Brunel University
Briefing for External Examiners
February 2013
Dr Steve Mullins
Deputy Head of Registry
Content
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Appointment of External Examiners
Role of External Examiner
External moderation of Assessment
Panels/Boards of Examiners
Vice-Chancellor’s Representative
External Examiners’ Reports
Appointment of External Examiners
• Senate Regulation 4 governs the appointment of and role of
External Examiners
• At least 1 External Examiner per award bearing Programme
• Appointment normally for 4 years but may be extended by
one further year
• Heads of School Nominate External Examiners, who are
appointed by Senate
• A Chief External Examiner may be appointed
Role of the External Examiner
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To assist with the quality assurance of programmes
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Review of standards of student performance
Review of comparability of standards with those of
similar programmes in other UK HEIs
• External Examiners report on
– Standards of University awards
– Fairness of University assessment, examination and
awarding processes
External Moderation of Assessment
• Comment on assessment e.g. examination paper questions
• Samples of assessed work made available together with full
set of provisional grades
– Not required to study each piece of work in detail
– Is the work of appropriate standard and comparable with
other UK HEIs?
– Do marks assigned reflect published marking criteria?
External Moderation of Assessment
• Information provided:
– 10% sample size
– Indication of where adjustments already made
– Samples provided should represent full range of
achievement
– 20% of Masters dissertations or all if fewer than 10
students
– All dissertations available on day of the BoE
Panel of Examiners
• Panel of Examiners chaired by HoS or nominee
• Panel members nominated by the Chair and shall include:
– At least one External Examiner
– Appropriate Academic Staff responsible for teaching and
assessment of the programmes under consideration
• Panel is responsible to Senate (not the School)
• External Examiners are full voting members of the Panel of
Examiners, their role includes:
– Participation in the assessment process for individual modules or
assessment blocks
– Moderation of assessment
– Quality assurance of the assessment process as it relates to individual
modules or assessment blocks
Board of Examiners
• BoE constituted by the Head of School for each programme
leading to an award of the University
• Considers progress of students, actions to be taken as a result
of accepted Mitigating Circumstances, UG progression
between levels and recommendations for award
• Chair of the BoE, nominated by HoS, is not normally
responsible for delivery of programme(s) under consideration.
• Membership of the BoE:
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At least one External Examiner
Vice-Chancellor’s representative
Chair’s of all panels involved in the assessment process
Appropriate academic staff
Board of Examiners
• Board of Examiners is responsible to Senate – not the school
• Board may not adjust the grade/mark assigned to a student
by a Panel, except where assigning grades where MCs have
been accepted
• External Examiners are full voting members of the BoEs, their
role includes:
– Participation in decision about individual student awards
and/or progression
– Participation in determination o recommendations for
awards
– Provision of comment and advise on i) academic standards
expected, ii) structure, content and assessment of
programmes, and iii) the overall conduct of the
examination process
Vice-Chancellor’s Representative
• Senior member of the University Administrative staff –
normally from registry
• Most BoEs have a Lead VCR and an Assistant VCR present
• BoE may not conduct business resulting in recommendation
of an award in the absence of the VCR
• Role of the VCR to i) ensure proceeding of a BoE are carried
out in accord with Senate Regulations and approved
programme specification(s), ii) report to the Head of Registry
any irregularities, and iii) report to Head of Registry where an
External Examiner expressed dissatisfaction with the
proceedings or decision of the BoE.
• VCR also ensure accurate recording of BoEs decisions and
transmission to students
External Examiner Reports
• All External Examiners submit a report annually to the ViceChancellor
• Request for reports and reminders sent out by the Quality and
Standards Office
• Pro-forma provided for the report
• School required to respond to the comments made in the
External Examiners Report both directly to the External
Examiner and in their annual monitoring reports
• External Examiners may also write in confidence to the ViceChancellor at any time during their period of appointment
about any matter relating to their duties
• Fees paid once reports are received