Student and Academic Services
External Examiner Nomination and Appointment Process
This document sets out the detailed process for the appointment of an external examiner for a taught programme of
study. The process is intended to operate within the University's Senate Regulation 8 governing the Assessment of
Taught Programmes of Study, which can be found here:
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/regulations/general-regulations-for-taught-programmes
Any queries about the appointment process, or the suitability of a particular nominee, should be addressed to the
Quality Office.
1.
The Quality Office maintains a comprehensive and up-to-date register of the University’s external examiners,
which includes:
 name;
 current role and institutional affiliation;
 contact details;
 level and title of programme(s) for which an individual is appointed;
 dates of appointment;
 receipt of annual reports and departmental responses to these;
 records of payment of fee and expenses.
2.
The Quality Office will identify the need for a nomination for the appointment of an external examiner either:
 through the programme approval process for new programmes; or
 on the basis of the expiry date of the term of a current examiner.
3.
The Quality Office will notify a department of the need to nominate a new external examiner at least six
months before the expected start date of an appointment. The Quality Office will provide the department with a
partially pre-populated ‘External Examiner Nomination Form’ and a copy of this process document.
4.
The Quality Office will provide pro-active support and advice to those in departments responsible for making
nominations for new external examiners.
5.
The department will return the completed nomination form to the Quality Office, together with a full academic
curriculum vitae for the nominee, and the explicit support of the Head of Department or School for the nomination.
Completed nominations should be sent to [email address here].
6.
The Quality Office will review the nomination to ensure that it meets the University’s appointment criteria and
contains sufficient information for a decision to be reached. Clarification will be sought from the department at this
stage if necessary.
September 2012
7.
The Quality Office will pass completed nominations to the secretary of the Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory
Committee who will seek the Committee’s views on the nomination. VCAC’s recommendation will be passed to the
Academic Policy Committee.
8.
The Academic Policy Committee will consider all nomination documentation (including any for candidates
about whom VCAC has expressed reservations), together with VCAC's recommendation. Where the views of the
Academic Policy Committee differ from those expressed by VCAC, the Chairs of the two committees will discuss the
most appropriate course of action.
9.
The Academic Policy Committee will arrive at an independent decision for each nomination and will
recommend appointments to Senate. The Quality Office will notify departments of the outcome of the Academic
Policy Committee’s deliberations.
10.
Following Senate’s approval, the Quality Office will write to the new external examiner, setting out the terms of
the appointment and enclosing the following briefing material:
 the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy;
 the relevant Senate Regulations;
 the relevant programme specification(s);
 a copy of the previous year’s external examiners’ reports and the department’s response to these;
 guidance on the annual reporting and payment processes for external examiners.
11.
The letter of appointment will be copied to the Head of Department or School. The department will then
provide additional briefing material to the external examiner:
 student and staff handbooks;
 the relevant module specification(s).;
 details of the assessment process and criteria or the relevant programmes.