1. External Examiners Briefing Session Friday 14th December 2018

2. Responsibilities and Engagement of External Examiners
Martin Pinnick
Office of Quality Standards and Partnerships

3. The Strategic Role of External Examiners
Help to ensure the University is fit for purpose in terms of its strategic educational function – internationally, nationally and locally
Growing importance with annual return to Office for Students – reassures Governors

4. The Strategic Role of External Examiners
The University (and its Colleges and Schools) depend on External Examiner input and reports in order to check that:
national and/or professional standards are being maintained
standards of student performance are comparable with similar programmes in the UK
students are being treated fairly and equitably
subjects are responsive to External Examiner comments, as expected by the QAA Quality Code

5. Quality Assurance Agency
The recently revised QAA Quality Code sets out expectations and guiding principles for HE providers relating to the use of external expertise: “Degree-awarding bodies [should] engage external examiners to provide impartial and independent advice, as well as informative comment on the degree-awarding body’s standards and on student achievement in relation to those standards…”

6. QAA Institutional Review 2012
1.2. Scrupulous use is made of External Examiners. The University of Lincoln has produced a full definition of the role of External Examiners and operates robust processes with clear criteria for their nomination, appointment and induction.

7. Responsibilities of External Examiners
The HEA’s brief summary of the practicalities is that:
Acting as an External Examiner generally involves the review of a selection of exam scripts, assignments and dissertations followed by informal engagement with staff to discuss the assessed work; and then the formal meeting of the examination board.
But there is more to it than that… 7

8. Responsibilities of External Examiners
Confirm the maintenance of threshold academic standards
Confirm the assessment process measures student achievement rigorously and fairly
Confirm that academic standards and student achievement are comparable with other UK higher education institutions
Provide informative comment on good practice and opportunities for enhancement
Essential component of University quality assurance and enhancement processes e.g. Annual Monitoring and Periodic Academic Review 8

9. Practically this means…
You may have been part of the original validation
Approval of modifications to modules or programmes
Approval of assessment tasks and examination papers
Reviewing samples of student work
Endorsement of student marks
Attendance at Boards of Examiners
Confirming programmes are in line with sector norms and expectations – Quality Code
Liaison with programme teams
Submission of an Annual Report

10. Other Sources of Guidance
In order to ensure that programmes are operating at the correct level:
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
Bloom’s Taxonomy
QAA Benchmark Statements
Professional Body Requirements and Standards
UK Quality Code

11. The Annual Report Definitive record of engagement with the team
Not a simple confirmation exercise
Opportunity for constructive critique
Cross-site comparability of provision
Some provision is unique e.g. military
Submission of a satisfactory report triggers payment
Please engage with the process as a peer academic who can help the team develop their provision

12. External Examiners are not responsible for:
The assessment of individual students
Encouragement to raise or lower marks for individual students
Individual cases relating to mitigating circumstances or academic integrity
Acting as final arbiter for the award of marks/grades
Communicating directly with individual students

13. Summary The External Examiner system:
Is central to quality assurance and enhancement
Provides peer feedback
Provides a checking system
Provides an improvement mechanism
Provides confirmation of good practice
Helps to ensure the University is educationally fit for purpose