GCSB-POL-010 PGDCSL Recognition of Prior Learning

1. Purpose and scope

This Policy governs Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment for entry to and progression within the GCSB Postgraduate Executive Diploma in Converged Security Leadership (PGDCSL), planned for January 2027. RPL evaluates evidenced learning against authorised programme outcomes; it is not an award for seniority, job title or years of service alone.

Read this Policy with GCSB-POL-009 and GCSB-STD-003, GCSB-STD-004 and GCSB-STD-005. GCSB makes independent recognition and award decisions. CSI provides training; completion of training does not determine an RPL decision.

2. Free eligibility screening

Initial eligibility screening is free. The candidate supplies a summary of qualifications, relevant experience and the components for which recognition is requested. GCSB checks whether an authorised route exists and whether sufficient evidence and assessment capacity are likely to be available.

The screening response identifies a potential assessment route, requests clarification or explains why formal assessment cannot proceed. It is advisory, not a recognition decision, credit award or promise of admission. Candidates are not charged merely to establish whether their request can be considered.

3. Assessment scope and fees

Formal RPL assessment is a separate service from the Executive Integration Portfolio assessment. Before payment, the candidate receives a written fixed GBP quote identifying:

The programme version, components and outcomes to be assessed.
Evidence requirements and any professional discussion or additional assessment included.
The total fee, applicable taxes, what is included and what is excluded.
The expected timetable and how delays will be communicated.
Candidate terms, cancellation and refund arrangements, and any further-assessment charges.
The possible outcomes and the independent appeal route.

The candidate must accept the scope and terms before assessment begins. No additional charge or scope change is imposed without a revised quote and candidate agreement. RPL payment does not include the portfolio assessment fee unless an expressly approved quote separately itemises both services; it never buys recognition, a component certificate or PGDCSL.

The programme page publishes approved GBP portfolio tier amounts. The formal RPL assessment fee is £195, approved on 6 November 2026; eligibility screening remains free. RPL and founding-cohort requests are open. Following screening and written scope approval, the candidate accepts the offer and approved terms in their portal before using the applicable Stripe payment link. Tax and independent assessment arrangements were confirmed on 6 November 2026; each offer must still state the applicable scope, timetable and final-price/tax disclosure. GCSB is not VAT registered; no UK VAT is added to its fees. This does not establish a worldwide tax exemption. No blanket non-refundable term or new appeal fee is created by this Policy; applicable consumer rights are preserved.

4. Evidence and authenticity

Candidates submit an outcome-by-outcome evidence matrix explaining what they learned, where the evidence demonstrates it, and their personal contribution. Evidence may include verified qualifications and assessment records, relevant work products, reflective accounts, professional development records and appropriately authorised employer or referee confirmation.

Assessors evaluate relevance, sufficiency, authenticity and currency against the authorised outcomes. A CV, position title, professional certification or duration of experience alone is insufficient. Evidence must demonstrate the candidate's own competence, including integrated application of the GCSB standards where required. Further questioning or assessment may be necessary to resolve gaps.

Candidates must have permission to submit organisational material and redact unrelated personal, client and commercially sensitive information. Alternative evidence or secure review arrangements should be agreed where confidentiality prevents submission. Fabricated evidence, plagiarism and misrepresentation are handled under GCSB-STD-003 with procedural fairness.

5. Component mapping and limits

Every PGDCSL requirement must remain accounted for: CSCE, CSP, CSL, CCSO and the Executive Integration Portfolio. Recognition may only be recorded where the applicable programme rules expressly permit the proposed route and independent mapping confirms the required outcomes. This Policy does not introduce an exemption cap, waive a component, create an automatic executive-entry entitlement or activate an unreleased programme manual.

The Executive Integration Portfolio is mandatory and non-exemptible. It must be submitted and independently assessed even where prior learning is recognised elsewhere. Neither CCSO alone nor approved RPL plus payment confers PGDCSL.

Component recognition toward PGDCSL is not automatically a separately issued CSCE, CSP, CSL or CCSO certificate. The written decision must distinguish verified credentials, authorised recognition toward the diploma and outstanding requirements. Assessors must not invent component marks or substitute an assumed score for missing assessment data. Unresolved mapping or classification questions are referred to the Academic Board before recognition is relied upon for conferment.

6. Independent assessment and approval

An authorised assessor evaluates the agreed evidence against the applicable outcomes, records reasons and identifies any gaps. Independent moderation reviews the mapping and proposed outcome. Conflicts of interest are declared and managed under GCSB-POL-003 and GCSB-POL-007. A candidate's instructor, employer or commercially connected provider must not be the sole assessor or approve their own candidate's recognition.

The Assessment Board confirms outcomes within its authorised remit; the Academic Board retains formal qualification conferment authority under GCSB-STD-004. If independent capacity or an authorised route is unavailable, formal assessment is deferred rather than sold on an unsupported promise.

7. Outcomes and candidate feedback

The candidate receives a written, reasoned outcome against the agreed scope:

Recognition approved for the specified outcomes under the authorised route.
Partial recognition, with identified gaps and the evidence or assessment still required.
Recognition not approved, with reasons.
Decision deferred because verification or an authorised mapping decision remains outstanding.

The record specifies the evidence relied upon, programme version, recognition limits and remaining requirements, including the portfolio. Additional learning or reassessment is not assumed to be included in the original fee. Any further paid assessment requires separately agreed terms. No recognition decision by itself creates a public register entry or qualification award.

8. Fair access, appeals and complaints

Assessment concerns demonstrated learning, not background, age, seniority or employment prestige. Candidates may request reasonable adjustments and suitable alternative evidence formats without reducing the required competence standard.

Appeals follow GCSB-STD-005: normally within 30 calendar days of the outcome, on the published grounds; Academic Board review may be requested within 14 calendar days of the appeal panel outcome. Published exceptional-circumstance provisions apply. No person involved in the original decision hears its appeal. Administrative or service complaints follow GCSB-STD-006. This Policy creates no shorter deadline or separate appeal restriction.

9. Confidentiality and records

Evidence, assessment notes, payment information and deliberations remain private and accessible only to authorised people with a legitimate assessment or governance role. Recognition and qualification decision records are retained for at least seven years under GCSB-STD-004 and applicable privacy requirements; supporting evidence is handled under the published retention arrangements. Public verification confirms issued qualifications, not private RPL submissions.

10. Document control

Reference: GCSB-POL-010.
Version: 1.0.
Issue date: 6 November 2026.
Issuing authority: Global Converged Security Board.
Policy oversight: Governing Council; academic recognition and qualification authority: Academic Board.
Operational commencement: subject to authorised programme routes, independent capacity, approved fees and candidate terms; planned PGDCSL commencement January 2027.
Review: no later than 6 November 2027, or earlier if governing regulations or assessment arrangements change.
Precedence: GCSB-POL-009 and the governing standards apply. This Policy does not amend published qualification requirements or bring private programme revisions into force. Any conflict must be reconciled before an affected assessment or award proceeds.

PGDCSL Recognition of Prior Learning Policy