External Examiners

Your department is expected to appoint External Examiners to maintain oversight of the standards, rigour, fairness and continuing development of all degree award-bearing programmes.

The External Examiner system is an important part of the University’s quality assurance framework and External Examiners play an important role in providing an impartial, independent and informative perspective on our taught provision.

The specific expectations relating to the External Examiner role are detailed in the University’s Code of Practice for External Examiners (see right hand downloads).

Reports

External Examiners are required to submit an annual report on the programme(s)/subject(s) for which they act as examiner. Your department is expected to carefully consider the Examiners’ reports and act on any recommendations, where deemed appropriate (it is considered good practice for you to provide written feedback to each Examiner on their report). Faculties maintain an oversight of Examiners’ reports and departmental responses to the reports. An annual digest of generic issues emerging from Examiners’ reports is also submitted to the University’s Quality and Scrutiny Committee.

Your department is also expected to share the contents of External Examiner’s Reports with student representatives, e.g. via your Staff-Student Committee or Learning and Teaching Committee. In doing so, you might also consult students about proposed changes to your programmes as a result of recommendations made by Examiners.

Current developments

As part of the development of a new Quality Code by the QAA, a revised chapter on External Examining was published in December 2011. Changes have been made to the University’s Code of Practice for External Examiners in the light of the revised chapter, particularly in relation to the nomination criteria for appointment of new External Examiners. A Task and Finish Group, which reports to the University’s Quality and Scrutiny Committee, is currently considering further implications for the University’s approach to external examining, including any further guidance and support that might be provided to departments.

Forms and Claiming

In the Downloads section to the right you will find the relevant guidance documents for External Examiners on how to claim fees and expenses, as well as the report template and nomination form.

Eligibility to Work in the UK

To comply with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, departments should confirm the eligibility to work of all External Examiners. External Examiners should be asked to confirm on the nomination form that they are eligible to work in the UK and to provide a copy of their passport or other relevant document(s) as evidence.

Further information about eligibility to work for External Examiners is available in the downloads section to the right.