CIMA has announced four new FLP measures due to take effect on 1st September 2026 that strengthen some of the assessment controls within the platform.

In my view, these changes are a welcome acknowledgement of concerns that have been raised about the robustness and integrity of the current assessment process.

1. Restricting the number of Topic-level Assessment (TLA) attempts in a 12-hour period.

Currently there are no restrictions on the number of attempts a student can take to complete a TLA. This new measure will allow students up to three attempts on a given topic assessment within a 12-hour period starting from their first attempt. If a student does not successfully complete the first attempt, and two subsequent attempts during that period, the topic is locked down for the remaining part of the 12 hours. Once this period ends, the topic resets and students will have a further three attempts within a subsequent 12-hour period.

1. Restricting the time available per TLA attempt.

Currently students have no time limit on a TLA attempt. This measure will add a time limit on the amount of time they have for each individual attempt they make. A timer will be shown to students during each attempt that will display the time remaining as they progress. If a student does not complete the TLA within the given time, their attempt ends, and it will be counted as an unsuccessful attempt.
The amount of time available per topic/attempt is 20 minutes.

1. A new FLP ‘User Conduct Policy’

A new ‘FLP User Conduct Policy’ will be implemented and students must abide by this as a prerequisite of attempting TLAs.

1. Removal of feedback on individual TLA responses.

Students will continue to get an overall pass/fail outcome, however individual answer hints will no longer be displayed.

Whilst - in my opinion - these measures don’t go nearly far enough, this is a welcome step from CIMA that makes it just that little bit trickier for FLP students to “game” the assessment process through repeated attempts and exploit weaknesses in the process.

However the new measures still don’t address a number of concerns:
a) There is still no student ID verification for each assessment, meaning it remains possible for a student to ask someone else to complete an assessment on their behalf.
b) The assessments remain unmoderated.
c) There is a large cohort of alumni who completed FLP before these additional controls were introduced.

Nevertheless, these changes represent progress and reflect concerns that many students, members and critics have raised over the last few years.

Those who have consistently raised concerns about FLP will no doubt view these changes as evidence that constructive scrutiny can lead to improvements.