Background
Candidates who fail the examination and who meet specific criteria and requirements have the right to appeal their results to the Appeal Panel for consideration of relief.
A candidate must submit a written request for an appeal application, if they wish the Appeal Panel to review the specified circumstances that, in the candidate’s opinion, have affected their examination performance.
Prior to the result being published, the candidate performance sheets of any candidate with borderline results—a total number of three (3) marks below and one (1) mark above the cut score—will be hand-scored to confirm the test score.
The Appeal Panel does not review appeals regarding the content of the examination or possible responses to examination questions. The content of the examination is not subject to appeal.
All appeals, information, and/or communication relating to an appeal must be submitted in writing to appeals@cmtnl.ca.
All requests under the Appeal Policy will be treated impartially and confidentially.
A candidate’s grounds for appeal must present a compelling and substantiated reason for the failure of the examination. For the appeal to be compelling and substantiated, the Appeal Panel strongly considers whether:
- the candidate reported issues impacting their ability to perform at the examination by:
- contacting the CMTNL prior to the exam in the case of medical or compassionate grounds; or
- notifying the Examination Officer during the examination; or
- completing the post-examination survey; and/or
- contacting the CMTNL within seven (7) days of writing the examination.
- the candidate’s report is consistent with the Examination Officer’s report
- the candidate requested accommodation with acceptable supporting
- documentation by the examination deadline if the appeal is on the grounds of process irregularity related to lack of accommodation.
Failure to provide supporting documentation by the deadline may result in the appeal being denied.
Grounds for Appeal
Where a candidate believes that a failing examination result was due to one or more circumstances outlined below, and they file an appeal, the Appeal Panel will review the candidate’s circumstances to determine which of the remedies outlined below may be provided.
The only grounds for appeal are that:
- There is clear evidence of procedural irregularity in the conduct of the examination (including administrative error) which has adversely affected a candidate’s performance.
- There were exceptional circumstances, such as illness or some other extenuating circumstance (for which clear documentary evidence must be provided), which adversely affected a candidate’s performance in the examination.
- Candidates are advised to submit details of any such circumstances, preferably on the day of the examination or in any circumstances within three working days of the examination and not wait until after they receive their results.
- Candidates should note that the Regulations make clear that there is the right of withdrawal from any examination up to its start due to exceptional circumstances.
- Candidates who sit the examination are deemed to be certifying themselves fit and healthy to do so.
- The CMTNL will not accept appeals from candidates who were aware of exceptional or extenuating circumstances before the examination and subsequently chose to sit.
- Candidates are expected to notify the Examinations staff of any irregularity regarding their examination at the earliest opportunity. This allows such factors to be considered in the results process, if applicable.
- Candidates appealing after results have been issued based on circumstances not previously disclosed will be required to explain why they did not notify the CMTNL of the issue sooner.
- Failure to provide a satisfactory explanation may be used as grounds to deny the appeal.
- It must be evident that, if the candidate had been able to complete the exam in the standard way/circumstances, they would have passed it. It should be noted that candidates affected by technical issues causing disruption or delays in their exam are very unlikely to meet this standard.
Appeals will not be accepted on the grounds that a candidate:
- Considers his or her efforts were under-marked
- Failed the exam by a narrow margin
- Did not understand or was unaware of the Examination Regulations
- Seeks to question the exercise of professional or academic judgement. An appeal may not question the clinical judgement of an examiner regarding a patient in a clinical exam.
- Any expression of a specific concern about the provision or quality of a service by the CMTNL, including issues such as staff conduct, disputes about the regulations, other procedures or the application thereof is defined as a ‘complaint’ and, as such, will not be considered under these grounds.
An appeal may be considered by the Appeal Panel only if the candidate claims that a failing result is based on one or more of the following circumstances:
- Sudden and acute illness
- Personal emergency
- Procedural irregularities
- There was a substantial error of judgement on the part of the Examiners.
- There was a material administrative error or material irregularity in the exam which has made a significant and substantial difference to your result.
- The examinations were not conducted in accordance with the current student handbook.
Sudden and Acute Illness
A candidate must submit in writing to the Appeal Panel, along with their completed Appeal Application, a letter that describes their illness and demonstrates how the illness had an adverse impact on their performance on the examination.
The candidate must include an original, signed medical report from a qualified physician or medical professional, who examined the candidate within seven (7) days after the examination date. A candidate not examined by a physician or medical professional within seven (7) days is expected to submit a letter to the Appeal Panel stating reasons for not meeting this requirement.
Personal Emergency
If a candidate experiences difficulty before an examination due to an unforeseen emergency or trauma, such as the death or serious, sudden illness or injury of a close family member or close personal friend, the candidate must submit, along with a completed Appeal Application, appropriate supporting documents including proof of death (e.g., a death certificate, obituary notice, or other similar documents) or medical documentation outlining the details of the illness or injury.
Procedural Irregularities
A candidate may appeal their result only based on suspected irregularities in the examination process (prior to or during the exam). An appeal based on process must present evidence that the alleged irregularities materially affected the candidate’s performance. The existence of irregularities, in and of itself, is not sufficient to change the result of the examination.
The following are NOT grounds for appeal:
- Alleged errors in content of the exam or the data analysis that was conducted.
- The content of the examination and/or the details of the data analysis are not subject to review at the request of a candidate or group of candidates.
A candidate must submit in writing to the Appeal Panel, along with their completed Appeal Application, a letter describing any significant procedural irregularities in the administration of the examination and any major irregularities in the environment while the examination was in progress.
The appeal must include facts demonstrating that the procedural and/or environmental irregularities had an adverse impact on the candidate’s performance on the examination. It is the responsibility of the candidate to establish, to the satisfaction of the Appeal Panel, that if the procedural and/or environmental irregularities did not occur, it is more likely than not that the candidate would have passed the examination.
Supporting Documents
Please send any supporting documents along with your appeal application.
If a Candidate Feedback form has not previously been submitted, it is essential that you indicate in your application why this evidence was not brought to the attention of the College immediately after your exam.
Documentation
Candidates who submit an appeal request on the grounds of illness or special circumstances occurring on the day of the exam must deliver a letter and/or medical report detailing the nature of the illness within seven (7) days of the examination administration.
Medical documentation in the form of a practitioner’s report must outline the following:
- Candidate’s full name
- Nature of the relevant condition(s) and the extent to which the condition(s) would have impaired the Candidate’s performance on the examination.
- Date of the report and/or assessment
- Medical professionals
- full name
- designation/credentials
- telephone number
- mailing address
- signature
Unacceptable Documentation examples, are as follows, but not limited to:
- Educational Institution related documents
- Letters from educators
- Performance reviews
Appeal Panel
The appeal panel will consist of a minimum of three (3) people; two (2) RMTs with exam experience, but who did not proctor the candidate in question, and one (1) public member.
Appeals Procedure
In addition to the specific procedures and requirements outlined for each circumstance, the following procedures MUST be adhered to for a request for an appeal to be considered by the Appeal Panel. Candidates are strongly advised to review this policy and any other relevant materials, such as the Examination Handbook, before requesting an appeal. If the procedures and requirements are not followed, the request for an appeal may not be considered by the Appeal Panel.
1. The candidate must submit to the College a Request for an Appeal Application within seven (7) calendar days of the release of the examination results.
- In the candidate’s request for an Appeal Application, the candidate must briefly outline the grounds or circumstances on which the request is based. If the request is not based on one of the three circumstances listed, the request for an appeal will not be considered.
- If a request for an appeal does not meet the procedures and requirements outlined above, the Appeal Panel will email the candidate, indicating that the request for an appeal will not be considered by the Appeal Panel and the circumstances of why.
- The Appeal Panel will acknowledge receipt of a candidate’s request for an Appeal Application and provide the Appeal application within seven (7) days.
- The candidate must submit a completed Appeal Application within seven (7) calendar days of receiving it.
- In the candidate’s Appeal Application, the candidate must outline, in detail, the grounds or circumstances on which the request is based. If the request does not meet one of the three circumstances listed, the appeal will not be rejected. The candidate is permitted to appeal under more than one ground. For each ground, the candidate must provide the necessary documentation.
- The Appeal Application must include all the information, facts and supporting documents upon which the candidate intends to rely. Failure to provide the required documentation under any ground may cause the candidate’s appeal to be denied.
- An appeal that meets the criteria will be forwarded to the Appeal Panel for consideration.
- The Appeal Panel will meet and review all documentation and make a decision within fourteen (14) days of receiving the application.
The Appeal Panel will review the following documentation:
- The candidate’s feedback from
- The candidate’s completed Appeal Application and all supporting documentation
- A statement from the director of exams concerning the examination process relevant to each candidate’s file and Candidate data
- Any other material, documentation, or information which the Panel determines necessary, relevant, and appropriate.
If needed, the Appeal Panel may also review the candidate performance sheet, marking sheets, incident reports and exam statistics from the exam day in question. The Appeal Panel may question the candidate and/or director of exams if deemed necessary.
The decision will be provided to the candidate and the director of the exams via a letter from the Appeal Panel.
No appeal results will be communicated verbally.
The decision by the Appeal Panel is final.
Accessing Examination Material
Due to the sensitive nature of the examination material, candidates are not permitted to review their examination documents. Candidate concerns regarding the specifics of their examination (where it does not compromise examination security) will be addressed as part of the consideration of the appeal.
Decision Outcomes
After reviewing all material provided by the candidate and the director of exams, the Appeal Panel will make one of the following determinations:
- Deny the appeal
Should the Appeal Panel’s decision be to deny the appeal, the Appeal Panel will take no further action on the matter.
2. Grant the appeal
Should the Appeal Panel’s decision be to grant the appeal, the Appeal Panel has the authority to make the following decisions:
- Allow the candidate to re-sit the examination without the appealed attempt being counted as one of the three permitted attempts; and/or
- To allow the candidate to re-sit the next available examination at an adjusted fee; and/or
- Allow the candidate to redo only the stations affected by the extraordinary circumstance(s) and combine marks with the results of the rest of the exam in question.
- Any other remedy the panel deems necessary.
As the College is mandated to protect the public, neither the Appeal Panel nor the College has the power to change an exam result from unsuccessful to successful. The onus is still on the candidate to show minimum competency.
Reconsideration
If a candidate does not agree with the appeal decision from the appeal panel, they may request that the board reconsider the decision. The board will review the written decision of the Appeal Panel and ask questions if necessary. If the board disagrees with the decision, they have available to them the same options for an appeal decision outcome. Once the board decision is made, and if the candidate is dissatisfied with the decision, they will be directed to take legal action and no further communication will be made directly between the candidate, the board, Appeal Panel, or director of exams regarding the matter.
Appeal fee
The fee is $100 and is refunded if appeal is granted.
Exam Rescoring
A candidate who has failed may request that their examination result be re-verified via manual rescoring. The rescoring of the answers is done by hand rather than through the normal electronic process. The rescoring process can be used to determine the following:
- if there was improper recording of the answers to one or more examination items and/or
- if one or more examination items were improperly scored against the answer key.
Candidates cannot appeal exam results based on the opinion that they performed better than indicated. The exam process includes review of the exam data to confirm accurate data entry of all candidate marking sheets. A candidate may request a re-read through the Appeal Panel within seven (7) days of receiving their exam results.
Applicants will be provided with the results of the rescore via a letter from the CMTNL.
If an error is found, the exam marks will be resubmitted, and a new result sheet will be issued.
Rescoring Fee
The fee is $100 and is refunded if an error is found.