About the External Examiner Role

A member of a higher education institution, industry or other profession who is suitably qualified in the subject area and who is external to the University of Derby. External Examiners are appointed to report on the maintenance of nationally comparable standards across HE institutions. They act as independent and impartial advisors to the University, and provide informed comment on the standards set and student achievement in relation to those standards.

External Examiners may also be requested to advise on proposed amendments to the programme or programmes leading to the award for which they are responsible, and to comment on new short courses and learning contracts which fall within their area of subject expertise. They are expected to advise on curriculum development and design so as to ensure currency, relevance and coherence of curricular material.

It is a requirement that at least one External Examiner should be appointed in respect of each programme or subject leading to an award of the University or a Professional Body. Programmes or subjects with large numbers of students or comprising more than one subject will require more External Examiners to cover the size and scope. 

External Examiners are expected to oversee the allocated programmes/modules regardless of where or how they are delivered, which may include by collaborative partners (UK and overseas), by online delivery methods (e.g. Online Learning) and/or apprenticeship programmes. This enables the University to obtain a clear comparison of standards across provision. External Examiners should be clear on the scope of the provision upon accepting the appointment and cannot opt-out of looking at certain types of provision once appointed.

Sub categories:

• Subject External Examiners exercise their responsibilities solely in relation to a number of modules in a subject area.
• Programme External Examiners exercise their responsibilities in relation to a named programme or award and in addition normally have responsibility for a number of programme/award modules.

Where a programme has more than one Programme, a Chief Examiner may be identified, with responsibility for coordinating the contributions of the various members of the examining team. In such a case the Chief Examiner must be (one of) the academic examiner(s) within the team.

Chief External Examiners confirm, by negotiation with other External Examiners in the team, that a consistent and acceptable standard is being maintained across the programme(s). Chief Examiners may also act as mentor for new and/or inexperienced External Examiners.

External Examiners who are in their first appointment, and do not have prior External Examining experience will be allocated a mentor, as well as the support from the Programme team and the External Examiner Team (Centre for Quality Assurance - CQA). In exceptional cases where a new External Examiner may work outside of HE there would be a requirement for another External Examiner with HE experience to be appointed alongside them.

The mentor will usually be an existing External Examiner who has been in post for at least one year. If a proposed mentor has been in post at the University of Derby for less than one year, if the individual has extensive prior experience of External Examining at other HE institutions then they could be suitable and therefore nominated for the mentor role. Ideally, a mentor needs to be an experienced External Examiner within the same Discipline/School and where a new External Examiner is joining a team of existing External Examiners a mentor could be sourced from this group of individuals. However, this is not essential and mentors can be sourced from alternative Schools/Colleges.

Where a mentor is appointed, the External Examiner team (CQA) will contact both the mentor and mentee to put them in contact with each other. The Programme Leader is also encouraged to facilitate and promote the mentor/mentee relationship specifically at the Local Inductions but also via general communications.

The guidance provided by a mentor will compliment any induction, training or information provided by the University of Derby, including; guidance on expectations and the role and responsibilities of an External Examiner and any support required with role specific matters.

The mentor and mentee should agree the method and frequency of how they communicate with each other and identify any areas where the mentee may need guidance and support.

Should a Mentee feel that they are not receiving the support that they require from their Mentor, then they should raise this with the Programme Leader in the first instance. If the issue is not addressed then the newly appointed External Examiner should escalate the issue to the Centre for Quality Assurance via externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk 

The College-level external examiner role exists alongside Chief, Programme and Subject level External Examiners (EEs).  Their main function is to attend the Formal Assessment Board and confirm that the University fulfils its obligations of conducting a fair and transparent Assessment Board in line with the University’s regulations and procedures.

College-level external examiners occur in most colleges however there are some exceptions, specifically within the college of HPSC, where PSRB requirements may set different expectations for Assessment Board attendance.

The College-level external examiner has responsibility for:

• Attending (in person or virtually), the Formal Assessment Boards
• Ensuring regulations are being met, and to provide formal externality at the Assessment Board itself. The College-level external examiner will ratify that due process is followed and to assist in the consistency of the decision making during the Assessment Board. External Examiners at Programme/Subject level will continue to undertake their duties of moderation as normal

The criteria for appointing a College-level external examiner, is usually:

• They should have a minimum of 2 years’ experience in the role of an External Examiner at Subject / Programme level
• They should have knowledge/ experience beyond own subject level, e., they may hold the position of Dean/Assistant Dean at their own institution
• Additional competencies and other relevant knowledge and experience (e.g may hold a role involving collaborative provision if the College has courses with Academic Partners)

Conducting the Duties:

• The arrangements regarding the Assessment Board dates and preparation for the events should be communicated to College-level external examiners via the Assessment Board Officer
• The College-level external examiner should contact their College Student Centre if they have any queries around preparatory work or pre boards
• The Assessment Board work will be separate to usual moderation duties that are carried out as per their usual External Examiner role
• The College-level external examiner should complete the Annual report form in the usual way. Please complete this as soon as the Formal Assessment Board has taken place and send to:  externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk.  Fees cannot be processed until the report has been received

Mentor details can be found in your formal Appointment Letter, or contact externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk for details.

Only nominated External Examiners without prior experience (within the last 5 years) require a mentor.

Other than in exceptional circumstances, e.g. serious illness, an External Examiner is normally required to give six months notice of resignation in order to protect students on the programme and the quality assurance arrangements associated with it. A resignation should normally take effect at the end of an academic year.

An External Examiner who wishes to resign should write formally to externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk stating her/his reason for resigning.

If you are in the process of moving, or have recently moved to a new institution or place of work, please contact us at externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk to let us know so that we can update our contact details, records of information and conduct a new Conflict of Interest check as applicable.