General Board Guidance on the arrangements for external examiners

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• 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. Last reviewed: 29/08/2013 Page 10 of 17 SD
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 Last reviewed: 29/08/2013 Page 11 of 17 SD
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Page 17: Appendix D: Summary of procedures E

General Board Guidance on the arrangements for external examiners

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