Former Coleg y Cymoedd law lecturer Mark Gorman, who admitted submitting unjustified grades to an exam board, has been issued a reprimand on his teaching registration by the Education Workforce Council Wales (EWC) after a professional standards hearing found his conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Gorman, who resigned from his job at the college after an investigation was launched into his marking, now works in a role in higher education where he is doing well, his barrister Amelia Clegg told the final day of the hearing on November 5. She told the panel her client had found the professional standards hearing, with which he engaged fully and attended each day, very stressful. His "reputation (had been) called into question and tarnished and he has no intention of returning to FE [further education] teaching," she said.
Panel Finds Lack of Integrity
Gorman admitted allegations that he filed grades to the exam board when the work did not justify it and that this amounted to unacceptable professional conduct, but denied allegations that his actions had been dishonest or lacking in integrity. The panel agreed his actions weren't dishonest but found they did lack integrity and amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.
Imposing a reprimand on Gorman's EWC registration, panel chair Steve Powell said the lecturer had not been fully supported at Coleg y Cymoedd. There had been staff absences and he didn't feel he could pressure other staff by asking for help, although he should have done so. Gorman had been asked to assess work he had not set, added Mr Powell. However he said the lecturer, who had 25 years of experience, should have known he was struggling and should have raised this.
Details of the Misconduct
Some students on law lecturer Gorman's course at Coleg y Cymoedd had not completed a single assignment, the four-day hearing had been told. Despite this, Gorman submitted grades, including distinctions and merits, to the college to hand on to the OCR exam board, when the work was not there to justify those grades.
When an investigation was launched, his students were told they didn't have the grades they thought they had achieved for the full A level equivalent course which they needed to apply to university. None had ultimately been impacted as other staff ran extra classes to re-do the work and re-assessed them.
Gorman was teaching on an A level equivalent course at Coleg y Cymoedd as part of an access to higher education qualification, run by the OCR board when the problems were noticed by colleagues. As well as handing in grades that weren't justified, the lecturer, who had worked for years at the college's Nantgarw and Ystrad Mynach campuses, admitted he did not tell colleagues about problems with students not handing in work.
He also admitted using an outdated specification when teaching the criminal law unit of the Access to Higher Education Humanities and Social Science qualification at Coleg Y Cymoedd between around February 2024 and May 2024. His disorganisation meant he could also not retrieve students' work for the business ethics and/or criminal law units, between around September 2023 and April 2024, when requested.
Reprimand Issued
Mr Powell said Gorman's actions were an "isolated lapse" and he had shown some insight and remorse. Issuing the reprimand on his file, Mr Powell told him: "I wish you all the best in your career." Gorman has the right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days.
