External examiners: role and responsibilities
Â鶹TVÍøÕ¾ University engages around 300 external examiners across our provision. We aim to provide ‘impartial and independent advice’ as well as ‘informative comment on our standards and student achievement’ in relation to those standards as described by the UK Quality Code, Advice and Guidance on External Expertise.
External examiners are usually experienced academics at other higher education (HE) institutions. They use their prior experience and knowledge of the subject, and other institutions, to offer an independent assessment of our academic standards and the quality of our assessments.
They use internal reference points (for example, institutional regulations) and external reference points (for example, the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications and subject benchmark statements).
External examiners are expected to comment on the comparability of our student performance and standard of our awards in respect to their experience of other HE providers.
External examiners will confirm that our policies and procedures are consistently and fairly implemented to ensure the integrity and rigour of our assessment practices.
External examiners will also identify good practice, give advice on modules and programmes, and make recommendations for enhancement.
Acting as an external examiner generally involves the scrutiny and evaluation of a body of evidence for groups of students. This typically consists of:
- Course or programme specification
- Examination question papers and coursework assignment tasks
- Sample of assessed student work
- Discussions with academic staff and, where appropriate, students
- Attendance at examination boards.
External examiner annual reports are an integral part of the University’s quality monitoring and enhancement process. They play an important role in the programme review cycle.
A completed report should be submitted within four weeks of the final assessment board to the external examiner via externalexaminer@mdx.ac.uk.
The full responsibilities of the Programme Assessment Boards are outlined in the University’s Regulations. Please refer to Section D10 and D11.
Contact us
If you have any general enquiries regarding your external examiner appointment or you would like to enquire about an external examiner vacancy at Â鶹TVÍøÕ¾ University, email: externalexaminer@mdx.ac.uk.
If your query is related to Assessment Board information, email: assessmentofficers@mdx.ac.uk.
If you are an existing external examiner and you wish to change your contact details or personal information, please email: externalexaminer@mdx.ac.uk.