The Screenshots in the Study Group
You are a CCI. Two days after a course, a learner posts 12 screenshots in a group chat labeled 'CCI Study Group.' The screenshots show certification exam questions with answer choices and what appear to be correct answers. The learner writes, 'From my exam today-use these.' Several candidates ask you to confirm the answers. You recognize the wording as live exam content. The LTP's marketing manager sees the post and asks you to turn the screenshots into a 'practice quiz' because the provider's first-time pass rate is below its target. A senior colleague says, 'Everyone shares study material; don't make it a thing.'
1. What are your obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct and program integrity rules?
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Treat the screenshots as confidential exam content. Do not confirm, correct, rank, or reuse them. The candidate's post may breach the certification agreement and the Code of Professional Conduct; your obligation is to protect the integrity of the certification. Preserve evidence (screenshot, time, group, sender), tell the group to stop distributing and delete the images, and report to the certifying body through the proper integrity channel. Avoid publicly accusing the candidate; keep the report factual. Do not use the material to coach future learners. Even if the items are 'only 12,' using them normalizes cheating and can invalidate exam results and the LTP's authorization.
2. How do you respond to the LTP marketing manager and the colleague?
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Refuse the marketing request in writing. Explain the business risk plainly: using live items can trigger exam invalidations, candidate decertification, LTP sanctions, and loss of your CCI. Propose a legitimate alternative: build original practice items from public objectives and standards, have a second CCI review them, and label them as practice-not actual exam items. For the colleague, do not debate endlessly; state the rule and the consequence. If the LTP proceeds, escalate to compliance and report. Your duty is not to maximize pass rates; it is to certify competence honestly.
3. What should you do if the LTP pressures you or retaliates?
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Document the request and your refusal, keep copies of communications, and report retaliation or pressure to the LTP's compliance channel and the certifying body. Do not retaliate against the learner or the group; protect confidentiality as much as possible while meeting reporting duties. If the LTP threatens your contract, seek guidance from the certifying body before acting. The defensible position is consistent: no use of live exam content, no confirmation of answers, and a written offer to help create original practice materials. Program integrity depends on instructors being willing to lose a contract rather than sell exam content.