General Board Guidance on the arrangements for external examiners

<strong>Guidance</strong> by the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> on the arrangements for External Examiners 

These notes apply to the arrangements for Examiners designated as External Examiners 

for the following examinations: 

Preliminary and Qualifying examinations; 

Honours examinations; 

Examinations for the degrees of LL.M., M.B.A., Mus.B., MEng, MSci, MASt, M.B., B.Chir., 

Vet. M.B. and B.Th.; 

Examinations for all Diplomas except those in International Law, and in Legal Studies, and 

those for non-members (offered by the Institute of Continuing Education, Language 

Centre, Divinity, and CPSL); 

Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas in Education; 

Certificates in Humanities Computing for Languages, and in Modern Languages. 

The guidance comes in three parts: 

1. for Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s and comparable authorities: Guidelines on the appointment of 

External Examiners 

2. for Chairs of Examiners: Guidelines on the use of External Examiners in University 

examinations 

3. for External Examiners: <strong>Guidance</strong> on the duties, as outlined by the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, and 

the expectations of the University in undertaking those duties 

There are also three appendices, containing further relevant information: 

A. Summary of the roles of External Examiners 

B. Consideration of examination results for medical cases and other allowances 

C. Consideration of External Examiners' reports 

D. Summary of procedures 

Last reviewed: 29/08/2013 Page 1 of 17 SD

<strong>Guidance</strong> for Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s and comparable authorities 

1. Guidelines on the appointment of External Examiners 

Types of External Examiners 

There are two types of External Examiners, outlined below: 

Moderating External Examiner 

Moderating External Examiners are appointed by the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to fulfil the duties 

outlined in Appendix A for all or part of the examination to which they are appointed (which 

may include all of the papers for one subject in, for example, MML, MVST or NST). It is 

anticipated that, wherever possible, no more than two Moderating External Examiners 

will be appointed for each examination. Moderating External Examiners should be able to 

comment in their final report on the comparability of standards of the examination, with 

respect to the standards of courses in other higher education institutions. 

The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> is aware, however, that in some examinations it is likely that more than 

two Moderating External Examiners are needed to ensure a complete overview of the course 

and its assessment because of the multiplicity of options and the complexity of the 

examination. In these circumstances, the number of Moderating External Examiners will be 

agreed between the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> and the nominating body before appointment. Each 

Moderating External Examiner will be expected to report in the manner outlined above, 

indicating (if appropriate) the areas of the examination on which they are commenting. 

External Examiner 

In some examinations, an External Examiner may be appointed for a single element of the 

examination (e.g. to mark the scripts of a single paper or conduct performance or practical 

tests). In these cases, it is unlikely that the External Examiner would be able to comment on 

the overall performance of candidates and the standard of the whole examination. External 

Examiners will be required to fulfil the duties outlined in Appendix A for the part of the 

examination for which they are appointed and to report on the fairness of the assessment 

and the standards of the candidates for that part of the examination. 

Note: Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s may also wish to appoint people external to the University to act, for 

example, as second markers only. In these circumstances, where: 

• the person is not expected to take responsibility for the overall conduct of the 

examination or the classing decisions for individual candidates, and: 

• the Faculty <strong>Board</strong> does not consider it appropriate or necessary for the appointed person 

to report on the fairness of the assessment and the standards of the candidates for that 

part of the examination. 

These “external” people should be appointed as Assessors and will be paid the appropriate 

University rates. 

Additional duties 

The duties outlined in Appendix A are considered to be the minimum requirements for the 

duties of a Moderating External Examiner or an External Examiner; a Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or other 

authority may choose to enhance the role with other duties and responsibilities and should 

clearly outline to the individual External Examiners on appointment what these revised duties 

and responsibilities are. Any revised role should also be communicated by the Faculty 

<strong>Board</strong> or comparable authority to Educational and Student Policy. 


Nomination and appointment 

The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> is responsible for appointing all Examiners, including External Examiners 

and Moderating External Examiners. Examiners are appointed for one year at a time, but 

may be re-appointed on the nomination of the Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or comparable authority 

concerned. No Examiner shall normally serve for more than three consecutive years for a 

particular examination and thereafter may not be appointed until a period of five years has 

elapsed; exceptions to this rule may be possible if a nominating body can demonstrate that 

there are special circumstances (e.g. in a minority subject). To allow sufficient time for the 

proper performance of their duties, individuals should normally be expected to hold not more 

than two Moderating External Examinerships or other External Examinerships at first degree 

level concurrently. 

For most examinations leading to, or contributing to, a University award, the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> 

shall appoint at least one Moderating External Examiner and a sufficient number of other 

Moderating External Examiners and/or External Examiners to ensure that the quality and 

standards of the course and examination are thoroughly scrutinised (see table below). The 

<strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> may, in consultation with the relevant Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or other authority, agree 

to other arrangements to ensure that the quality and standards of the examination are 

appropriate. 

No. of Moderating 

External Examiners 

Responsibilities of Moderating External Examiners 

and Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s or comparable authorities 

1 The Moderating External Examiner will be expected to moderate 

across all of the examination and be able to comment on: 

• the standards of the examination as a whole; 

• the fairness of the assessment policies and procedures; 

• the standard of student achievement in comparison with 

programmes elsewhere. 

• whether issues raised in previous report(s) have been addressed 

by the department 

2 or 3 The Moderating External Examiners will jointly be expected to 

undertake their assigned duties and submit independent reports 

commenting on the points above. 

• Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s and comparable authorities should ensure that 

each External Examiner is aware of the other appointments. 

more than 3 

They will jointly be expected to undertake their assigned duties and 

submit independent reports commenting on the points above. 

Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s and comparable authorities should ensure that each 

External Examiner is aware of the other appointments. In addition, 

the Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or comparable authority must indicate to the 

<strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>: 

• how it will ensure there is appropriate moderation across the 

examination; 

• how it will take a collective view of and respond to the reports of 

the individual Moderating External Examiners. 


All Moderating External Examiners and/or External Examiners are appointed on the basis 

that they are (with the internal Examiners) equal members of a <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners. 

To ensure the suitability of appointment, the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> may request a statement of 

support for appointment or reappointment from the nominating Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or other 

authority; such a statement would normally include a current CV for the nominated person 

and an indication of their suitability for the role. 

Suitability of nominations 

Care should be taken to avoid nominations where conflicts of interest (either professional or 

personal) may arise. The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> will consider such appointments on a case-by-case 

basis. In line with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, the following points should be 

noted: 

• A Moderating External Examiner or External Examiner shall not hold an office in the 

University, or a Fellowship or some office or post in a College and should not teach any 

course of instruction which forms part of the teaching programme for the examination 

concerned; 

• Former members of staff and students of the University shall not be eligible to become 

Moderating External Examiners or External Examiners until at least five years have 

passed since their departure; 

• Retirees can be considered provided they have sufficient evidence of continuing 

involvement in the academic area in question; 

• Reciprocal arrangements between Examiners from Cambridge institutions and other 

institutions should be avoided, wherever possible; 

• An Examiner being succeeded by another from the same institution should also be 

avoided and no more than one External Examiner for an examination should be 

appointed from the same institution; 

• To avoid potential conflicts of interest, external examiners should not be appointed if 

they are covered by any of the following categories: near relative of a member of staff or 

student involved with the programme of study, an examiner on a cognate course in the 

institution, anyone closely associated with the sponsorship of students on the course, 

anyone closely associated with placements or training, anyone required to assess 

colleagues who are recruited as students to the programme of study, anyone in a 

position to influence significantly the future of students on the programme of study, or 

anyone who has been directly involved as an external member of a validation panel for 

the programme; 

• The appointment of more than one External Examiner from the same department of an 

institution should be avoided. 

Although seniority is not, in itself, a necessary qualification for appointment as a Moderating 

External Examiner or External Examiner, those appointed should normally be persons of 

seniority and must certainly have appropriate experience and/or knowledge and the ability to 

command respect in the subject. In certain circumstances, it is appropriate that persons from 

outside the higher education system, e.g. from industry or the professions, be invited to act. 

Every External Examiner will be expected to have: 

• Competence and experience in the field covered by the course 


• Academic qualifications/professional qualifications to at least the level of the qualification 

being externally examined 

• Experience of setting examinations and running assessment procedures (either 

externally or internally) 

• Familiarity with the standard to be expected of students in the course to be examined 

• Fluency in English 

• Meet the criteria set out by professional and accrediting bodies 

• Awareness of modern developments in the design and delivery of the flexible curriculum 

• Expertise in the enhancement of the student experience 

Due care should be taken by the Faculty or Department concerned that adequate induction 

for the role of Moderating External Examiner or External Examiner has been undertaken by 

each person nominated. 

Suitability of re-appointment 

Faculty <strong>Board</strong>s and comparable authorities should review the conduct of the External 

Examiners before nominating them for re-appointment. In particular, they should bear in 

mind the requirements for the submission of appropriate reports for quality assurance and 

public reporting requirements. The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> may choose not to re-appoint a 

Moderating External Examiner who has not fulfilled his or her reporting duties from the 

previous year. 

The External Examiners’ Reports 

All External Examiners’ Reports should be made available to students, with the exception of 

any confidential report which may be made to the Vice-Chancellor. 

The Faculty <strong>Board</strong>, or comparable authority, should decide how best to share the reports 

with its students and how to make them aware of the reports. 

Additional guidance 

Educational and Student Policy website: 

www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/index.html 


<strong>Guidance</strong> for Chairs of Examiners 

2. Guidelines on use of External Examiners in University examinations 

Duties and responsibilities of External Examiners 

Chairs of Examiners are asked to familiarise themselves with Section 3 of this guidance. 

Attention is also drawn to the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Chapter 7: External 

Examining. 

The duties outlined in Appendix A are considered to be the minimum requirements for the 

duties of a Moderating External Examiner and an External Examiner; a Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or 

comparable authority may choose to enhance the role with other duties and responsibilities 

and should clearly outline to the individual External Examiners where the duties have 

departed from the defined role. 

Reporting requirements for Moderating External Examiners and External Examiners 

To fulfil their duties, all External Examiners are required to submit a written report and 

coversheet at the conclusion of each examination. The “report coversheet” is provided to 

them on appointment 1 . 

The report, along with the coversheet, will be submitted by the External Examiner to the 

Vice-Chancellor: this will be forwarded to either the Secretary of the Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or the 

Head of Department 2 associated with the examination, and an individual response to each 

External Examiner is expected from them. The Secretary of the Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or Head of 

Department is advised to consult with relevant bodies (including the Chair or <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examiners) before replying. Further information about the University procedures for the 

consideration of External Examiners’ reports is provided as Appendix C, and on the website 

of Educational and Student Policy: 

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/index.html 

Documentation for External Examiners 

On appointment, all External Examiners will receive from Educational and Student Policy: 

• a letter of appointment with: 

• a link to Section 3 of this guidance, including the appendices (<strong>Guidance</strong> for External 

Examiners); 

• link to a report coversheet, to be returned with a written report 

(http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/eecoversheet.doc). Both 

report and report coversheet can be submitted by email at 

vcexternalexaminers@admin.cam.ac.uk; 

• information on fees and expenses. 

As Chair of Examiners, you are expected to send them: 

1 Also available electronically at 

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/external.html 

2 These can be submitted by email at vcexternalexaminers@admin.cam.ac.uk 


• details of any agreed additional or different duties for Moderating External Examiners 

or External Examiners; 

• a timetable for the examination process, including dates of Examiners’ meetings; 

• details about the course and the examination, including the regulations and any 

recent changes to the conduct of the examination; 

• information on marking schemes and classing conventions; 

• copies of recent External Examiners’ reports and any responses. 

You should also offer to discuss with your External Examiner(s) particular aspects of the 

duties required of them before the examinations procedures begin. Appendix A highlights a 

number of such points. This is particularly important for a new External Examiner, who may 

not be familiar with the University’s examination arrangements. 


<strong>Guidance</strong> for External Examiners 

3. <strong>Guidance</strong> for External Examiners on their role and responsibilities 

Introduction 

You should be informed on appointment whether you are a “Moderating External Examiner” 

or an “External Examiner”; the main distinction between these is that External Examiners are 

appointed for a single element of the examination (e.g. to mark the scripts of a single paper 

or conduct performance or practical tests). The following guidance applies equally to both 

appointments. 

You should be contacted by a Chair of Examiners for your examination and should liaise 

with him or her in most matters. On completion of your duties, you are requested to submit a 

written report to the Vice-Chancellor 3 along with a report coversheet 4 , who will arrange for it 

to be considered by both the Faculty or Department responsible for the examination and by 

the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> (see Appendix C or the Educational and Student Policy website 5 for 

further details). 

As a Moderating External Examiner or as an External Examiner, you are appointed as an 

equal member of a <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners, who are appointed as a body to propose and settle 

the examination requirements and draw up a list of successful candidates, within the 

regulations for the examination concerned. All decisions are made as a consensus of the 

<strong>Board</strong> as a whole. Where voting takes place, you have an equal vote to other members of 

the <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners. The Chair of Examiners is expected to make clear to you your role. 

Duties and responsibilities 

The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> are aware that there is some variability in the roles of Moderating 

External Examiners and/or External Examiners across the University due to the complexity 

and breadth of the courses and their underlying philosophies. Nevertheless, it considers that 

all Moderating External Examiners and External Examiners shall undertake certain duties. 

The following guidance outlines the expectations of the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>, the body which will 

consider your report and the response from the relevant Faculty or Department. The 

responsibilities outlined in Appendix A are considered to be the standard responsibilities of a 

Moderating External Examiner or an External Examiner. A Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or comparable 

authority may choose to enhance the role with other duties and responsibilities: the Chair of 

Examiners will explain these to you. 

Documentation 

On appointment, you will receive from Educational and Student Policy: 

• a letter of appointment; 

• this guidance document, including the three appendices; 

• information on fees and expenses; 

• a report coversheet, to be returned with a written report. 

3 This can be submitted by email at vcexternalexaminers@admin.cam.ac.uk 

4 The report coversheet is available electronically at 

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/external.html 

5 http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/index.html 


You should expect to receive from the relevant Chair of Examiners 6 : 

• details of any agreed additional or different duties for External Examiners; 

• a timetable for the examination process, including dates of Examiners’ meetings; 

• details about the course and the examination, including the regulations and any recent 

changes to the conduct of the examination; 

• information on marking schemes and classing conventions; 

• copies of recent External Examiners’ reports and any responses. 

Your attention is also drawn to the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Part B, Chapter 7: 

External Examining. 

Reporting requirements 

All External Examiners are required to submit a written report at the conclusion of their 

involvement with the examination, and you may comment on any aspect of the examination, 

including the fairness of the assessment and the standards of the candidates for the part of 

the examination you are involved with. The University does not provide you with a rigid 

template for the report, but a coversheet provides guidance on the report’s format and 

content. 7 

The report should be addressed to the Vice-Chancellor 8 ; payment of your fee and expenses 

is conditional on receipt of the report. 

The written report is made available for discussion by the appropriate Faculty or Department 

concerned with the examination and by the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s Education Committee. Full 

details are outlined in the University procedures for the consideration of External Examiners’ 

reports (Appendix C), as laid out on the Educational and Student Policy website: 


Please note that reports are usually considered by the senior committees in the relevant 

Faculties and Departments, which include student representatives in their membership. 

Reports should ideally be written in a form that avoids discussion of individual candidates or 

members of staff. 

You are otherwise free to make such comments as you think fit; there is no University 

standard reporting template, but you are expected to cover five main areas: 

• the extent to which standards are appropriate for the examination and the qualification; 

• the extent to which standards are comparable with similar programmes or subjects in 

other UK institutions with which you are familiar; 

6 In some examinations (notably, the Natural Sciences Tripos and the Medical and Veterinary 

Sciences Tripos) External Examiners will work with a Senior Examiner for the subject, rather than a 

Chair of Examiners. 

7 The report cover sheet can be found here: 

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/education/examiners/eecoversheet.doc 

8 This can be submitted by email, along with the report coversheet, at 

vcexternalexaminers@admin.cam.ac.uk 


• the extent to which processes for assessment, examination and the determination of 

awards were sound and fairly conducted; 

• any good practice/enhancement of the quality of learning opportunities which you feel 

could be usefully identified for further dissemination; 

• whether issues raised in previous report(s) have been addressed. 

You may choose to comment further on the following topics: 

The examination 

• the design, structure and marking of the examination; 

• the procedures for assessment, including the basis and rationale for any comparisons of 

standards made; 

• the strengths and weaknesses of the students as a cohort; 

• whether your role is appropriate for the examination to which you were appointed, 

including whether or not you had sufficient access to any material needed to make the 

required judgements; 

The course 

• the curriculum, its aims, content and development; 

• resources as they impact upon student performance; 

• the quality of teaching and learning, which may be indicated by student performance. 

In light of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education’s chapter on external examining, all 

External Examiners’ reports will be made available, in full, to all students, with the sole 

exception of any confidential report which may be made to the Vice-Chancellor. 


Appendix A: Summary of the role of External Examiner 

The main role of any External Examiner is to ensure that examination and assessment 

procedures are fair and fairly operated and that the standards of degrees and other awards 

are comparable with those of comparable institutions. 

In order to perform this role External Examiners participate fully, as members of a <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examiners, in the approval of question papers, the assessment of results, and the 

adjudication of borderline and problem cases. In addition, External Examiners should feel 

free to comment on other matters, in particular on the balance, content and structure of 

courses, the appropriateness of the assessment procedures and the general conduct of the 

examinations. 

External Examiners are full and equal members of the <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners for the subject 

concerned; the precise nature of this involvement may vary according to the needs of the 

subject but should include those duties outlined overleaf. All decisions are made as a 

consensus of the <strong>Board</strong> as a whole. Where voting takes place, External Examiners have an 

equal vote to other members of the <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners. 

When coming to decisions, the <strong>Board</strong> of Examiners is required to pay attention to the 

regulations of the examination concerned and any general University regulations. In 

particular, the University considers medical cases and allowances in a manner different 

to that of most other institutions; a summary of the way in which such cases are 

considered is summarised in Appendix B. 

<strong>General</strong> duties of External Examiners 

The <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> currently appoints two categories of External Examiner (Moderating 

External Examiner and External Examiner). The roles and duties are outlined in the following 

pages. 

Where an examination involves more than one Moderating External Examiner and/or 

External Examiner, you should be informed by the Chair of Examiners. 

Additional duties 

The duties outlined below are considered to be the standard requirements for the duties of a 

Moderating External Examiner or an External Examiner; a Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or comparable 

authority may choose to enhance the role with other duties and responsibilities and should 

clearly outline to the individual External Examiners on appointment what these revised duties 

and responsibilities are. 

Moderating External Examiner 

Moderating External Examiners are appointed by the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> to fulfil the duties 

outlined below for all or part of the examination to which they are appointed, and should 

comment in their final report on the comparability of standards of the examination as a whole, 

with respect to the relative performance of candidates and of courses in comparable 

institutions. 

Setting and reviewing of 

question papers 

You should receive relevant draft examination papers, with 

supporting material where appropriate (e.g. model or outline 

answers, marking schemes), for comment and suggestions. 

You may be asked to contribute to the papers. 

You should discuss with the Chair what you expect to see, a 

suitable timetable for comment and feedback, and whether 

you should consider a complete set of papers or a subset of 


questions. 

Marking of examination 

scripts and other assessed 

work 

You may be asked to mark scripts and other assessed work 

as a first or second marker, although the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong> do 

not consider this to be an essential requirement for the 

assurance of standards. An excessive marking load should 

not be imposed on you. You should discuss with the Chair 

whether you are expected to mark scripts, and the 

subsequent marking load. 

Review of marking 

standards and procedures 

You are entitled to see all scripts and any other work that 

contributes to the assessment and subsequent classification; 

more usually, you will review a sample of scripts to ensure 

that standards are maintained and that marking is consistent. 

In cases where you see only a selection of scripts and/or 

other assessed work, the principles for such selection should 

be agreed with you in advance. 

You should discuss with the Chair the number and types of 

scripts to be reviewed and sent in advance of any meetings 

with Examiners or candidates. 

Advising on class 

borderlines and general 

standards 

You are expected to advise on the borderlines between 

classes and between passing and failing and should therefore 

have the opportunity to scrutinise relevant scripts and other 

assessed work. You may be invited to take part in oral 

examinations, where they are allowed by the examination 

regulations. 

You should discuss with the Chair of Examiners how these 

duties are to be undertaken. 

Advising on the 

performance of individual 

candidates 

You may be invited to advise on an individual piece of work or 

participate in oral examinations, where they are allowed by 

the examination regulations. Decisions relating to 

individual candidates are taken by the <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examiners as a whole, including the External 

Examiner(s). In an equality of votes the Chair has a second 

or casting vote. 



Attendance at meetings 

You have a right to be present at all Examiners' meetings 

and, with the exception of the Medical and Veterinary 

Sciences Tripos and Parts IA and IB of the Natural Sciences 


Tripos, are required to attend the final meeting of 

Examiners at which classifications are agreed and class 

lists signed. 

If, exceptionally, you cannot be present at a final meeting, 

you should discuss this with the Chair in order to obtain 

dispensation from attendance from the Vice-Chancellor. Such 

dispensation may be granted provided that you certify that 

you are prepared to allow your name to be added to the class 

list. 

External Examiner 

In some examinations, an External Examiner may be appointed for a single element of the 

examination (e.g. to mark the scripts of a single paper or conduct performance or practical 

tests). In these cases, it is unlikely that the External Examiner would be able to comment on 

the overall performance of candidates and the standard of the whole examination. External 

Examiners will be required to fulfil the duties outlined below for the part of the examination for 

which they are appointed and to report on the fairness of the assessment and the standards 

of the candidates for that part of the examination. 

Setting and reviewing of 

the question paper 

You should receive a copy of the draft paper to which you are 

appointed, with supporting material where appropriate (e.g. 

model or outline answers, marking schemes) for comment 

and suggestions. You may be asked to contribute to the 

paper. 

You should discuss with the Chair what you expect to see 

and a suitable timetable for comment and feedback. 

Marking of examination 

scripts and other assessed 

work 

You will be asked to mark scripts and other assessed work as 

a first or second marker. You should never be the sole 

marker of a script. 

You should discuss with the Chair the precise requirements, 

including the marking load and how best to receive the scripts 

to be reviewed in advance of any meetings with Examiners or 

candidates. 

Advising on general 

standards for the paper 

You are expected to advise on the borderlines between 

classes and between passing and failing for the paper to 

which you are appointed and should therefore scrutinise 

scripts and other assessed work. You may be invited to take 

part in oral examinations, where they are allowed by the 

examination regulations. 




Advising on the 

performance of individual 

candidates 

You may be invited to advise on an individual piece of work or 

participate in oral examinations, where they are allowed by 

the examination regulations. Decisions relating to 

individual candidates are taken by the <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examiners as a whole, including the External 

Examiner(s). In an equality of votes the Chair has a second 

or casting vote. 



Attendance at meetings 

You have a right to be present at all Examiners' meetings 

and, with the exception of the Medical and Veterinary 

Sciences Tripos and Parts IA and IB of the Natural Sciences 

Tripos, are required to attend the final meeting of 

Examiners at which classifications are agreed and class 

lists signed. 

If, exceptionally, you cannot be present at a final meeting, 

you should discuss this with the Chair in order to obtain 

dispensation from attendance from the Vice-Chancellor. Such 

dispensation may be granted provided that you certify that 

you are prepared to allow your name to be added to the class 

list. 


Appendix B: Consideration of examination results for medical cases and other 

allowances 

The University of Cambridge considers medical cases and other allowances in a different 

manner to that of most other institutions. 

Examiners assess students solely on the basis of the work submitted for examination. No 

account is taken of personal or individual circumstances in the marking of examination 

scripts and other work. The only exception to this is in the case of candidates with dyslexia; 

Examiners are informed of dyslexic candidates and asked not to penalise their work for minor 

spelling and grammatical errors, except where they form a Moderating part of the 

assessment. 

Consideration of medical and other personal circumstances, including disabilities, which may 

have a bearing on performance, is a matter for two central bodies, the <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examinations; or the Applications Committee. 

The <strong>Board</strong> of Examinations 

Candidates, through their College Tutors, may make applications to the <strong>Board</strong> of 

Examinations to sit examinations under special conditions; e.g. sitting the examination in 

isolation, being given extra time, or being provided with appropriate additional or alternative 

materials. Examiners are not informed of special conditions and are expected to mark the 

scripts and other work in line with other candidates. 

The Applications Committee 

The Applications Committee includes professionally qualified medical advisers. The 

Committee’s role is to consider cases of students whose examination performance may have 

been hindered by mitigating (typically health-related) circumstances. In undertaking its 

work, the Applications Committee considers the medical or other supporting evidence 

submitted on behalf of candidates by their Colleges, including supervision reports together 

with details of their previous and current examination performance. 

If, in the Committee’s opinion, the evidence strongly suggests that a candidate’s performance 

in the examination was not representative of his/her abilities, the Committee may agree to 

‘Declare the candidate to Deserve Honours’. This replaces whatever class (if any) was 

determined by the Examiners. 

The Applications Committee may, in some circumstances, invite the Chair of Examiners, 

after consultation with other Examiners, to move a candidate’s name to a higher class, if the 

Committee considers that the candidate was hindered in a small part of the examination and 

there is sufficient evidence from the remainder of the candidate's examination to justify the 

award of a higher class. The procedures followed by the Committee are set out 

in: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/students/studentgegistry/current/newstud/comp._app/formal. 

html 


Appendix C: Consideration of External Examiners’ reports 

External Examiners are required to write a report on the procedure, conduct and outcomes of 

the examination. They should address any report to the Vice-Chancellor 9 , who passes them 

to Educational and Student Policy, Academic Division, for collation and sending to Faculties 

or Departments. 

Reports are normally received in Faculties and Departments by either the Secretary of the 

Faculty <strong>Board</strong> or the Head of Department as appropriate. They are requested to formulate 

responses to each External Examiner individually, and forward these to the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s 

Education Committee, along with any additional commentary they care to make. For 

examinations held in June, the responses are expected by the middle of December of the 

same calendar year, providing that the reports have been received in good time. 

When considering their responses to External Examiners, Faculties and Departments should 

ensure that interested parties are consulted, where relevant and appropriate. These may 

include the Chair of Examiners (and other Examiners), teaching committees, course 

management committees and course organisers, student-staff consultative committees and 

Directors of Studies committees. Most responses are channelled through either the Faculty 

<strong>Board</strong> or an appropriate Departmental committee. 

The responses should address each issue raised by the External Examiners and should be 

appropriate to the seriousness of the concern. This may include a commitment to ongoing 

consideration of issues, a report on action taken or action considered, and/or the 

identification of issues to be referred to other internal and external bodies to the Faculty or 

Department (e.g. <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s Education Committee, Senior Tutors’ Committee, 

Admissions Forum). 

External Examiners should receive a written response to their reports from the 

appropriate Faculty or Department; Faculties and Departments should use their own 

judgement as to the detail to be included in the response, but may be asked by Educational 

and Student Policy to comment on a specific issue(s) raised in the report. It is useful if 

External Examiners can receive a prompt initial response to their reports as well as further 

feedback after the full cycle of detailed consideration has been undertaken. 

A summary of responses is also sent to the <strong>General</strong> <strong>Board</strong>’s Education Committee for their 

consideration. The Education Committee will determine whether the responses to External 

Examiners’ reports are adequate and will further consider any issues that are of wider import. 

Further information and context is also provided on the Educational and Student Policy 

website: 


9 vcexternalexaminers@admin.cam.ac.uk 


Appendix D: Summary of procedures 

EXTERNAL EXAMINER 

submitted report 

VICE-CHANCELLOR 

forwarded report 

acknowledgement 

and payment 

FACULTY BOARD 

or 

discussion 

CHAIR OF 

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT 

EXAMINERS 

formal 

response 

copy of report and response 

EXTERNAL EXAMINER 

additional 

correspondence 

GENERAL BOARD’S 

EDUCATION COMMITTEE

General Board Guidance on the arrangements for external examiners

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