These terms and conditions are applicable to all applicants and subscribers to the Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE) and Associate Management & Business Educator (AMBE) schemes. We may revise these terms and conditions from time to time at our discretion. Please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at the time that you subscribe.
Section 1. Your commitments to CPD and the CMBE Standards and Code of Conduct
Meeting your commitment to CPD
CMBE subscribers must commit, and fulfil their commitment, to undertake CPD and reflect on their development on an annual basis in order to maintain their CMBE designation and stay within the scheme. Subscribers' CPD commitments are as follows:
Subscribers must complete 40 units of CPD annually in accordance with the claimable activities and outputs (as described here).
One unit is equal or equivalent to one hour spent on a suitable CPD activity or development leading to an output;
Part time staff and adjuncts can complete a pro-rated number of units.
Individuals must keep a record of their development in case they are audited.
Subscribers must reflect on, and describe in their evidence submissions, how CPD activity undertaken is relevant to their development.
At least 21 of these CPD units must be verifiable.
Subscribers must make an annual declaration to confirm that they have fulfilled their commitment to undertake CPD in accordance with the scheme's criteria.
AMBE subscribers must complete 3 consecutive years of CPD as described above to be eligible to apply to become a CMBE.
CMBE Standards
To meet the Chartered ABS standards, professional development activity undertaken in the last 12 months should:
Contribute to their current or future practice, institutional needs and to wider communities of practice;
Focus on improving and evaluating student experience and outcomes;
Be undertaken regularly and be relevant to business and management education, and to the specific subject area;
Be accurately recorded and made available for submission as part of an annual audit; and
Be undertaken in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
The Code of Conduct
The Code has THREE main sections relating to the obligations expected of subscribers:
Subscriber values
Subscribers must be open and transparent in the selection of evidence relating to their submissions to the scheme;
Subscribers must provide evidence of reflection on their development needs and impact on practice in the CPD records upon request;
Subscribers must consider how their selection of CPD activities supports the highest levels of professional ethics, equality, diversity, and sustainability (e.g. consideration given to the impact on the environment of travelling to undertake CPD when a local or online webinar may be a suitable alternative.
Subscribers' relationship with the scheme
Acceptance of the authority of the Chartered ABS in all matters relating to the scheme;
Prompt payment of annual subscription;
Subscribers must maintain recoverable records of CPD evidence. Lost or missing documents are the responsibility of the subscriber. This is to facilitate provision of evidence of CPD and supporting documentation (in digital form) as reasonably required by the rules of the scheme.
Subscriber promotion of the scheme
Promotion of the scheme through display of CMBE designation where a subscribers' status is relevant;
Promotion of the scheme, where possible, through institutional appraisal or development processes;
Subscribers should bring to the attention of the scheme(s) any evidence that fellow members have abused or are abusing the Code of Conduct (Whistleblowing). All such notifications to the scheme(s) will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Breaches of subscriber CPD commitments and Code of Conduct
The CMBE scheme is overseen by the CMBE Professional Standards Board. They will consider and enforce sanctions against subscribers who breach these terms and conditions. Breaches include, but are not limited to:
Non-fulfilment of annual CPD commitment
Falsification of CPD entries
Falsification of eligibility evidence
Censure from own institution for misconduct
Dismissal from own institution for misconduct (subscribers are required to declare this to the Chartered ABS)
The Professional Standards Board can issue the following sanctions to subscribers in breach of these terms and conditions:
Non-fulfilment of annual CPD:
CMBEs will lose their designation for a year but will have the option to stay in the scheme as an AMBE so that they can meet their CPD commitment and regain their status the following year.
AMBEs who do not fulfil their CPD commitment to undertake 3 consecutive years of CPD, without valid mitigating circumstances, will have to start their 3 years again before they are eligible for the CMBE designation.
For all other breaches: exclusion from the CPD scheme for a period (e.g. 1-5 year, depending on severity of breach), or recession of designatory status for a period or for life.
Note: If an institution is paying for an individual's subscription we have a duty of care to the institution and we will notify the institution if an individual has been found to have committed a major breach.
Mitigation
Claims for mitigation are limited to:
Agreed Leave of Absence from own institution through statutory reasons (parental leave, long term illness, union representation, legitimate strike action, call up of Reservist etc) or;
Secondments to roles not relevant to the scheme, Sabbatical Leave, and other extenuating circumstances.
Claims will not be allowed for:
Administrative errors, such as losing a certificate
IT issues (failure to back up etc)
Voluntary/accumulated holiday entitlement
Misuse of the designation
'AMBE' is not a designation and should not be used as such by subscribers to the AMBE scheme.
Individuals who use the CMBE designation without joining the scheme or having left the scheme will be contacted, and if necessary, reported to their Dean/Head of School.
Appeals
Appeals against sanctions issued by the CMBE Professional Standards Board must be made in writing. Appeals should be marked for the attention of 'Chair of the Professional Standards Board' and emailed to cmbe@charteredabs.org. Appeals should explain your reasons for challenging the decision made and supporting evidence should be provided.
The CMBE Professional Standards Board reserves the right to refer appeals made by subscribers to the Chartered ABS Council. Both the Board and the Council meet quarterly respectively, therefore appeals can take up to 6 months to be reviewed.
The original decision of the Board will stand until the appeal has been reviewed.
Section 2. Subscription
Your subscription
Subscriptions for the CMBE and AMBE are made via the Chartered ABS website. Once you have checked the box to accept these terms and conditions, and submitted your application, we will consider an application to have been made and these terms will apply.
Payment
You must pay your subscription fee to complete your subscription to join the CMBE and AMBE schemes. CMBE subscribers cannot use the CMBE designation until they have paid and received notification from the Chartered ABS.
The CMBE and AMBE subscription fee payable is set out on our pages:
The CMBE and AMBE subscription fees are due in £ sterling and must be made by credit card or, on request, by invoice. Payment is due within 30 days of the date of your application being accepted.
You may pay your subscription fee as part payment for a Chartered ABS event/development programme registration fee. In this earlier. Your place on the event/development programme is not guaranteed until payment has been received.
Please see our Events terms and conditions for our terms relating to cancellation and non-attendance at events.
If you have any questions about payment, please contact accounts@charteredabs.org.
What if I want to cancel or amend my subscription?
All requests to cancel or amend an application or subscription must be made in writing to cmbe@charteredabs.org.
Applications can be cancelled at any time prior to payment.
Cancelling a subscription:
If you cancel your subscription within 7 days of payment you are entitled to a refund less a £10 administration fee.
Cancellations made 8 days or more after your subscription payment are subject to the full subscription fee.
What if my subscription is cancelled by the Chartered ABS?
Subscriptions cancelled by the Chartered ABS following a breach by the relevant subscriber of these terms and conditions are not eligible for a refund.
If the Chartered ABS cancels a subscription at any time for reasons relating to the conduct of a subscriber (other than a breach of these terms and conditions), the offer of a refund is subject to the decision of the Chartered ABS Council.
Section 3. Protecting your data
What personal data do we collect from you and why?
When you apply for our subscribe to the AMBE or CMBE schemes, we request the following information. These details will be added to our database so that we know who you are and so that we can keep in touch with you about your application and subscription, and about our work which we hope will be relevant and of interest to you. The information we may collect is as follows:
Salutation
Name
Job title
Organisation
Postal address (usually work)
Phone number
Email
Employment history
Qualifications
As a subscriber, you will have a private profile on the Chartered ABS website through which you have the option to keep an up to date log of your CPD activity through the year. This is personal information which we will retain for you, together with any other information you choose to include in your profile.
It is your responsibility to provide up-to-date contact and other information at registration and to maintain that data by advising the Chartered ABS of any changes.
What do we use your personal data for?
We use your personal data to process your application and manage your subscription to the AMBE and/or CMBE schemes (as applicable). We also use your data to help us understand who uses our services.
We will not sell your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for their marketing purposes.
How can you change your preferences, opt-out or update the data we hold on you?
If you would like to change your preferences about the information we send you, or opt-out altogether from receiving communications about the work we do to support business schools, you can. If your details have changed, you can ask us to update the records we hold. To do so, please contact us by:
Emailing enquiries@charteredabs.org; or
Call +44 020 7236 7678; or
Click 'unsubscribe' or 'opt out' on the marketing emails we send you.
Read our Privacy Policy for full details about how and why we collect and process any personal data we collect from and about you and about your choices for updating and accessing the information, and to opt-out.
Section 4. Equal opportunities
Equality and Diversity policy
We are committed to creating a culture in which diversity and equality of opportunity are promoted and in which unlawful discrimination is not tolerated.
We aim to ensure that individuals are treated solely on the basis of their abilities and skills, and nobody is discriminated against on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
We promote a supportive environment for staff, members and visitors.
As a subscriber to the AMBE or CMBE schemes, you must abide by these principles.
We ensure our work is delivered in a way that will not subject subscribers to discrimination. There is every effort made to ensure there is no inadvertent discrimination or stereotyping.
We endeavour to ensure that everyone has fair and equal access to our services, including in relation to the CMBE and AMBE schemes.
Breach of Equality and Diversity Policy
The Chartered ABS will take seriously any instances of alleged non-adherence to the Equality and Diversity policy by members, subscribers or visitors. Any alleged breaches of this policy should be reported to the Chief Executive at flora.hamilton@charteredabs.org.
With regard to any breach of the policy by visitors, participants, members or subscribers, the Chartered ABS will take appropriate action in relation to the nature of the incident.
Section 5. General
When you use our websites, including in relation to your AMBE or CMBE application and/or subscription, you accept our Website Terms of Use.
These terms and conditions, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in accordance with them or their subject matter, shall be government by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
If you have any questions about these terms and conditions or our work or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by emailing enquiries@charteredabs.org or call +44 (0) 207 236 7678.
Updated July 2022