GCYT Code of Conduct
This Code of Conduct contains policies and guidelines designed to help make your studies run smoothly. It sets out:
- the standards of behaviour required from you as a student,
- the standards you can expect from your teachers,
- attendance requirements,
- administrative requirements, and
- assessment requirements,
All students are expected to always comply with this Code of Conduct. Students are expected to participate in all class activities in a professional and respectful manner.
If at any stage of your studies you have queries about this Code, please contact:
Course Administrator – Trina Bawden-Smith
Mob: 0406134771
Email: trina@yogatherapyinstitute.com.au
1. Attendance
We have a team of highly qualified, experienced, enthusiastic teachers who are ready to share their knowledge with you. There is a lot of material to be covered in each class and the entire class time is needed to cover the content. The following guidelines are aimed at providing optimal learning conditions for all.
1.1 Before booking transport, time off or other contingencies, confirm with the Course Administrator that the relevant module will be proceeding.
1.2 We will communicate to you ahead of time the start date and time for each class. Standard in-person class hours begin at 9am and finish at 5pm (local area time), and standard online class hours begin at 9am and finish at 3pm (Sydney time) with some homework activities to complete for online students. You must arrive for class on time and be ready to commence at the scheduled time and attend for the whole day.
1.3 Teachers will begin to deliver training at the scheduled start times. They will not wait for latecomers to arrive.
1.4 Teachers will set break times for each class. You are expected to return promptly and be ready to begin the next session at the agreed times.
1.5 You must sign in and sign out on the attendance roll for each class, indicating arrival and departure time at the beginning and end of each day. When attending modules via Zoom, the teacher will mark the roll.
1.6 If you leave a session early, you must sign the attendance roll accordingly and indicate your time of departure. When attending via Zoom, please let the teacher and Course Administrator know when you are leaving.
1.7 In order to complete your course in the standard timeframe, you must maintain an attendance rate of 100%. Note this attendance requirement is a requirement of certification bodies and is a prerequisite for obtaining the Certificate. See clause 3 below for details on how to make up for unavoidable absences.
1.8 We will ensure all dates for scheduled classes are provided in advance to enable you to plan ahead. In the unlikely event that the date for a scheduled class needs to be changed, we will advise you as soon as possible.
1.9 If you are attending an in-person class that is not in your hometown or city, please arrange transport, including flights, to ensure that you are able to attend each day in full, from 9am to 5pm. Arriving late or departing early due to flight or transport times is not acceptable.
2. Missed Classes
We understand that life can be complicated, and you may occasionally need to miss a scheduled class. If that’s the case, please follow these procedures to ensure there are not too many gaps in your learning and to ensure you have the correct number of in-person attendance hours that are a prerequisite for the award of the Certificate. Please be aware that many classes will not have formal notes provided and that a large part of the learning is through demonstration, practice, and discussion.
2.1 Permission to miss a class will only be given in exceptional circumstances or due to illness. Please provide a doctor’s certificate if you are missing classes due to medical reasons. Missing classes without permission may mean you are unable to complete the course requirements and will be ineligible for receiving your Certificate.
2.2 Permission to miss a class will not be given due to other work or study commitments, social events, travel/retreats. We take our commitment to this course very seriously and expect students to do the same.
2.3 If you need to miss a class, you must fill in a Leave of Absence form (found in the Learning Management System). Phone calls and text messages are only acceptable in an emergency for initial notification purposes.
3. Make-up Classes
3.1 If you have been granted permission to miss a class in advance, you are expected to make up missed classes by arranging a Zoom make-up session with the relevant teacher. Teachers will charge for these additional sessions, and you will pay the teacher directly at the conclusion of the make-up session. The teacher will provide you with a receipt for your payment. Make-up sessions are currently charged at $100 plus GST ($110) per hour. Please contact the teacher as soon as possible, either before or straight after the missed class, to arrange this session.
3.2 Where the session cannot be made up via Zoom, additional written work will be set.
3.3 Please note that the teachers have other teaching commitments. Make up sessions will be scheduled at the teachers’ discretion and are subject to their availability.
3.4 If you miss classes without permission, you will only be granted make-up sessions in exceptional circumstances.
3.5 If you miss a class and are unable to make up the missed content by the start of the subsequent module, you may not be able to continue the course and may be required to defer your studies.
4. Assessment Tasks
Completion of the Graduate Certificate in Yoga Therapy requires satisfactory completion of all assessment tasks for each module of the course. You will have numerous assessment tasks to complete, and it is important to establish good study habits to meet due dates. It is important to complete assessments in the order in which they have been set to reinforce the learning done in class. The following guidelines set out our expectations in terms of assessment tasks.
4.1 Teachers will provide details of assessment tasks well in advance of due dates and you must submit assessment tasks by the due date.
4.2 If you know you will not be able to complete an assessment task in time, you must fill in the Assessment Extension/ Late Assessment Submission form (found in the Learning Management System) and submit it online. Extensions requested on medical grounds require a medical certificate. Requests for extension by phone or text will not be considered. Requests due to your case study volunteers cancelling sessions will NOT be accepted under any circumstances. Please ensure you have back up plans in place should your case study cancel.
4.3 Extensions will be granted for 2 weeks after the task due date. In the case of medical or exceptional circumstances, the Course Administrator will approve extensions on a case-by-case basis.
4.4 If you fail to submit an assessment task, the certificate of course completion cannot be granted.
4.5 For all assessment tasks received by due dates, Teachers commit to the following turnaround times for marking, except in case of Teacher illness or exceptional circumstances:
6 weeks from due date.
Teachers cannot commit to the above turnaround times for assessment tasks handed in late. In such cases, work will be marked when the teacher has time, given their other commitments. Please expect lengthy delays in this instance.
4.6 A late fee of $100 including GST is payable if an assessment is submitted after the due date and for extension requests.
4.7 Please note that the final case study is assessed in class time. If you fail to submit the final case study at the assigned time, a minimum marking fee of $100 plus GST per hour will be charged for late assessment.
4.8 If you are directed to resubmit an assessment task, you must re-submit within the time frame set by the Course Administrator or the teacher.
4.9 All assessments must be uploaded to the Learning Management System unless otherwise advised. Assessments sent by email will not be marked or assessed.
4.10 All assessments are to be original and not plagiarised. Plagiarised work may result in expulsion from the course.
4.11 Keep a copy of all assessments for your records.
5. General Conduct
5.1 In your interactions with fellow students, teachers, and visiting case studies, you must conduct yourself honestly and respectfully and in a manner that accords with the Yogic ethics.
5.2 Discriminatory behaviour, including verbal abuse or bullying, will not be tolerated.
5.3 Confidentiality is to be strictly maintained, including with case studies.
5.4 Maintain respect for all yogic traditions.
5.5 If you behave in a disrespectful manner, the teacher has discretion to remove you from the room or online meeting.
5.6 If you fail to comply with this Code of Conduct, we reserve the right to expel you from the Course.
6. Advice on Student’s Own Clients
6.1 Should you wish to seek a teacher’s advice regarding a specific client you are working with, you may approach the teacher to present the case as an in-class case study. You should notify the teacher ahead of time that you have a case you would like to offer so class time can be allocated. You should provide the relevant teacher with appropriate background information. The teacher will notify you if this will be possible, and it is solely at the teacher’s discretion.
6.2 Teachers are unable to provide ‘free’ advice on student’s clients during or after the course.
7. Private Mentoring and Yoga Therapy
7.1 The teachers may be available for private mentoring or private Yoga therapy sessions.
7.2 Private mentoring sessions may only take place once students have completed the course and have completed all assessments. These sessions can be negotiated with the teacher directly and will be charged at the teachers’ normal rate. Please contact the relevant teacher directly to arrange a session after the course has been completed.
7.3 Exceptions can be made if the teacher has a pre-existing professional relationship with a student prior to the course’s commencement.
7.4 Some teachers offer private Yoga therapy sessions to you during the course. If you are interested in this, please speak to the teacher directly.
8. Course Deferral
If you need to defer your studies to a subsequent period, please be aware of the following:
8.1 Deferrals are only granted in exceptional circumstances or severe illness accompanied by a doctor’s certificate.
8.2 A deferral fee of $1000 (including GST) applies to all deferrals without exception. The deferral fee is due at the time your application for deferral is submitted via the Learning Management System. This fee cannot be paid at a later time.
8.3 Deferring students must complete their studies within the next calendar year after deferring their studies or they may be requested to recommence their studies from the beginning of the course, due to changes in the course content from year to year.
8.4 Any increase in the price of the course in the year the student recommences studies will be passed on to the deferring student.
8.5 Deferral will only be permitted if there are available places in the subsequent year’s Course. If the subsequent year is full, then a place will be offered in the year after that.
9. Enrolment Termination
9.1 If you have not completed the Course three years from the date of deferral, your enrolment will be terminated, and you will need to restart the course from the beginning and complete all modules again.
9.2 If after accepting a place on the Course you do not pay the relevant Fees by the agreed dates, or if you do not respond to us after we attempt to contact you multiple times via phone/email, your enrolment in the Course may be terminated. In this instance, the Fees paid are non-refundable.
10. Transferring Between Location
The GCYT is offered in a number of locations and online. Once you have enrolled in the course, if you wish to change location for one or more of your modules, this will incur a cost of $200 per module. Transferring to another location for one or more modules is only available in certain circumstances. If a course is full, you cannot transfer into that course.
11. Recognition of Prior Learning
11.1 If you have completed other relevant training, we may be able to offer recognition of this prior learning for specific module/s. Please email the Course Coordinator for more information.
11.2 Your application form and all relevant documentation for RPL for a module must be submitted by the agreed date so that it can be assessed in a timely fashion. Late submissions for RPL will not be considered.
12. Student Illness
12.1 If you are ill with anything that is contagious including a flu, respiratory illness, gastro, or other infectious disease, please do not attend in-person classes. We regret that we cannot have students in class who may spread illness to the others in the group. We frequently have students and case study volunteers who have compromised immune systems. Thank you for your understanding.
12.2 If you are recovering from such an illness, please get medical clearance from a doctor and obtain a medical clearance certificate prior to attending an in-person class. This will need to be shown to the teacher and emailed to the Course Administrator.
13. Certificate of Completion
The certificate of completion will only be issued once all attendance and assessment requirements are met and once all outstanding course fees are paid.
14. Confirmation of Enrolment
If you require additional letters of enrolment confirmation to support an application for funding or for CPD points or similar, please email the Course Administrator with details of your request. The fee for these letters is $50, or $50 per hour if the requested assistance requires more than one hour of our time to prepare.
15. Electronic Devices
The use of electronic devices to conduct personal business or social activity during teaching time is not permitted. Please restrict phone and email use to break time outside the training room.
16. Copyright
All course materials, including notes and PowerPoints are copyright of the respective authors. Except as permitted by the copyright law applicable to you, you may not reproduce or communicate any of the course content on the Yoga Therapy Institute website or the Yoga Therapy Institute sharefile, including notes and PowerPoints, without the permission of the copyright owner.