agrees that their undertaking of our training courses is at their sole risk.

  4. The Learner expressly agrees that SFCCA's liability is limited to the Course Fee paid by the Learner less any transfer charges.

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E.  Governing Law

  1. These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Singapore, and the Learner agrees to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Singapore.

 

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