RICS APC Lifeline - 7 Top Tips to Ace Your Autumn 2020 Final Assessment Submission

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What is today's blog about?

This week, we give you our top 7 tips to ace your RICS APC submission in Session 2 2020.

1. Get your signatures right

As part of the submission process via ARC, you need to provide contact details for your Proposer and Seconder. Either of these roles can be fulfilled by your Counsellor or Supervisor, if you wish.

The requirements have changed slightly for Autumn 2020. Both can now be MRICS members, rather than one needing to be FRICS. You can, of course, still use a FRICS signatory for both/either, if available.

The requirement for not more than two signatures to be from your employing firm still remains.

2. Submit on time

You must submit on ARC when the relevant assessment window for your pathway is open. There is absolutely no leeway if you are late in submitting, unless of course you already have an extenuating circumstances extension approved in light of Covid-19. This is not automatic and you must already have applied and had the extension approved by RICS.

3. Plan your Autumn

RICS have already announced that all future RICS APC final assessment interviews will be conducted online.

Your potential range of dates can be viewed online – make sure you view the correct dates as each pathway differs.

You can now select your priority week for assessment, e.g. if there are three weeks of assessments then you can rank these in first, second and third place, if there are two then you can rank first and second and if there is only one then there is no choice available.

ARC also provides time options, but these are for assessor reference only and you will not be able to select a preferred time.

RICS will try to accommodate your first choice, but this is not always possible so you will need to keep all potential date options available. Your interview date will be confirmed three weeks beforehand by email. It is not possible to change this unless you have extenuating circumstances, so make sure you will be available during the weeks when your interview may be scheduled for.

4. Specialist areas

Some pathways require you to select a specialist area when you apply for final assessment via ARC.

The RICS will use your selected specialist area to ensure that you have the right panel allocated at your final assessment interview. They will be specialists in your area of practice, as far as is reasonably practicable.

5. Counsellor sign off

You will need to obtain your Counsellor’s final approval via ARC before you are able to submit your final assessment submission.

Your Counsellor’s approval confirms that you have reached the required levels of competence and have fulfilled the minimum training period (if applicable to your route).

If you have less than 5 years’ experience, you need a minimum of 24 months’ (400 days’) structured training.

This reduces to a minimum of 12 months’ (200 days’), if you have between 5 and 10 years’ experience.

6. Ethics module

You must complete the online RICS ethics module prior to submitting via ARC. This is only valid for 12 months, so don’t worry if you do have to re-take it as it is an excellent revision tool.

7. Final assessment submission requirements

Your assessment panel will receive your final submission in advance to review and prepare for your interview with.

This includes checking whether you have met the key requirements of the RICS, e.g. word count, case study validity, ethics module and test, fees, proposer and seconder confirmation, CPD, qualification and experience eligibility, and any other criteria set out in the RICS Regulations.

Your assessment can be cancelled if it is found that these requirements have not been met, so make sure you get your submission right first time.

So remember, there is still time for us to review your submission through our Submission Review and Feedback Service!

RICS also uses an electronic system, Turnitin, to identify plagiarism offences within candidates’ final assessment submissions.

Make sure your submission is solely your own work, although it is okay to use your preliminary submission as the basis for your final assessment submission.

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Stay tuned for our next blog post to help build a better you.

N.b. Nothing in this article constitutes legal, professional or financial advice.