1. Admission Policy

The BBTI Management admits applicants as per guidelines for the awards offered. Students will be informed by e-mail when accepted to attend the award.

Admission Procedure

Admission for the Awards:

Introduction to Food and Beverage and Bartending do not have any entry requirements as these are offered at Level 1

This procedure is kick started by the administration who inform the Direct superiors of staff who need to go through the awards as CPDs.

Adverts by the administration will be issued on the Facebook page so that anyone form the general public can attend too.

The above requirements are applied consistently and in a transparent manner as records are well kept.

2. Academic Calendar Policy

BBTI provides clear, accurate and timely information to its stakeholders about key academic dates and deadlines.

Academic Calendar Procedures

BBTI administration, in consultation with the BBTI Head will issue the academic calendar on the website and send an e-mail to Direct Superiors of staff about the academic calendar dates. The Calendar is an ongoing exercise by the administration as the needs of staff are taken into consideration.

3. Award Viability Assessment Policy

BBTI continuously monitors the awards in tandem with the lecturers and students.

Award Viability Assessment Procedure

BBTI will review every 5 years the awards through:

1. Employment rates (by asking Alumni)
2. Student questionnaires
3. Other relevant information for ongoing monitoring like feedback from the lecturer
4. Consulting the sectoral skills council as external stakeholders

BBTI Head and Directors will make a review and take any action as necessary after having gone through the above points.

The procedure for review of awards applies to all staff and a representative from the Sectoral skills council involved in the delivery and addresses 5 stages for enhancement.

1. Planning – determine if the qualification is listed on the National Occupational standards (NOS) or any other professional bodies. The Sectoral skills Council representative is involved in this type of planning.
2. Pre-training preparation – any required specific CPDs for lecturers if there is a new element in the content and assessment. CPDs can also be delivered by any external expert stakeholder.
3. Delivery – any new required resources for delivery
4. Transition and Teach out – check if the teach out now requires any different modes of delivery for any specific needs.
5. Continuous improvement – to review schemes of work and check that the assessment is fit for purpose

The planning is carried out in teams made up of lecturers and the Sectoral skills Council representative and a report is issued annually to the Head.

4. New Awards Policy

BBTI will accept new awards where appropriate according to the mission of BBTI.

New Awards Procedure

BBTI will evaluate all demands coming from any stakeholder as regards to new ideas for new awards. The Demand must be in line with the mission and vision of BBTI and must also be in line with the current available physical and human resources. The Directors after consulting with the BBTI Head will give the final go ahead for an award to be given and added to the calendar dates.

5. Plagiarism Policy (Applicable if necessary)

BBTI is against plagiarism and conducts a procedure in place for written assignments.

Plagiarism Procedure

Staff and students are made aware that plagiarism is not accepted through a Welcome e mail with reference to the Policy and Procedure on the website. In the case the BBTI and the lecturer find evidence that students work has been plagiarized then the student will be informed by an e mail. In the first instance, the student is given a chance to resubmit without capping marks. In the second instance, the student is given a chance, but his pass mark will be capped at 60%.  In the third instance, the student will not get his award.

Plagiarism will be examined through Google Plagiarism checker.

6. Credentials Policy

BBTI is to ensure that the credentials and credits are in line with the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority Malta.

Credentials Procedure

The BBTI credentials and credits are verified through a procedure by the Malta Further and Higher Education Malta.

The Awards have credits allocated. The Award has to be completed in time according to the dates as stipulated by BBTI unless there is a need for a mitigating circumstance.

8. Mitigating Circumstance Policy

BBTI supports students who have issues related to their lifestyle or medical problems.

A mitigating circumstance is an unforeseen or unpreventable situation which hinders the student from performing according to the academic calendar. The following are examples but not limited to:

Death in family

Long term sickness including hospitalization.

Work travel hindering meeting deadlines

Family problems like divorcing

Mental Health issues

Mitigating Circumstances Procedure

The student must inform BBTI through e-mail about such circumstances.  The BBTI will take a decision within 5 working days and inform the student by e mail accordingly about the decision taken.

9. ICT Policy

The BBTI invests in the latest affordable technology for the website.

ICT Procedure

The BBTI engages a third party for the website but reviews the ICT infrastructure on an ongoing basis to make sure students, staff and management can make use of it in a friendly manner.

Students can access the awards content freely on the website.

The computer device is the ownership and supplied by the student himself (BYOD)- or herself for teaching and learning.

BBTI administration provides online help (if required) as part of the ICT procedure to abide by the policy.

Each student will be contacted with the e-mail address as given during the registration procedure, which must be the personal e-mail of the student.

10. Practical Policy

BBTI policy is to provide a safe, healthy and clean environment during practical sessions for students to be able to reach all learning outcomes and for award participants to be active in their own learning.

The procedure is to have the Lecturer agree in principle about the facility resources before the start of an award and to state to the Head and administration that all required resources for learning are in place. If any resource is missing the Lecturer should inform the Head immediately to rectify matters.

It is the responsibility of the Lecturer to plan the practice effectively and provide a scheme of work as part of the plan with adequate and fit for purpose pedagogy including the type of assessment. The procedure also includes the formative and summative assessment that must be in the scheme of work and communicated to the students by the lecturer as regards to the assessment dates and/or ongoing assessment. As part of the procedure/pedgogy the Lecturer will use effective questioning techniques to engage all award participants.

The assessment as part of the practical Policy and Procedure is guided by the Lecturer.

11. Ethics Policy

BBTI believes in freedom of expression. However, the written word sometimes seems harsher than the spoken word in a face to face environment where facial expressions give meaning to communication.  Therefore, for ethical purposes, the lecturer and students should be careful how to express themselves in e-mails, chat or social media. The aim of e-mails, chat or practical sessions are for learning from each other to contribute to the acquisition of an award.  Students need to exchange ideas through discussion by respecting each other and recognizing their responsibilities to other individuals.

All stakeholders must abide by the policies and procedures as part of ethics. Anyone can raise an ethics breach through the [email protected]

Ethics Procedure

If ethics are breached the BBTI have the right to enforce disciplinary procedures, which include the setup of three persons as an autonomous board to investigate and recommend any action necessary to the Head or Director (in case the Head is breaching the Ethics). The Head/Director will decide upon the recommendations, act accordingly and inform the person who has breached ethics by e mail within two weeks. The appeals procedure is through the Ombudsman https://www.ombudsman.org.mt/

12. Discrimination Policy

The Policy of the BBTI is to ensure that employees, lecturers and students treat each other with dignity and without any discrimination. The policy is to comply with the Human rights Chapter 319 of the laws of Malta and to require that all employees and students understand and act in accordance with that legislation.

Discrimination is the unfavorable treatment of a person due to one of his personal traits.

Discrimination Procedure

It is the responsibility of the BBTI Head to ensure that there is no discrimination and that the Human Rights legislation is observed. Anyone being discriminated against or anyone noticing discrimination can write a direct e-mail (through [email protected]) to the BBTI Director. The Director will look into the case within 10 working days of receiving the complaint. Action will be taken as deemed necessary after facts have been established. It is the responsibility of the student or any other stakeholder making a discrimination claim to provide enough evidence of discrimination against him. Evidence is key. Since BBTI is registered in Malta the student can take up the appeal to the ombudsman in this particular case of Discrimination ( https://www.ombudsman.org.mt/ )

13. Equal Opportunities Policy

Further to the Discrimination Policy and procedure, the BBTI, as a Maltese registered Institute follows Chapter 413 Equal Opportunities of the Laws of Malta including persons with disability.

Equal opportunity is about giving and getting a fair go. It does not assume everyone is the same and it does not mean treating everyone the same. That is why BBTI has a Mitigating Policy and procedure to support the Equal Opportunities policy.

Equal Opportunities procedure

It is the responsibility of the BBTI Head/ Director to oversee that there is an equal opportunity, and that the legislation Chapter 413 is observed. Anyone who does not get an equal opportunity can write a direct e-mail to the Head/ Director. The Head/ Director will consider the case within 10 working days of receiving the complaint. Action will be taken as deemed necessary after facts have been established. Since BBTI is registered in Malta the student can take up the appeal to the ombudsman also for the Equal opportunities                                                                    ( https://www.ombudsman.org.mt/ )

14. Recruitment Policy

The BBTI is a business venture and believes in recruiting the most qualified and experienced staff. (Recruitment of students fall under the Admissions Policy and procedure).

Recruitment procedure

The BBTI handpicks its staff by looking at the CV, the qualifications which need to be with specific knowledge for the job and the years of experience plus reputation. All this is still consolidated by an interview after which an agreement is signed.

15. Academic Integrity and Freedom Policy

BBTI maintains a high academic standard in its awards and expects students to conduct themselves in a manner which is fair, honest and consistent with the principles of academic integrity especially when undertaking assessment. This Policy is also supplemented by the Plagiarism policy and procedure. Lecturers are to abide professionally with students by being fair in their approach and being fair in assessment as required through the written module templates and criteria marking as well as honest in their feedback and be consistent throughout.

Academic Integrity and Freedom Procedure

Written material is provided to the students outlining the assessment tasks. The students are also requested to exercise freedom of speech when commenting on each other’s work (if required).

16. Complaints on assessment Policy

Students who are dissatisfied with an assessment of any kind have a right to complain and then also appeal.

Appeals on assessment Procedure

Students will write a complaint (through the [email protected] ) to the BBTI Head. The student must explain clearly and through evidence why he wants to complain. The Head, after consulting with the administration, will reply after having considered all the facts within 10 working days. The reply is sent directly to the student and all communication is documented in the students file. If the student wants to appeal on the decision received by the Head, the student will be informed to take it to the Ombudsman (the student must inform the Head that he will proceed through Ombudsman) ( https://www.ombudsman.org.mt/ )

17. Course Development and Review Policy

Purpose

This policy outlines the process for the development, review, and continuous improvement of courses within the institution’s Food and Beverage programs policy ensures that all courses are developed and reviewed with input from both internal and external stakeholders and that appropriate procedures are followed for implementation and documentation.

Scope

This policy applies to all Food and Beverage courses offered by BBTI. It includes new course development, periodic course reviews, and significant course revisions.

3. Policy Statement

The institution is committed to delivering high-quality education that meets industry standards and the needs of students. Course development and review  involve structured engagement with internal stakeholders (faculty, students, academic support staff) and external stakeholders (industry professionals, employers, alumni). This policy ensures that all courses remain relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with the institution’s academic goals and industry requirements.

4. Stakeholder Engagement

1. Internal Stakeholders:
   • Lecturers/Experts: Contribute expertise in course content and pedagogy.
   • Students: Provide feedback on course content, teaching methods, and learning outcomes.
   •  Staff: Assist in aligning courses with institutional guidelines and academic frameworks.
   • Quality Assurance Consultant: Ensure that courses meet academic standards and institutional goals. Before being presented for accreditation by MFHEA.
2. External Stakeholders:
   • Industry Professionals: Offer insights on current industry trends, skills required, and emerging technologies.
   • Employers: Provide feedback on the employability of graduates and the relevance of course content to industry needs.
   • Alumni: Share experiences related to the applicability of course content in professional settings.

5. Procedures for Course Development and Review

5.1 Course Development

1. Initiation:
   • A proposal for a new course is submitted by anyone to the Administrations Department. first
   • The proposal includes objectives, intended learning outcomes, course content, and a preliminary list of resources.
2. Consultation with Stakeholders:
   • Engage internal stakeholders through meetings and surveys to gather input on the proposed course.
   • Conduct focus groups or interviews with external stakeholders to validate the course’s relevance and alignment with industry needs.
3. Drafting the Course:
   • Develop a detailed course syllabus, including learning outcomes, assessment methods, and required materials.
   • Collaborate with the Quality Assurance Consultant to ensure alignment with institutional standards.
4. Approval Process:
   • Submit the course draft to the Top Management for review.
   • The QA Consultant evaluates the course based on academic rigor, relevance, and stakeholder feedback.
   • Once approved by MFHEA, the course is forwarded to administration to start marketing the course.
5. Implementation:
   • The approved course is scheduled for delivery in the upcoming  term.
   • The course is communicated to students and staff through institutional channels.

5.2 Course Review

1. Review Cycle:
   • All courses undergo a formal review every five years or as required by external accreditation bodies.
2. Data Collection:
   • Gather feedback from students, faculty, and external stakeholders through surveys, evaluations, and industry .
   • Analyze student performance data, including pass rates, dropout rates, and assessment outcomes.
3. Stakeholder Consultation:
   • Organize review meetings with internal stakeholders to discuss the course’s strengths and areas for improvement.
   • Seek input from external stakeholders on the course’s relevance and alignment with industry standards.
4. Revision:
   • Based on the feedback received, revise the course content, learning outcomes, and assessments.
   • Engage the Quality Assurance Consultant to ensure that any revisions meet institutional and accreditation standards.
5. Approval and Implementation:
   • Submit the revised course to MFHEA for approval.
   • Once approved, update the course materials and communicate changes to Lecturers and students.
   • Implement the revised course in the next academic term.
6. Documentation:
   • Maintain records of all stakeholder consultations, course revisions, and approval processes.
   • Store documentation in the institution’s central academic database for future reference and accreditation purposes.

6. Recording and Documentation

• All stages of course development and review are thoroughly documented.
• Meeting minutes, feedback forms, approval documents, and revised course materials are archived by the Administration.
• Documentation is accessible to relevant stakeholders for transparency and accountability.

7. Monitoring and Compliance

• The QA Consultant is responsible for monitoring the implementation of this policy.
• Compliance with this policy will be reviewed annually as part of the institution’s internal audit process.

8. Review of Policy

This policy will be reviewed every five years or earlier if necessary to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with institutional goals and external standards.

18. Assessment Validity and Reliability Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all assessments within BBTI are valid, reliable, and fair. The policy outlines procedures for developing, implementing, and reviewing assessments to guarantee they accurately measure student learning outcomes and maintain consistency across different assessment instances.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all forms of assessments used within BBTI including written exams, practical evaluations, assignments, and projects. It covers both formative and summative assessments.

3. Policy Statement

The institution is committed to ensuring that assessments are designed and conducted in a manner that is both valid (accurately measuring what they intend to measure) and reliable (producing consistent results under consistent conditions). This policy provides a structured approach to assessment development and review, ensuring adherence to best practices and alignment with academic and industry standards.

4. Principles of Assessment Validity and Reliability

1. Validity:
   • Assessments  align with the intended learning outcomes of the course.
   • Assessments  measure the knowledge, skills, and competencies that the course aims to develop.
   • The content of assessments is relevant to the field of study and reflective of industry standards.
2. Reliability:
   • Assessments  yield consistent results across different occasions and evaluators.
   • Clear and standardized marking criteria will be applied to all assessments.
   • Assessment conditions are standardized as much as possible to minimize variations.

5. Procedures for Ensuring Assessment Validity and Reliability

5.1 Assessment Design

1. Alignment with Learning Outcomes:
   • Course content lecturers/ experts ensure that each assessment directly corresponds to the specific learning outcomes of the course.
   • A mapping matrix is developed, linking each assessment task to the relevant learning outcomes.
2. Assessment Types and Methods:
   • Select appropriate assessment types (e.g., exams, practical tasks, projects) that best measure the intended outcomes.
   • Incorporate a variety of assessment methods to cover different aspects of learning, including both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
3. Assessment Criteria and Rubrics:
   • Develop clear, detailed rubrics for each assessment, outlining the criteria for grading.
   • Rubrics are provided to students at the start of the course to guide their preparation and understanding of expectations.
   • Ensure that the criteria are specific, measurable, and reflective of industry standards.

5.2 Assessment Implementation

1. Standardization of Assessment Conditions:
   • Ensure all assessments are conducted under standardized conditions to reduce variability.
   • Written exams are administered in a controlled environment with consistent timing and supervision.
   • Practical assessments  have clearly defined procedures .
2. Training for Assessors:
   • Provide training for  assessors to ensure consistent application of grading criteria.
   • Conduct calibration sessions where assessors evaluate sample assessments together to align grading standards.
3. Moderation Process:
   • Implement a moderation process where a sample of assessments is reviewed by a second assessor to verify the consistency and fairness of grading.
   • Address any discrepancies in grading through discussion and recalibration of the assessment process if necessary.

5.3 Assessment Review and Improvement

1. Post-Assessment Review:
   • After each assessment cycle, conduct a review involving  internal and external stakeholders (if applicable).
   • Analyze the assessment outcomes, including grade distributions and student feedback, to identify areas for improvement.
2. Feedback Mechanisms:
   • Collect feedback from students on the clarity, fairness, and difficulty of assessments.
   • Use this feedback, along with performance data, to inform future assessment design and implementation.
3. Continuous Improvement:
   • Regularly review and update assessment methods, criteria, and rubrics to ensure they remain valid, reliable, and aligned with current industry standards.
   • Incorporate findings from external reviews, accreditation bodies, and industry partners to enhance assessment practices.

6. Documentation and Record-Keeping

• All assessments, including assessment criteria, rubrics, and student submissions, are documented and stored securely.
• Records of moderation processes, assessor training sessions, and post-assessment reviews are maintained by the administration.
• Documentation is accessible for internal audits, external accreditation reviews, and quality assurance purposes.

7. Monitoring and Compliance

• The QA consultant is responsible for monitoring adherence to this policy.
• Compliance will be reviewed through regular internal audits, with findings reported to the Top Management.
• Non-compliance will result in corrective actions, including potential revisions to assessment procedures .

8. Review of Policy

This policy will be reviewed every five years or earlier if required, ensuring that it remains effective and aligned with best practices in educational assessment.