The CIH Housing Academy provides an opportunity for individuals in the housing sector to work towards appropriate regulated qualifications or focused training to support their ongoing professional development.

If you disagree with these terms and conditions or any part of these terms and conditions, you must not register.

1. Payment and refunds for CIH Housing Academy products and services
  1. If payment has not been received in full before a course start date, or within 7 days of the receipt of the invoice, the individual registered onto the course will not be able to proceed with the course at that time. An alternative date will be offered where possible on one occasion. If the payment remains outstanding after this point your application or training booking will be cancelled and you will need to apply or book again onto the course.
  2. If payment for fees is to be made by the individual’s organisation, a purchase   order is required; it is the individual’s or the purchasers’ responsibility to provide this to CIH Housing Academy at the time of booking. Please allow enough time to ensure the purchase order can be raised by your employer and supplied to CIH bullet you are unable to start the course on the requested start date.
  3. For training, all fees are subject to VAT. Regulated qualifications are not subject to VAT.
  4. Individuals have the right to withdraw from a course or booking at any time, please refer to our refund and additional charges terms listed below. This must be sent to CIH Housing Academy by email at the above address within the timeframes stated below by either the purchaser or individual.
  5. Where refunds are approved, they will be made to the purchasers account from which the original payment was made.

Listed below are the CIH Housing Academy refund structures for individual products along with specific criteria that apply to each.

These all apply from the date of confirmation of your booking for training courses or approval of your application to study a qualification by CIH Housing Academy.

2. Regulated qualifications
  1. It is not possible to transfer a registration for a qualification to another individual once the course has started.
  2. Abandoned learning – If an individual fails to submit assessments without contacting the Housing Academy to discuss specific circumstances, three attempts will be made to contact the individual on their supplied method of communication if no response is received the Housing Academy will assume the individual has abandoned their course/learning journey and will be abandoned from their study and no refund will be provided.
  3. Individuals who are funding their own qualifications by direct debit instalments must adhere to the payment dates confirmed in their payment agreement. Including:
    • A missed direct debit instruction payment would have to be paid by alternative means and within 10 days of the direct debit scheduled date. Access to materials will be put on hold when payment is delayed.
    • If no payment is received within 4 weeks, the instalments option for payments will no longer be available.
    • Payment for the remaining balance will need to be made in full.
    • Failure to do this within 2 weeks will mean that you will be withdrawn from the course and any future requests to join a course will not be accepted on instalment payment options. 
3. Regulated Qualification – Refund and additional charges structure

Any time prior to the advertised application closing date

Full refund provided on request

Up to one week before the course start date (as advertised on the CIH website)

Full refund minus a £100 administration fee

Up to one week after the course start date (this is known as the course induction period) 

50% refund provided on request

Any time after one week from the course start date – (this is when the course materials become available for the first unit)

No refund provided

Abandoned individual (see statement above)

No refund provided.

Withdrawal of study (where a learner decides to withdraw entirely from their qualification course)

No refund – See dates above.

Instalment payment agreement broken.

Obligation for outstanding fees to be paid in full.

Charge to re-sit a failed unit.

Full unit fee (this will be dependent on level)

4. Training

If the purchaser ‘booker’ is booking an individual on to a training course, it is their responsibility to inform the individual of their expected attendance, delivery date and duration. CIH Housing Academy will not issue calendar invites and the joining instructions will be sent to the learner, not the booker approximately 5 working days before scheduled delivery.

5. Training sessions – Refund and additional charges structure

All bespoke in-house training sessions will be contracted on an individual basis subject to agreed requirements.

Whilst CIH will aim to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a request to reschedule contracted in house delivery date(s), this may not always be possible. In such circumstances, the full payment will still be required, and any expenses incurred by the trainer will be met by the contracted organisation. Any proposed changes to a signed contract for delivery must be requested in writing a minimum of 10 working days before delivery. An organisation will receive written confirmation of CIH's decision on a case-by-case basis.

Open training sessions - cancellation

Full refund provided upon request if received 7 working days before the advertised session delivery date

Open training sessions - requests to transfer a booking to an alternative date

Transfer will be agreed upon request if received 7 working days before the advertised session delivery date

Change to individual attending course.

Transfer will be agreed upon request if received 3 working days before the advertised session delivery date.

eLearning modules - cancellation

No refund provided

6. Individuals’ responsibilities
  1. CIH Housing Academy will provide information about each session in advance, including venue (an online link or venue address). It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that this information is saved appropriately.
  2. Blended learning the individual is responsible for informing their employers about attending a session or any non-attendance issues.
  3. Individuals attending virtual or face to face delivery sessions are required to adhere to the CIH housing academy etiquette policy and act in an appropriate manner.
  4. For regulated qualifications, the CIH Housing Academy’s learner agreement outlines the commitment expected from the individual participating in the course.
  5. If an individual cancels or withdraws from a course, it is their responsibility to notify the purchaser. (Where different)
  6. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your cancellation within two days of your advice to us, it is your responsibility to contact CIH Housing Academy by phone.
  7. In the event an individual is unable to attend a course on the day, the individual must contact CIH Housing Academy by telephone to receive further instruction.
  8. Individuals are required to complete the course they have been enrolled in within a reasonable amount of time and within published timescales where these have been set. Failure to complete the course may incur additional charges.
  9. Copyright exists on all materials supplied in any format. Copying, transferring, or storing material by whatever means may only be performed with the express written permission of CIH Housing Academy.
  10. Individuals are obligated to abide by CIH Housing Academy policies and procedures, which are available to all individuals on the website or learning platforms. These policies are regularly reviewed and updated where necessary.
  11. Individuals should inform us of any units already achieved within the last 5 years. Please see our recognition of prior learning policy for full details. If the CIH Housing Academy has approved the recognition of prior learning against a unit and the unit completed was within 5 years, the CIH housing academy will deduct the unit fee from the total fee for the qualification. There will be no deduction of fees for blended learning.
  12. Where Individuals are expected to complete an application or provide the CIH Housing academy with further details this should be complete and accurate at the time of providing the information.
7. CIH Housing Academy responsibilities
  1. CIH Housing Academy is responsible for supplying a suitably qualified tutor or trainer who is experienced in delivering regulated housing qualifications and training courses.
  2. In the event of illness or difficult personal circumstances, CIH Housing Academy may change the tutor or trainer at short notice for another suitable qualified tutor or trainer. If for any reason a replacement tutor or trainer cannot be found at short notice, CIH Housing Academy reserves the right at its sole discretion to reschedule the session. Please refer to our refund and additional charges terms.
  3. CIH Housing Academy is responsible for providing individuals with access to course materials including those developed or provided by its tutors or trainers at individual sessions.
  4. CIH Housing Academy reserves the right to refuse a registration request if an individual does not meet the CIH Housing Academy entry requirements for the course and/or is unable to provide copies of certificate when required.
  5. CIH Housing Academy will provide services as outlined in the CIH Housing Academy learner agreement.
  6. CIH Housing Academy reserves the right to cancel courses or sessions where minimum numbers are not met. Please refer to our refund and additional charges terms.
  7. CIH Housing Academy will not be liable for reimbursing the purchaser if individuals are not able to attend a course or session due to circumstances out of CIH’s reasonable control. The circumstances include, but are not limited to, heavy workload, weather conditions, fire, flood, transport strikes, closures or delays, or any other Force Majeure or Act of God. Please refer to our refund and additional charges terms.
  8. CIH Housing Academy reserves the right to cancel or discontinue the face-to-face delivery of any course if, in the Tutor/Trainer’s opinion, assigned to deliver the session, the venue or conditions are unsuitable or lack appropriate facilities.
  9. CIH Housing Academy reserves the right to cancel a course at any time without incurring any additional liability to the individual.
  10. Such circumstances are not limited to weather conditions, fire, flood, transport strikes, closures or delays, or any other Force Majeure or Act of God.
  11. CIH Housing Academy will endeavour to provide alternative dates for the course or session where possible but will not be liable for any additional costs.
  12. CIH Housing Academy will send joining instructions and virtual links (where applicable) at least 5 working days before a session.
  13. CIH Housing Academy will provide organisations purchasing bulk e-Learning modules with a link and unique reference code for learners to access the modules on a self-service basis. This unique reference code for individuals will remain active until all purchased credits have been depleted.
  14. CIH Housing Academy reserves the right to restrict or withdraw access to learning materials/resources until payment has been received in full.
8. Privacy policy
  1. By agreeing to these terms and conditions you consent to our processing of your personal data in in accordance with UKGDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
  2. Where your booking relates to qualifications, your data will be passed onto the regulator, awarding body and relevant CIH contractors.
  3. We will use your information to follow up on your application. Your data won't be used for any other purposes without your explicit consent.
  4. Your data will be retained only as long as necessary for the original purpose and you have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict the processing of your personal data. Please review our Privacy Policy for a detailed understanding of our data practices.
9. Warranties
  1. CIH Housing Academy makes no representation or warranty that the course materials will not infringe any third-party IP or are error-free.
  2. CIH Housing Academy makes no representations, warranty, or guarantee that an individual will achieve any particular result from undertaking the course.
  3. CIH Housing Academy does not make any commitment that the course materials will be compatible with or operate with the individual’s software or hardware.
  4. All representations, warranties, and/or terms and/or commitments not expressly set out in these terms (Whether implied by law, conduct, statute, or otherwise) are hereby expressly excluded to the maximum extent permissible at law.
CIH Housing Academy definitions

Online learning

A method of learning that is delivered and assessed online with access provided to learning resources, assessments, and a Housing Academy Tutor.

Blended learning

A method of learning that combines online learning with a set number of face to face or delivery sessions delivered by a Housing Academy Tutor

Online Plus

A blended learning course with set virtual delivery sessions.

Face to face

A blended learning course with set classroom-based delivery sessions.

Course

A unit or series of units available for an individual to access on pre-determined dates.  This includes regulated qualifications and training course.

Course fee

The fee payable for the course. Please note VAT is only applicable for training courses.

Individual

The individual/s undertaking the course as notified to CIH Housing Academy by the purchaser and includes learners and training delegates.

Purchaser

A person or organisation who is paying for the product or service.

In-house

Where a course is delivered through blended learning to a specific organisation to several employees.

Open

Where a course is delivered online or blended learning to several individuals not from a specific organisation.

Session

A predetermined delivery date for blended learning.

Policies and procedures
British values statement

Promoting British values builds on and extends existing commitments to equality, diversity, and inclusion.  These accord with CIH’s mission which is ‘to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities, working to transform the lives of the most vulnerable in society’ and values.

Please view the British values statement here

Complaints policy and procedure

CIH Housing Academy aims to provide the best possible experience for individuals registered on it's courses and programmes. We value feedback as this provides important information on how we can improve our services. We therefore treat complaints positively and handle them sensitively and in a timely fashion.

If you are dissatisfied with any element of our service you have the right to complain. Before you make a formal complaint we would suggest getting in contact with us first to see if we can resolve it straightaway for you.

Please view the complaints policy and procedure here

Customer service statement

CIH Housing Academy is committed to delivering a high standard of service to our customers.

Please view the customer service statement here

Extensions, non-submissions, interruptions, withdrawals and abandonments

The following options are available to support learners whilst studying towards a qualification with the CIH Housing Academy. 

Please view your options here

Learner support arrangement policy

Learning and support arrangements

This arrangement applies where individuals have ticked the box on the CIH Housing Academy application form to declare that learning and support arrangements are needed to access assessments or locations. These arrangements apply to online learning, and training.


Definitions


The general definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010 is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to- day activities. The Equality Act 2010 defines long-term here as having lasted or being likely to last for at least 12 months or the
rest of the person’s life. Substantial is defined as more than minor or trivial. Some people are deemed to be disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. For example, people with cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis are protected effectively from the point of diagnosis.


The Equality Act 2010 suggests the reasonable adjustment duty would apply in three specific situations:

  • where a provision, criterion or practice is applied by or on behalf of the individual
  • where there is a physical feature of premises occupied by an individual, or
  • where a lack of an auxiliary aid

Statement of intent


CIH Housing Academy is committed to ensuring that its services are accessible to everyone. This arrangement sets out the level of practical support as a training and learning provider, we can offer you throughout your course or programme with us. As we are a membership organisation, rather than an educational institution (like a college or university) offering educational courses, CIH is not required to adhere to SENDA (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act 2001). However, because of our commitment to and belief in equality and diversity we want to ensure all individuals have the best possible experiences when they are studying through CIH Housing Academy – this includes both online and blended learning, and training programmes. Where courses are delivered on a blended learning basis either in a CIH location, at an employer’s premises or other venue, CIH Housing Academy will ensure that they have appropriate disabled access and facilities.


Disability access


Sometimes a physical feature of a building or other premise may make it more difficult for you to access or use it. The kind of adjustments which could be made includes removing, changing, or providing a way of avoiding the physical feature, where it is reasonable to do so. You may need aids or equipment to help you
access or do something. Or you may need additional services. The Equality Act calls this auxiliary aids and services.


Access to online studies and assessment

If you have:

  • a long-term health condition,
  • a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia), or
  • a mental health difficulty

CIH will consider whether you are entitled to reasonable adjustment to support your study. These adjustments may include:

  • Providing advice and guidance on available software which make learning materials available more accessible.
  • Making reasonable adjustments to assessment deadlines

*Further details can be found in Study Skills and Support area on our Moodle
online learning platform.


Making a claim for reasonable adjustments


You will be asked to provide supporting evidence to support your claim. If your application is upheld, then we will be able to make 'reasonable adjustments' such as giving you more time to complete your assignments. Ideally you should state that you need to make a claim for reasonable adjustments when you complete the
online application form, but it is not too late to let us know once you are on the course.

If you wish to apply for reasonable adjustments to support your qualification studies, training, or an apprenticeships programme this is what you need to do:

  1. Please complete the reasonable adjustments request form
  2. Please declare any disabilities or medical conditions or special requirements.
  3. A CIH HA Administrator will then contact you to advise you on what to do next, and the type of reasonable adjustments that can be offered.
  4. If you have already been through a formal assessment you will be asked to provide current third-party evidence of the disability or medical condition before any reasonable adjustments can be made. This is only applicable for qualifications and access to assessment. If you have not been through a formal assessment you will need to obtain an independent report from a third party before reasonable adjustments can be made. This would normally be an education psychologist report or equivalent.
  5. Upon receipt of the completed form and evidence we will contact you to agree the reasonable  adjustments that need to be made.

If agreement cannot be reached between CIH Housing Academy and the individual and/or their representative about what would be a reasonable adjustment the individual and/or their representative will be advised of the CIH Housing Academy position. They will then be given details of our appeals procedure should they wish to pursue appeals.

Prevent policy and procedure

Due to the length of policy please click below to view.

Please view this policy here

Safeguarding policy and procedure

Due to the length of policy please click below to view.

Please view this policy here

Whistleblowing policy and procedure

Introduction


This policy and procedure sets out the way in which workers may raise any concerns that they have and how those concerns will be investigated by CIH Housing Academy. It applies to all staff and contractors performing roles in relation to CIH Housing Academy, hereafter known as ‘the worker(s) ’.

  • Whistleblowing is the reporting by a worker in an organisation of mismanagement that is in the public interest or of interest to those in authority.
  • A whistle-blower is a worker in an organisation who reports a concern or mismanagement

In the case of CIH Housing Academy, ‘the public’ means learners, apprentices, contractors, staff, member, and other partners.

CIH Housing Academy encourages anyone associated with the organisation to report any concerns that they may have about the conduct of others or the way in which the business is run. Workers are protected by law if they report any of the following:

  • A criminal offence e.g. fraud
  • Someone’s health and safety are in danger
  • Risk or actual damage to the environment
  • A miscarriage of justice
  • The company is breaking the law
  • They believe someone is covering up wrongdoing

These concerns are also known as ‘qualifying disclosures’ under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. Personal grievances, such as bullying, harassment, discrimination will be dealt with through CIH’s policy and procedure if you are a member of staff or through the appropriate CIH Housing Academy Line Manager in the case of contractors.


Principles

  • Everyone should be aware of the importance of preventing and eliminating wrongdoing at work. Workers should be watchful for illegal or unethical conduct and report any incidents of that nature that they become aware of.
  • Workers can raise concerns at any time about an incident that may have happened in the past, is happening now or those they believe will happen in the future.
  • Any matter raised under this procedure will be investigated thoroughly, promptly, and confidentially, and the outcome of the investigation reported back to the worker who raised the issue.
  • No worker will be victimised for raising a matter under this procedure. This means that the continued employment and opportunities for future promotion or training of the worker will not be prejudiced because he/she has raised a legitimate concern.
  • Victimisation of a worker for raising a qualifying disclosure will be a disciplinary offence.
  • If misconduct is discovered as a result of any investigation under this procedure CIH’s disciplinary procedure will be used, in addition to any appropriate external measures.
  • Maliciously making a false allegation is a disciplinary offence.
  • An instruction to cover up wrongdoing is itself a disciplinary offence. If told not to raise or pursue any concern, even by a person in authority such as a manager, workers should not agree to remain silent. They should report the matter to another senior member of staff.
  • The identity of any worker, reporting a concern will be treated with the strictest confidence and will not be disclosed without their prior consent.
  • CIH may need to protect the confidences of other people involved in the investigation which means that some details of the investigation will not be disclosed.
  • If workers report their concern to the media, in most cases, they will lose their whistleblowing law rights.

Procedure

Any investigations under this policy and procedure will follow the procedures set out in CIH Housing Academy’s Complaints procedure and, in addition, take into account the following considerations:
1. In the first instance, any concerns should be raised with the appropriate CIH Housing Academy Manager who will decide if any action is needed, unless

  • the worker reasonably believes his/her CIH Housing Academy Manager to be involved in the wrongdoing, or
  • the worker does not wish to approach his/her Manager in which case any concerns should be raised with another CIH Housing Academy Manager.

At this stage, workers must say straightaway if they don’t want anyone else to know it was them who raised the concern. If workers do this the relevant Manager may not be able to take their concerns further if all the information needed can’t be provided.

2. If, on completion of the investigation, the worker feels that the relevant Housing Academy Manager has failed to make a proper investigation he/she should inform the relevant Head of Service, who will arrange for
another manager to review the investigation carried out, make any necessary enquiries and report on their findings.

3. If, once all stages in the Complaints Procedures, have been exhausted the worker reasonably believes that appropriate action has not been taken, he/she should report the matter to the proper authority. The legislation sets out a number of bodies to which qualifying disclosures may be made.

These include:

  • HM Revenue & Customs;
  • the Financial Services Authority;
  • the Office of Fair Trading;
  • the Health and Safety Executive; and
  • the Environment Agency.

For more information go to https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing

Related policies and procedures:

  • Complaints policy and procedure
  • Malpractice procedure
  • Safeguarding policy and procedure
  • Prevent policy and procedure
End user license agreement (EULA)
Copyright and intellectual property rights

The course materials and contents of the website are copyright. This includes all content unless otherwise noted. The contents may not be copied and republished in any format, whole or in part. This includes (for example, but not limited to) copying text, copying pictures or video, copying images for use in brochures, websites or any other medium, copying review content (narrative, video or pictures), copying backgrounds and borders, or any other content.

All material is the intellectual property of CIH (or the suppliers of the information where this is explicitly stated). Material is made available purely for the benefit of CIH participants for their own personal use. It is not available for commercial use with other organisations. During your use of the website, we gather ‘industry standard’ data from you, which includes: your logged ID, your IP, your browser details etc. Our server maintains a log of your access.

General data collected may be used or shared in an ‘aggregate’ manner, for example, to demonstrate how many hits we have, what countries people are accessing the site from, what browsers people are using, what parts of the site are visited and so on.

We never share any information specific to a particular identifiable user unless requested by law or a similar authority, or an ISP or network administrator investigating abuse of our site. If individuals personally make their contact details available to other individuals, this is to enable networking and sharing of information between them. Under no circumstances are they to be used by individuals or their associates, or made available by individuals/associates to third parties, for mailing lists or other commercial purposes.

Information on the web is made available to individuals and cannot therefore be regarded as confidential. Individuals undertake that all information they provide for the web is free from copyright, confidentiality or other restrictions that would prevent its publication on our website.

By engaging with CIH, you grant a perpetual licence to display, reproduce or use your website postings on the CIH site. You also grant to CIH a perpetual licence to use your postings either in the original form or modified and on any other media for the purpose of promotion of CIH Housing Academy.

You may terminate your registration at any time by notifying CIH Housing Academy. On termination, CIH will deactivate your password.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about any products or services provided by CIH, please contact us via the website or email housing.academy@cih.org.

One of our managers will contact you within 10 working days (excepting periods of closure, normally Christmas and other bank holidays).

The manager will investigate your complaint and aim to provide a satisfactory way forward within a further 10 working days, subject to the limits outlined in these terms and conditions.

Rights and responsibilities of CIH Housing Academy

CIH accepts no responsibility for the content of our site, which is provided ‘as is’, and with no warranty express or implied. Reviews and all our other content are offered as our opinion only. We understand that in your engagement with CIH you expect the website to be on-line and available at all times. However, we can make no guarantees as to the ‘up time’ of the site as this is beyond our control. For example, routing, server, Internet, hardware and software problems completely beyond our control may occur. We host with a commercial company that guarantees (to us) 99.9 per cent + up time in order to minimise down time but accept no responsibility if the site goes off-line and it is not our fault.

Web-based communication and code of conduct

You are solely responsible for your own communications and are responsible for the consequences of them. You are also solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username, password and e-mail address and all activities that are conducted through your account.

You must not share your username with anyone else. IP addresses are monitored and any accounts suspected of being shared will be barred. In consideration of being allowed to use the materials provided by CIH Housing Academy, you agree that you will abide by these terms and conditions and in general will not:

  • Harass any other course member or member of staff.
  • Use the forum for any purpose in violation of local or national laws of any country.
  • Post material that infringes on any other intellectual property rights of others or on the privacy or publicity rights of others.
  • Post material that is abusive, defamatory, embarrassing, harassing, hateful, inflammatory, obscene or threatening to any other member or member of staff.
  • Post sexually explicit language or images.
  • Post advertisements or solicitations of business.
  • Post chain letters or pyramid schemes.
  • Impersonate another individual or member of staff.
  • Express or imply that the CIH website or its owners endorses any statements you make, without our specific written consent.
  • Collect or store personal information about other individuals without their personal consent.
  • Conduct any other activity that we consider is detrimental to the running of the CIH cause.
  • Plagiarise the work of others or in any way try to pass yourself off as competent by means of deception.

Any conduct that in our opinion restricts or inhibits the use of the website by any other subscriber will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to pursue any and all legal and equitable remedies against you, including the posting of your address and the reporting of your activity to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), and other authorities. Any material in any correspondence that we determine to be contrary to our terms and unsuitable for our forum will be edited or deleted. Our decision on these matters is final.

Contact the Housing Academy Team

If you have any questions for our Housing Academy team, we’d love to hear from you. You can email us, give us a call or submit an enquiry and we will be happy to help.

Website terms and conditions
Please read these terms and conditions carefully as they govern your use of the CIH website.
View our terms and conditions
Privacy policy
We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Find out about your data and how we use it.
Find out more
Cookies
Find out about cookies policy and how it affects you.
Find out more