Foundation Certificate Course Administration
Update posted on Saturday 26 August 2023
With apologies for returning the marked scripts to everyone later than expected, I am pleased to announce that, according to our records, all marked scripts have now been returned. If you submitted a script that has not been returned to you, please let us know as soon as possible. Before you do so, please ensure that the e-mail notification informing you of your result has not ended up in your spam folder.
The next step is for us to start sending out the Course Summaries that set out your results for the year or for the course as a whole. This process can take quite some time as we have to be sure that the summaries we sent out are accurate and correct in every respect. You can in any event see on your student portal whether you have passed all the modules, whether you have failed any modules or whether you qualify for a resit assessment (only candidates with one outstanding module qualify for a resit).
If you have passed the course as a whole, please see the post below dated 31 July 2023 for more information regarding your certificate.
Finally, a huge word of thanks to you all for your patience this week, it really is appreciated. Congratulations to all those who have passed!
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Friday 25 August 2023
Please note that we are still waiting for some scripts to come back from the markers. We can only release the course summaries once all the marks are in which will hopefully be later today. Once we have released all the marks, the course summaries will be sent to you. This will probably happen over the weekend and on Monday. Our request is that you please be patient while we finalise the results. We are doing everything in our power to get the marks to you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Wednesday 23 August 2023
I realise you are all waiting for your remaining outstanding results on the course. Unfortunately there are still a number of results outstanding. While we have sent stern messages to the markers insisting on the scripts being returned by the end of today at the latest, there is unfortunately very little else we can do in getting them to return the scripts. Like many of you, the markers are busy professionals and they too struggle with deadlines.
We do apologise for the fact that some of the marks are late, and assure you that we are doing everything in our power to return these to you. Obviously we cannot send out the final results until such time as all the marks have been returned to us.
Many thanks for your patience!
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Monday 31 July 2023
This is just a reminder, if one is needed, that all the remaining assessments for the Foundation Certificate 2021/22 are due by 11 pm (23:00) BST today (31 July 2023).
Please note that markers have three weeks to complete the marking and, barring any delays, you can expect your marked assessment(s) to be returned to you by 23 August 2023. If marked assessments are returned to us by the markers earlier than the deadline, these will be returned to you soon after being received. Please do not enquire about your marks for individual assessments prior to 23 August 2023.
Your results for the course as a whole will be sent to you by the end of August 2023. If you have not passed all the assessments required for the award of the certificate, but you qualify for a resit assessment, you will be likewise notified by the end of August 2023.
Please note that certificates for successful candidates on the course will only be prepared and sent out once all resit assessments have been completed. This is likely to be by the end of September 2023.
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Wednesday 22 March 2023
Please note that the marker for Module 2A has become incapacitated, and most of the marking is now taking place in-house. As a result, the marks will only be available during the course of next week. The marks for Module 2B and Module 3B will be available by close of business on 24 March 2023 (as per the previous update).
Best wishes,
Sanrie Lawrenson (Course Administrator)
Update posted on Friday 3 March 2023
Thank you for submitting the assessments for the compulsory modules. All of the assessments have now been downloaded and sent to the markers. The markers have until 23 March 2023 to submit the marked assessments, and the marks will only be available on 24 March 2023.
Best wishes,
Sanrie Lawrenson (Course Administrator)
Update posted on Thursday 2 February 2023
I trust this post finds you all well. We are well into the New Year now, so please accept my belated good wishes for 2023.
Compulsory module assessments
This post is just a reminder that the assessments for the compulsory modules under Module 2 and Module 3 are due on 1 March 2023, a little less than a month away. We are starting to receive queries about which module assessments must be submitted on 1 March 2023. Please read the Course Handbook where this is explained. Candidates need only submit the assessments they selected as compulsory modules. If you are unsure which modules these are, please consult the e-mail you received from us when you were accepted onto the course. Alternatively, when you first log into your student portal, your compulsory assessments are listed just beneath the Course Handbook.
If you have selected either Module 2A or 2B or Module 3A or 3B as elective modules, you may submit these on 1 March 2023, but you do not have to. You may submit these elective modules by 1 July 2023. However, you may not submit in March and then again in July (for example, in order to obtain a better mark).
Just a reminder not to leave the assessments, especially assessment 2A, until the last minute. Please allow for sufficient time to complete and upload the assessments. As you know, no extensions are granted for submission.
Possible problems accessing your student portal
The IT developers responsible for our Education System recently uploaded a new version of the student portal to our systems. If by any chance you are unable to log in to your student portal, or should you see content that should not be in your student portal, please clear your cache on the relevant page by pressing Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows users ) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac users). This should clear the problem, but if it does not please contact me urgently by e-mail at [email protected]..
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Friday 18 November 2022
I trust this post finds you all well.
I am pleased to inform everyone that a total of 110 candidates submitted their Module 1 Summative Assessments, three of which were from the class of 2021/22. This means that 107 of the 128 registered candidates submitted their Module 1 assessments. These have not been sent to the marker for marking and she has until 8 December 2022 to return the marks to us. This means that your results will be returned to you by 9 December 2022 at the latest. Please do not enquire about your results prior to 9 December 2022. If the marked assessments are returned prior to 8 December, we will of course immediately return them.
Just a few issues after the first round of summative assessments:
- It is your responsibility to check the Course Administration page on a regular basis to see whether any updates have been posted.
- There are still too many candidates asking about things that are covered in the Course Handbook. Your very first instruction on the course was to read through the entire handbook. Clearly there are still candidates who have not done so.
- There are too many candidates who do not read or follow the instructions contained in the assessment itself. It is unthinkable that you would submit an assessment without following the instructions.
- There are instructions regarding the file name for uploaded assessment. These are contained in the Course Handbook. Despite this, there are still candidates allocating random names to the files. This makes the administration of the course difficult, so I am renewing my request that candidates please follow the instructions in the Handbook.
- When we send your assessment to the marker, all they see is the student ID which you are required to enter in the footer to the document. If you don't do this, I have to and it is a time-consuming task. For the first time this year I have returned assessments that do not comply with the instructions. While the ones that were returned will be marked, in future you run the risk of not having your assessment marked due to a lack of compliance with the instructions. Just so that you know, the student ID included in the footer is to anonymise the scripts for the marker. Markers / lecturers do not have access to the student numbers so they cannot identify the scripts they are marking. Only INSOL staff have access to student names and student IDs.
- As you should know, once you have uploaded your assessment successfully, an auto-generated e-mail is created. This e-mail is sent to you and to us (this is how we know you have submitted an assessment). There were some candidates who wrote to us acknowledging that they received the e-mail, but who cannot see their uploaded assessment in their student portal. We are investigating why you cannot see your assessment in your student portal and I will post an update once this has been resolved. It is not clear whether this has happened to all candidates on the course, or only some of you. As far as receipt of the auto e-mail is concerned, please accept that we have received your assessment if you receive that e-mail. As I said, we receive the same e-mail and if your assessment was not successfully uploaded we will get in touch with you.
- There were a couple of students who uploaded the assessment in the incorrect format (PDF / Pages). Instruction 2 of the assessments clearly states that assessments must be uploaded in MS Word format. In these instances the assessments were returned to students, although they were given the opportunity to resubmit in the correct format.
With the first summative assessment now out of the way, the deadline for the next round of submissions is 1 March 2023. This allows more than three months for the submission of the summative assessments for modules 2 and 3. Please note that all candidates MUST submit their two compulsory assessments for modules 2 and 3 by 1 March 2023. Compulsory modules taken as elective modules may either be submitted by 1 March or by 31 July 2023. If you are unsure which modules have been taken as compulsory and which as electives, please consult the e-mail that was sent to you when your enrolment on the course was confirmed. Alternatively, when you log in to your student portal, your compulsory and elective modules are clearly indicated. Just a reminder that we do not grant extensions for the submission of assessments, no matter the circumstances.
While the formative and summative assessments for Module 1 were relatively straightforward, I feel compelled to warn you that the assessment for Modules 2 and 3 are more challenging. Please do not leave the assessment for these modules until the last minute, as this is almost guaranteed to cause issues for you. Please ensure you read the questions properly and ensure you are in fact answering the questions posed.
I will be in touch again once the scripts for Module 1 have been returned. In the meantime, stay well and stay safe.
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Friday 4 November 2022
I trust this post finds you all well.
The marker for Module 1 has now returned all the marked scripts for the Formative Assessment for Module 1. I have returned all scripts to those who submitted, so if you did not receive an e-mail please check your junk / spam folder as it probably ended up there. If it did end up in your junk folder, please take steps to ensure that INSOL e-mails reach you inbox. This may entail adjusting your own settings, or it may mean involving your IT manager at work. Please follow the instructions in the Course Handbook on how to access your marked assessment.
Generally the marks for the Formative Assessment are very good, which is encouraging. However, there are some candidates who did not do well, mainly because all the questions were not answered. I am not sure if this was by design by the candidates involved, or if there is another issue. In the past when candidates have used Google documents to complete their assessments, these documents do not fully display / populate and that is why the instructions clearly state that the assessments must be completed in Microsoft Word. If this happened to any of you with the Formative Assessment, please get in touch with me at [email protected] so that we can ensure it does not happen again.
Speaking of instructions, there are still too many candidates who do not read the instructions contained in the assessment. It is is unthinkable that any candidate would submit an assessment without complying with the instructions. Also, there are too many candidates who have not read the Course Handbook, do not read the content of auto-generated e-mails and who do not read the Course Administration page on the course web pages. I have been receiving random e-mails from candidates asking about aspects of the course that are clearly explained in the Course Handbook and elsewhere. I cannot understand how one can do an online self-study course, but then not read the instructions on how the course works. My friendly request is that you all please read the course materials as this prevents unnecessary queries being directed at myself and my colleague who run the course.
With most of you now having had the opportunity of using the education system by uploading and receiving back your assessments, hopefully this will be a smoother process going forward. I do apologise for the duplicating e-mails that are being generated by the system - we have flagged this with the developers, but they have not yet fixed the issue. When uploading your assessments, please be sure to save it using the correct filename in the correct format, as set out in the Course Handbook.
If there are any of you who have questions about the marking of the Formative Assessment, please feel free to engage with me if there is a genuine problem. I would be happy to discuss this with you.
There are now less than two weeks to go before the first Summative Assessment has to be submitted. Just a friendly reminder that we do not grant extensions for the submission of assessments in any circumstances.
Good luck and best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
Update posted on Sunday 16 October 2022
Yesterday, 15 October 2022, was the deadline for the submission of the practice (formative) assessment on the course and dealt with Module 1.
For the most part, there seemed to be very few issues uploading the assessments. There were one or two candidates who contacted me due to some issues they encountered when uploading their assessments, but I was able to assist them. If anyone encounters issue with the education system, please do e-mail me immediately and I will assist.
While most candidates read and followed the instructions included in the assessment, there were a handful who did not. I have been understanding in this the first round of submissions; however, please note that for the remaining assessments I will not be as accommodating. It is unthinkable that anyone would submit an assessment and not comply with the instructions that accompany it - there simply is no excuse.
For the avoidance of doubt, I have now sent the uploaded assessments to the marker and I have advised her that the marks must be returned by 7 November 2022. Once I receive the marked assessments back from the marker, I will return these to you via your student portal as per the Course Handbook. Please do not enquire about your marks until after 7 November 2022.
I have uploaded the marking guide / model answer to the practice assessment to the web pages for Module 1 (Introduction to International Insolvency Law). Please feel free to work through this marking guide while waiting for your assessments to be returned (and with a view to preparing for the summative assessment which is due on 15 November 2022).
Finally, please note that the time of submission of assessments is shown as either 11 pm BST (British Summer Time) or 11 pm GMT. Between November 2022 and the end of March 2023, the timing is for 11 pm GMT. The final assessments for the elective modules all need to be submitted by 11 pm BST (which is GMT +1).
Good luck with your preparations for the summative assessment for Module 1 which is due in month's time.
Best wishes,
David Burdette (Course Leader)
A Word of Welcome!
Welcome to the Course Administration page for the Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency Law. On this page you will find important information relating to the course itself as well as general information as the course progresses. This page will be used for any announcements regarding the course, so please access this page on a regular basis. New announcements will display at the top of the page, with older items appearing lower down.
As a student in the class of 2021/22, you already know what is expected of you on this course. However, I would like to extend a special word of welcome (back) to the 2021/22 candidates who elected to complete the course over two years. I trust you will be successful in the second year of the course. There are a number of candidates from the 2021/22 group who will finish the course this year. Just for information, for the current 2022/23 course there are a total of 127 candidates from 43 jurisdictions. For those of you thinking of asking for the names and contact details of those who are doing the course with you, please note that data protection laws in the UK prevent us from sharing this information.
While the below information is a repeat of the information provided last year, please do read through the information again as you may have forgotten some of the finer points. Candidates from 2021/22 are specifically reminded that they must use the 2022/23 texts to study from and must submit the 2022/23 assessments.
Course Handbook
Your very first instruction on the course is to read through the Course Handbook. A link to the Course Handbook was sent to you by e-mail prior to the course commencing, but it is also accessible at all times in your student portal. The Course Handbook contains extremely important information relating to the course and the manner in which it is run. Please bear in mind that this course is essentially a course of self-study. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that all the information you require to complete the course can be found on the web pages of the Foundation Certificate and in the guidance texts for each module. If you have any questions relating to the information contained in the Course Handbook, please contact me by e-mail. It is imperative that you work through the entire Course Handbook as your very first instruction on this course. If you are unable or unwilling to read instructions, such as those provided in a multitude of places in the course materials, it would be remiss of me not to tell you that you will struggle with this course.
Structure of the Course
It is important to note that the course is structured. When you look at the structure of the course, you will notice that the compulsory modules are dealt with first and are then followed by the elective modules. The first priority on the course is to get you all settled in and it is for that reason that Module 1, Introduction to International Insolvency Law, is dealt with first. While the content of this module is not particularly difficult, it does lay the foundation for the rest of the course. It is important that you understand the basic principles of international insolvency law before tackling the other compulsory modules and then the elective modules. Please be warned that Modules 2A and 2B are a lot more difficult than Module 1, especially for persons who have had no exposure to international insolvency law instruments such as the UNCITRAL Model Laws relating to insolvency and the European Insolvency Regulation. Candidates are urged to make provision for sufficient time to master the content of these two modules.
Your first priority should be to work through the Module 1 Guidance Text and then to start work on the Formative Assessment for Module 1. The Formative Assessment is a practice assessment that has been set to help guide you through the Module 1 materials and is also designed to give you some idea of what to expect in respect of the Summative Assessments you have to complete for each module on the course. The Summative Assessments are the formal assessments (examination, if you like) that determine whether you pass or fail the module. More information regarding assessments has been provided below. The Summative Assessment for Module 1 is due one month after the submission date for the Formative Assessment, so all candidates are encouraged to submit the formative assessment for Module 1 as this is the only practice assessment you will be given the opportunity of completing. The marking guide for the formative assessment will be uploaded to the Module 1 web pages as soon as the formative assessment date has passed (ie on 16 October 2022). Please note that this is the only marking guide that will be provided to candidates.
Once you have completed the assessments on Module 1, you can start working on the Guidance Texts for Modules 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B. These are the compulsory modules on the course and also electives for for those candidates who decided to take the alternative choice of module as an elective. For those of you who are doing both Modules 2A and 2B, or both Modules 3A and 3B, please take note of the submission dates for assessments, depending on whether you have taken the module as a compulsory or an elective module. The guidance texts and assessments for Modules 1 (both formative and summative), 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B have already been uploaded. The Guidance Texts and can be found under the "Course Content" tab on the course web pages and the assessments under the "Assessments" tab. You are free to start working on the assessments for Modules 2 and 3 if you so wish, although you are urged to initially only focus on the two assessments for Module 1.
The assessments for modules 4 to 9 will be uploaded as they are received back from the authors. Please bear in mind that there are 36 elective modules and five compulsory modules on this course and since there are only two of us working on this, one part-time, it takes time to get the updated texts and assessments uploaded to the system. Most authors have already returned their updated texts and new assessments and these will be uploaded just as soon as we have had time to edit them and prepare them for publication. Our aim is to have all the module guidance texts and assessments uploaded by the end of December 2022.
Course Assessments
Information regarding the due date of assessments can be found in the Course Handbook and for each module under the Assessments tab on the course web pages. There are very specific instructions regarding the submission of assessments and candidates are requested to read and follow these instructions very carefully. With 124 of you enrolled on the course, and in order to ensure that assessments are marked quickly and accurately, you are requested to co-operate by following the instructions provided to you. Having the benefit of experience after having run the course for three years, I cannot over-emphasise the importance of reading (and complying with) the instructions that are provided to you.
It is also important to point out that this course is run on an entirely paperless basis. Assessments will be marked electronically in Microsoft Word, with comments or coloured text being used to provide you with feedback. When assessments are returned to you, this will be done in PDF format with the lecturers' feedback clearly visible. You will be informed by automated e-mail when you have submitted your assessment as well as when it is returned to you. The Course Handbook explains how to upload assessments and also where you will find your returned, marked assessment once it has been uploaded to your student dashboard.
All the assessments on the course count 50 marks. The breakdown of the mark allocation for each assessment is as follows: i) multiple-choice type questions - 10 marks; ii) direct questions - 10 marks; iii) essay-type questions - 15 marks; iv) fact-based application-type questions - 15 marks.
All assessments are open-book, although you will be asked to confirm that the assessment is your own work at the time it is submitted. Please consult the Course Handbook in this regard. On the last three courses (2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22) a multitude of problems were experienced with students copying and pasting their answers from the Guidance Text into their assessment answers (although this was less of a problem during the 2021/22 course). This is specifically prohibited and if this occurs during the course of this year, lecturers / markers have been instructed to award no marks (or at least less marks) for the questions where this has been done. All answers must be written in your own words. Where you do quote or use external sources for your answers, the source must be acknowledged. This is dealt with in detail in the Course Handbook, so please consult the relevant part.
Guidance Texts
The guidance texts for each module contain everything you need to know for the purposes of the assessments. You are not required to consult external or additional sources in order to answer the assessment questions, although in some cases you may be required to download texts (such as the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency). This will be made clear in the relevant guidance text.
The guidance texts and assessments for Modules 1, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B have already been uploaded for you. These are in PDF format and are both downloadable and printable. As far as the remaining guidance texts for modules 4 to 9 are concerned, these are not needed until such time as the compulsory modules have been completed. As indicated, the Guidance Texts for the elective modules will be uploaded piecemeal as and when they are completed. For now, though, you have everything you need to start work on Module 1 and the four compulsory modules.
And finally . . .
With the course web pages now open, please do navigate your way around the site and familiarise yourself with the system. It is by no means a complicated system, as we wanted to keep the running of the course as simple as possible, both for you and those who have to administer the course.
Good luck to you all for the coming year!
With best wishes,
Dr David Burdette
Course Leader
1 September 2022