2. Welcome Welcome and thank you for agreeing to become an External Examiner for Goldsmiths, University of London. Our External Examiners play an important role in helping us to assure and maintain the standard of our awards. Also we value the contribution they make towards our enhancement of our provision and our students’ experience. This Podcast is designed to supplement the information you will have already received. Each section deals with a different aspect of the role and the support you can expect to receive from the college. We look forward to working with you

3. Role of External Examiner An overview As an External Examiner your primary responsibility is to evaluate the rigour and implementation of our assessment processes, and comment on whether they have been operated fairly and in line with Goldsmiths’ policies and regulations. You are asked to act as an independent and impartial advisor; a ‘critical friend’, when determining whether assessment and standards are in line with the college’s regulations, the particular regulations for the programme, current practice in the sector and national benchmarks. By doing this you will enable Goldsmiths to guarantee the quality, standards and currency of specific modules and programme(s), and enhance the quality of learning opportunities provided to our students

4. Duties of External Examiner Assessment – What you must do There are three principal aspects to your External Examiner role in considering assessment on the programme(s). Firstly, you are asked to determine whether the assessment methods in the modules are appropriate for measuring student achievement against the intended learning outcomes of the programme. This includes approving the examination papers. Secondly, following internal marking, you will be provided with a sample of students’ work. You are asked to determine how the grading criteria are being applied in relation to the learning outcomes and the level of student achievement. Thirdly, you will comment on whether the assessment and the student achievement are in line with comparable programmes delivered in other institutions. In addition to these duties, you will be invited to comment on the structure of assessments and the curriculum and to make any suggestions to enhance the quality of learning opportunities.

5. Duties of External Examiner Assessment – What you might be asked to do In addition to the obligatory assessment-related duties, you might encounter one or both of the following activities. Firstly, in line with practice elsewhere, our policy is to provide our External Examiners with samples of assessed student work. These are drawn from each classification, and include Firsts/Distinctions, borderlines and fails. However, you have a right to, and can request to, see all assessed student work. Secondly, you should note that there are circumstances where an External Examiner is required to attend oral examinations, exhibitions, degree shows, performances of students etc. If appropriate, you would be advised accordingly.

6. Duties of External Examiner Assessment – What you cannot do There are some actions that do not fall within your remit as an External Examiner. Firstly, you are not required to second mark the students’ work, or to act as moderator where there is a difference in outcomes of marking between the first and second internal examiners. Rather you are asked to provide an independent view of the overall consistency of assessment and marking by the internal examiners. Secondly, you may not ask for individual students’ work to be re-graded. Rather, if you consider that the internal marking for a module has been inappropriate, you may ask for the work of whole cohort to be re-marked.

7. Duties of External Examiner – Board of Examiners As an External Examiner you are a member of a Board of Examiners that has responsibility for assuring the standards of a number of modules and programmes. You are expected to attend all the meetings of the Board and you are asked to evaluate whether the decision-making process undertaken by the Board has been rigorous, fair and consistent. You will be asked to sign the cover for the mark sheet after the Board of Examiners has ratified marks.

8. Duties of External Examiner – Your annual report As an External Examiner you are required to complete annual written reports. These should be submitted electronically to the Quality Office. The purpose of the report is to enable you to comment on the standards of student attainment and the validity, reliability and integrity of the assessment process and to make any suggestions to enhance the quality of learning opportunities. You may not mention individual students, or include information which might allow individuals to be identified. Nevertheless you are free to make any comments you wish, including observations on teaching, course structure and course content. However you should be aware that, all External Examiners’ reports are uploaded to the college’s internal website, and are therefore accessible to all students and staff. Do please comment on any good practice you identify.

9. Duties of Goldsmiths As our part of the arrangement, the college will: Supply you with contact details for the staff with whom you will liaise; Pay your expenses after receipt of your annual report; Keep you informed of any changes in regulations; Ensure that examination papers are sent to you for approval; Provide you with samples of marked student assessments; Ensure that you are given information about meetings of Boards of Examiners; Ensure that you are consulted about any proposed changes to the modules or programmes you examine; Ensure that you receive a formal written response to your report which will be incorporated in the Annual Programme Review If you are a newly-appointed External Examiner, in order to keep you properly informed, we will provide you with copies of the previous Annual Programme Review and the out-going External Examiner’s report.