Associate submissions and assessment

As a requirement, please ensure you use the correct and updated Summary of Experience template downloaded from the Assessment Platform.

For your Summary of Experience, you need to write a brief statement about each of your mandatory and technical competencies for your Assessment Pathway.

• Technical Competencies (core and optional competencies) = Technical skills you need for your role. (2,000 words maximum).
• Mandatory Competencies* = Everyday personal and business skills all practitioners need (1,000 words maximum).

* You are not required to write about the mandatory competency ‘Conduct rules, ethics and professional practice’, because you will demonstrate this by completing the RICS professionalism module.

Associate Assessment Candidate Guide – Page Reference: 10

For each competency, you should, for your summary of experience, demonstrate how your experience meets the requirements of the technical and mandatory competencies of your chosen pathway.

Assessors ensure that when reviewing for assessment, your statement confirms that you have understood the competencies and recognised their importance and relevance to the description of the competency.

It's important to remember when writing your summary of experience:

• To briefly explain, how you have gained the knowledge and understanding for that competency. This would include CPD and learning or training you have done, on-the-job training and experience, and how this developed your understanding as well as examples of how you apply that understanding in your role.
  
• To detail how your experience meets the competency requirements. You could refer to projects you have been personally involved in, explain how your involvement demonstrates your practical competence, and provide specific examples that may include processes used or adopted.
   

All Sector Pathway Guides
 

You must provide a summary to show how knowledge was formed and gained and provide examples of how you have applied that knowledge and done the work. Based on your own experience and knowledge gained.

• You need to demonstrate, in writing, your knowledge and understanding of the competency as well as giving examples of your practical application of that knowledge toward the competencies you are demonstrating.
  
  

When writing to explain – Consider the following;

• Phrases such as "I am aware / I understand / I have an understanding of / I am familiar with" to introduce how Knowledge and Understanding were formed.
• Phrases such as " I have undertaken / I carried out / I have used / I was responsible for" to show how your practical application is relevant to the competency.
   

Additionally, you should be able to include:

• Explain and detail the process you have used and adopted to gain an outcome.
• Refer to specific laws, legislations, specific forms or guides, and how you these have developed your knowledge and been used these in your role and scope of work.
• Using words that demonstrate specific involvement/management of a situation and subsequently experience.
• Refer to specific courses, training, and learning and explain the principles and importance of the learning and how the training/learning impacted your knowledge, and how has it impacted your business/firm and your day-to-day.
• Reference the examples from the pathway guide and keywords where they are relevant to your work and experience.
   

Review the Associate Assessment Candidate Guide and Pathway guidance for more details and types of specific examples to collate your experience. Additionally, your submissions must be reviewed by your counsellor to support the examples written, context and suitability for the Assessment.

It's important when writing your statements for your Summary of Experience that this is based on your own body of work and not someone else's or a fictitious hypothetical situation.

Word Count

RICS will calculate the maximum 1000 mandatory competency word count and maximum 2000 technical competency word count using Microsoft Word. Only the content you add under the column titled Summary of Experience will be included in the word count. This will include and reference to a source or citation.

The word count does not include Titles, names of competencies and level as they appear in the first two columns of the template.

The case study is a maximum of 2,500 words and must be on a project or projects that you have been personally involved in the two years (24-months) prior to your assessment submission date.

Global Assessment Dates and Process

Important Information

You must choose a project that allows you to demonstrate at least 2 technical competencies from your chosen pathway. Your choice of project(s) is very important and must reflect your specific sector pathway. The case study will also include a mixture of Technical and Mandatory competencies.

The case study is an account of a project or piece of work you have been involved in, described in terms of the competencies relevant to your day-to-day work. It must be based on a project that you have been personally involved in in the last 24 months at the point of submission.

You may choose to use an element of a project that you were involved in as you were not involved in the whole project. You can choose a project that is still ongoing and just refer to the element that you were involved in.

Your case study should show the following:

• the objective of the project
• your knowledge, skills and experience
• the role you played and the contribution you made
• technical skills you employed (relevant to your pathway and selected competencies)
• the overall outcome of the project.
   

Ensure your case study:

• demonstrates understanding of the competencies
• focuses on two technical competencies (from your selected pathway competencies)
• displays some of the general business skills (mandatory competencies).
• most relevant to your day-to-day work.
   

Associate Assessment Candidate Guide – Page Reference: 3

The case study is structured into the following key sections:

As a requirement, please ensure you use the correct and updated Case Study template downloaded from the Assessment Platform.

Context / Introduction

Project and Role

In this section you should describe the content for the case study (maximum 500 words).

• set the scene with some details of your career
• what the project is?
• what your role is?
• what competencies you believe the case study demonstrates?
   

My Approach

What you did

In this section, you should describe your personal involvement in the project.

• What did you do?
• What was your level of responsibility?
• Who were the stakeholders?
• What was the timeline?
• Focus mainly on two technical competencies.
   

The Result

What did you achieve

In this section you should describe what you achieved and how.

• Describe what you achieved and how.
• What was the outcome
   

Lessons Learnt

Key takeaway from the experience and learning from the project

In this section reflect on and analyse your performance and make reference to the lessons you learnt and what you would do differently next time.

• What barriers or issues did you face?
• Reference to the lessons you learnt.
• What you would do differently next time.
   

Word Count

RICS will calculate the case study word by using Microsoft Word. Only the content you add from the introduction to the end of the conclusion will be counted. This means your case study word count does not include the Project Name, Date of Project, Confidentiality Statement, Table of Contents, Competencies Demonstrated and Appendices.

To use the wordcount effectively, remember that any tables or charts in the main body of your case study will be included in the word count so keep these to a minimum.

You will be required to state the total words written in the Assessment Platform when uploading your case study

Aim to use 95% - 100% of the allowable 2,500 (2,375 – 2,500 words) allocation to showcase your skills and experience.
 

Competencies Demonstrated

Your case study will include a mixture of Technical and Mandatory competencies. You must list the competencies that you believe are demonstrated in your case study.

• Technical: Core Competencies - A minimum of two from the Core competencies must be included.
• Mandatory and Technical Competencies - This provides important evidence of the competencies you have achieved on the project.
   

Appendix

You may insert illustrations, charts, graphs, photographs or plans to this section. Please keep the attachments to a minimum, ensuring they are relevant to the case study.

• Appendices should support your report, not add to or expand on it.
   

Review the Associate Assessment Candidate guide for more details regarding the case study. Additionally, seek your counsellor to support the written content, context and suitability for the Assessment.

Please visit our page Recording CPD Activities for Candidates for more details.

Please visit our page Associate Member (AssocRICS) for more details on submission requirements.

Please visit our page Assessment applications for more details on checklists.

Now more than ever, professionalism matters.

You are required to successfully complete the RICS Professionalism module prior to the assessment. The module includes four e-learning modules and a test that all candidates must pass not longer than 12 months before submitting for assessment to be eligible to submit for assessment.

In the e-learning modules, you will learn about the five Rules of Conduct, which support positive change in the built and natural environments by promoting and enforcing the highest ethical standards in valuation, the development and management of land, real estate, construction, and infrastructure.

1. Members and firms must be honest, act with integrity and comply with their professional obligations, including obligations to RICS.
2. Members and firms must maintain their professional competence and ensure that services are provided by competent individuals who have the necessary expertise.
   
3. Members and firms must provide good-quality and diligent service.
4. Members and firms must treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion.
   
5. Members and firms must act in the public interest, take responsibility for their actions and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in the profession.
    

As a candidate, you must also pass the Ethics Test, a 20-question multiple-choice test that tests your understanding of what you are learning.

Summary of Experience: As an Associate Candidate you are not required to write about the mandatory competency ‘Conduct rules, ethics and professional practice’, because you will demonstrate this by completing the RICS professionalism module.

Pages to review and understand:

• Rules of Conduct
• Requirements & Support
• Standards and Regulation Board
• Profession & Standards
• Access the Professionalism module and ethics test on the Assessment Platform
• Complete all four e-learning modules and test
• Understand, apply, and give reasoned advice towards all five rules of conduct
• All candidates will be tested on Ethics and Professionalism in their Final Assessment Interview

When applying for assessment you are required to provide the details of one Chartered Surveyors.

• Your Proposer must be an AssocRICS or Chartered Members of RICS (MRICS or FRICS)
• Your Counsellor may act as your proposer

Who will be your proposer? 

RICS automatically accepts your Counsellor to act in this role, so no further details are requested when you apply for your assessment on the Assessment Platform.

Please visit our page Assessment dates and process for more details.