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Chartership Assessor hub

All the information you need as an Assessor to undertake reviews, keep up to date on changes in the Chartership process, access special offers and more.

Our Assessors are essential to the smooth-running of the Chartership process. As an Assessor you are a key part of the Chartership process, helping the next generation of Chartered Geologists and Chartered Scientists receive their qualifications and take the next step up in their career.

Your support in aiding this process is invaluable and we appreciate the time, effort and consistency that our Assessors provide alongside the Chartership team at the Geological Society.

Acting as an Assessor is a great way to demonstrate your seniority to your employer; showcasing your leadership and mentoring skills through your ability to assess candidates, facilitate effective professional discussions, provide constructive feedback and assist candidates with their applications.

  • Take the next step in your professional journey
  • Give back to the Earth sciences community
  • Demonstrate your seniority
  • Contribute to your CPD record to maintain Chartered status by reviewing applications
  • Expand your knowledge of the innovative work emerging throughout the sector
  • Gain valuable interviewing experience
  • Experience networking opportunities with other experienced professionals
  • Enjoy 75% off the list price of one Training Course per annum (50% off the member rate)*

*The Training Course benefit can be used once per year. All registered Assessors who undertake a Chartership volunteer role within the same calendar year are eligible. This role could be a Chartership application review, a defer review, taking part in the CPD audit or in the Chartership audit. Please contact us to take up the offer.

The Assessors will determine if candidates have the necessary geoscience/science knowledge and Chartership competencies, including demonstrationg the use of these competencies in the design and execution of projects and problem solving.

This includes reviewing applications, interviewing candidates and recommending them for Chartership or postponing applications. 

Make sure you are up to date with the current Chartership process.

Refresh yourself on the process, what applicants need, the criteria, the interview and more by reading the applicant guidance notes on the 'Thinking about Chartership?' webpage.

Postponed applications

If an Assessor reviews a candidate's documentation and determines that it lacks sufficient evidence, more information will be needed before agreeing to interview. In some cases, this may include a formal Postponement of the interview and a provision of more detailed feedback on what is needed to improve the application in future.

Following the interview the Assessors will complete a post-interview report.

The report provides comments on the candidate's performance with respect to each of the Chartership competency criteria. As an Assessor, you will use your experience and training - including your professional judgement - to determine whether the candidate has adequately fulfilled the Chartership criteria. In your report, you will provide feedback for the candidate's continued future professional development.

The recommendation

The report will have one of three recommendations:

  • Accept' - the candidate will be elected to CGeol or CSci
  • 'Defer' - the candidate is unsuccessful at this stage but can re-apply
  • 'Accept subject to' further information - the application is missing some information and the candidate has 4 weeks to produce the information required 

The Society holds validation interviews four times a year via online interviews, usually in March, May/June, September and November.

Assessors will review applications and liaise to confirm interview dates. 

Application submission deadline Interviews will be held before Election date
01 January 2025 04 April 2025 07 May 2025
01 March 2025 13 June 2025 02 July 2025
01 June 2025 12 September 2025 08 October 2025
01 August 2025 07 November 2025 26 November 2025

 

The Chartership team hold Chartership Assessor training events in which we provide updates and guidance to our registered Assessors on the application review process, and give the opportunity for Assessors to convene to:

  • Share their review experiences
  • Discuss benchmark standards for Chartership within their areas of expertise
  • Highlight best practices and great examples
  • Exchange ideas on review and interview approaches

The next in-person Assessor training event is:


Please register well in advance of the event so that we will be able to issue you with any study materials in advance of the session, to help you get the most out of the training.

We welcome both experienced and new Assessors to join our training. 

Have any questions about being an Assessor? Send us an email at chartership@geolsoc.org.uk

Once you have received the application pack, you usually have four to six weeks to complete the pre-interview form. During this time, there will be an interim deadline for requesting any additional information from the candidate if needed, to determine whether candidate is ready for interview stage.

During this time, we identify a provisional interview schedule within the interview window, which is usually three weeks. At the end of the window, the Chartership Officer collates the recommendations to present to the Professional & Chartership Committee.

Overall, assessors have approximately two months from receiving the application pack to completing the interview and reporting.

It is important that assessors adhere to the advertised review schedule when they commit to undertaking a review, in order to complete all reviews/interviews on time, and so candidates can be provided with sufficient notice of their interview slot.

The total time inputs by assessors for carrying out a documentation review and interview (one to two hours), as well as completing the pre-interview and post interview forms is estimated at eight to ten hours in most cases.

In your pre-interview form, following the review of the documents, you should be reasonably confident that the candidate is likely to be recommended for Chartership, scoring 'C' for each of the criteria.

If you think there are any gaps that might be readily addressed by the candidate, please ask the Chartership Office to provide a clear request to the candidate for them to provide additional information.

In the pre-interview form, you can list the information you are requesting in the relevant section, and the Chartership Office will pass it on to the candidate. Alternatively, you can email us, and we will pass this on.

We do not share the identities of the assessors with the candidate until the interview is arranged, for assessor safeguarding. Therefore, all communications with the candidate are undertaken via the Chartership Office.

You will be contacted by the Chartership Office to provide your availability during the interview window. A provisional (placeholder) time/date will be arranged whilst you are still completing your review so that everyone can plan ahead. If you decide to proceed to interview, the Chartership Office will set up the interview. If you decide to Postpone the application, we will advise the candidate and cancel the placeholder appointments.

Our interviews are now primarily conducted online via Zoom or Teams. If any candidate or assessor requires an in-person interview in relation to EDIA needs, please let us know at the earliest opportunity so that we can help facilitate this.

We aim to accommodate everyone's availability. If an interview has been scheduled and you can no longer make it, please contact us immediately so we can make new arrangements.

The Supporting Documents are the portfolio by which the candidate demonstrates their evidence for meeting the Chartership competency criteria.

The MLER is for those candidates who have not completed a Master's level qualification (UK QAA Level 7), and it aims to demonstrate that they have gained the same level of technical knowledge difficulty through their experience in their professional career.

Retrospective applications are those made by candidates within two years of being awarded a Geolsoc professional qualification i.e. CGeol candidate who previously gained CSci or vice versa.

These candidates do not need a further interview, and their competencies are assessed based on only their submitted information, some of which is updated material from the initial application.

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If you have other experienced Chartered Fellows amongst your network, please encourage them to find out more about becoming an Assessor and to apply.

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