SYNAPSE GLOBAL INSTITUTE Partner Institution LMS Training, Assessment and Institutional Partnership Policy
Status: Approved Version: 1.1 Approval and effective date: 26 October 2026 Policy owner: Principal, supported by the Head of Quality Assurance Review: Annually, or when assessment requirements change
1. Purpose and scope
This policy governs partnerships through which institutions use SGI’s LMS to train their students using SGI-approved existing courses, institution-provided courses and instructors, or both. It also governs Continuous Assessment Tests administered by SGI for partner institutions, including registration, delivery, submission, marking, reopening, moderation, results, appeals and student information.
Applicable examination-body requirements take precedence over internal procedures. Before accepting a partnership, SGI must confirm that the proposed assessment arrangement is permitted for the relevant qualification. Portal registration does not itself constitute examination-body approval.
2. Institution admission and responsibilities
Each partner institution must apply through the Institution CAT Portal and receive SGI approval before submitting student records.
The institution must nominate an authorised administrator responsible for providing accurate student names, identification details, courses, units, semesters and academic years; confirming student eligibility and correcting registration errors promptly; communicating assessment instructions and deadlines; ensuring student information is lawfully shared with SGI; and coordinating submission queries, reopening requests and result reviews.
SGI is responsible for managing assessment access, assigning authorised personnel, maintaining assessment records and releasing reviewed results.
3. Partnership terms and payment
Institution application and admission are free. CAT payment is requested only when an approved institution submits student-unit entries. LMS training charges, scope, payment arrangements and responsibilities must be agreed in writing before LMS activation; no training charge is implied by submitting an application.
Charges must identify the applicable student, unit and semester. Payment confirmation does not constitute submission of a CAT, award of marks or a guarantee of examination-body acceptance.
Refunds and cancellations are governed by the agreed partnership terms and SGI’s published refund policy.
4. Assessment preparation and delivery
SGI shall assign assessments appropriate to the registered course and unit. Existing SGI CATs may be used where academically suitable and where assessment security can be maintained.
Each assessment must specify its instructions, available marks, opening and closing times, permitted materials, submission format and duration. Times shall be communicated in East Africa Time.
Where a paper has already been exposed, SGI shall consider an equivalent replacement assessment rather than reuse that paper in circumstances that could compromise fairness.
Reasonable accommodation requests must be reviewed before the assessment wherever possible, with arrangements documented and consistent with applicable examination requirements.
5. Student submissions
Students must submit their own work and check that uploaded scripts are complete, readable, correctly ordered and attached to the correct assessment.
Uploading or saving a script does not necessarily complete submission. Students must complete the submission step and check the recorded status.
Technical problems must be reported promptly, with available evidence. Reports should identify the institution, student, unit, assessment and time of the problem. Passwords must never be included.
6. Marking and moderation
Only authorised SGI personnel may mark institution CATs.
Markers must apply the approved marking guide consistently, record marks within the assessment’s maximum score and provide appropriate feedback. Missing or unreadable pages must be documented.
Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed through reassignment or independent review.
Before release, the Head of Quality Assurance or a designated reviewer shall check marking consistency, calculations, student identification and unresolved exceptions. Payment or institutional relationships must not influence academic marks.
7. Reopening submissions
Reopening may be considered for a wrong attachment, incomplete or unreadable upload, verified technical disruption, or another documented exceptional circumstance.
Requests must normally be submitted through the partner institution’s authorised administrator and include the student name, institution, course/unit and assessment; the reason and supporting evidence where available; and the correction or additional submission required.
Only an authorised SGI administrator may reopen an assessment. The decision must record the reason, approving officer, permitted action and new deadline.
Reopening is not an automatic entitlement or an opportunity to improve answers after receiving marking feedback. Where assessment integrity may be affected, the Principal or designated academic officer shall determine whether a supervised replacement CAT is appropriate.
Original scripts, replacement uploads and relevant submission history must remain available for authorised review. The marker must identify which submission was assessed and explain any exclusion of earlier material.
8. Academic integrity
Impersonation, unauthorised collaboration, plagiarism, fabricated evidence and use of prohibited assistance are subject to investigation.
SGI shall preserve relevant evidence, inform the student and institution of the concern, and provide an opportunity to respond before deciding an outcome.
Any action must be proportionate, documented and consistent with applicable assessment rules. Affected results may be withheld while the matter is reviewed, with reasons communicated to the institution.
9. Results and corrections
Results shall be released only after marking and required quality checks are complete.
Partner institutions may access only their authorised records. Result slips must clearly identify the institution, student, course/unit, semester, academic year and approved result.
Released results are locked in the current portal. Any subsequent correction requires a documented review and approval by the Principal or designated academic authority. The correction process must preserve the original result, reason, approvals and revised result, and notify affected recipients.
An SGI result slip must not be presented as an official KASNEB final examination result.
10. Reviews and appeals
Students may request a review through their institution where they believe work was omitted, marks were calculated incorrectly, the marking guide was misapplied or a procedural irregularity occurred.
A review should be conducted by a suitably qualified person who was not solely responsible for the original decision. The outcome and reasons must be communicated in writing. A reviewed mark may increase, decrease or remain unchanged.
Approved SGI service standards: • Report a submission problem or request reopening: within two working days of the deadline. • Acknowledge a reopening request: within two working days. • Request a result review: within seven working days of release. • Communicate a review outcome: within ten working days of receiving a complete request.
Exceptional cases may be considered with written reasons. These periods do not extend examination-body deadlines.
11. Privacy, security and record retention
Student information shall be used only for authorised assessment administration, payment reconciliation, academic review, reporting and related obligations.
Access must be restricted according to duties. National identification numbers must not appear in public lists or unsecured communications. Partner institutions must not access another institution’s records.
Before operation, SGI shall approve a retention schedule covering scripts, marks, identity records, payment records and audit history. It must specify justified retention periods, secure disposal arrangements and any applicable examination-body requirements. Records relating to an unresolved appeal, investigation or legal hold must be preserved until the matter is resolved.
These provisions reflect the ODPC’s education-sector guidance on data accuracy, restricted access and keeping records only as long as necessary. Reference: https://www.odpc.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ODPC-Guidance-Note-for-the-Education-Sector.pdf
12. Examination-body reporting
Each partnership agreement must identify who verifies and submits official CAT records to the relevant examination body.
SGI and the partner institution must confirm the current qualification-specific requirements, submission format, deadlines and authorised reporting channel. The SGI portal does not automatically transmit results to KASNEB. Official requirements should be checked against KASNEB’s published guidance and relevant circulars. Reference: https://kasneb.or.ke/examination-resources
13. Contacts
Assessment administration, reopening requests, appeals and privacy concerns: admin@sgi.ac General enquiries: info@sgi.ac Telephone: +254 100 000 050
Requests should include enough information to locate the assessment, while avoiding unnecessary identity documents or sensitive attachments.
14. LMS partnership application and activation
Institutions may apply for CAT services, LMS training, or both. The application must identify the proposed courses, expected student numbers, instructors and support requirements. SGI admission does not automatically activate LMS training or publish courses. SGI must separately approve workspace activation and record the agreed training terms.
15. Course ownership and publication
Partner institutions may request SGI’s existing courses or propose their own courses. SGI decides which content may be shared, for which learners and for how long. A partnership grants no ownership of SGI materials and no right to redistribute them outside the approved learning arrangement. Institutions retain their pre-existing content rights and must authorise the hosting and delivery necessary for the partnership.
The submitting institution must hold the required rights to all lesson text, files, images, video and other materials. SGI must review academic suitability and sharing permissions before publication. Imported SGI lesson content is a reviewed snapshot; later changes to the source course do not automatically update it. Adding lessons returns the partner course to draft for review. Learners may access only published courses assigned to their accounts.
16. Instructors, students and access
Each institution must use its own authorised manager account and request student and instructor assignments using each person’s own SGI account email. SGI approves or revokes each course assignment. Credentials must not be shared. Institution instructors receive access only to their assigned partner courses, not SGI-wide instructor or administration rights.
Institutions must communicate the privacy notice and obtain any permissions required for their students’ participation. Account assignments must be accurate and reviewed when students leave or instructors change. Suspending an institution or disabling its learning workspace blocks partner access. Revoking an assignment removes access to the relevant course.
17. Delivery, learning progress and support
The learning workspace supports lesson notes, HTTPS video/resource links, protected PDF/image learning materials and learner-reported lesson completion. Course managers and assigned instructors may review progress for their own courses. Completion records are learning indicators, not CAT marks, attendance certification or an examination qualification. CAT assessment and result controls in this policy continue to apply independently.
The institution is responsible for its teaching schedule, instructor availability and student support arrangements unless the partnership agreement assigns these to SGI. Service expectations, accessibility arrangements, support responsibilities and any live-class requirements must be agreed before delivery. External linked services remain subject to their own access and availability requirements.
18. Partnership changes and exit
Changes to scope, fees, instructors, approved content or student access must be documented. SGI may suspend access where necessary to protect students, assessment integrity, content rights or system security, with reasons and an appropriate review route communicated to the institution. On expiry or termination, the parties must agree learner communication, completion or transfer arrangements, authorised record provision and the handling of retained or deleted records under the applicable retention schedule.