Academic Standards and Quality

Important changes to external examining for Heads of Departments/Schools and Department Administrators

University procedures for external examiners have been reviewed and updated in the light of the revised chapter B7 on external examining for taught courses in the QAA’s UK Quality Code for Higher Education. Please make yourself familiar with the following changes.

For information and to be actioned appropriately

Student access to EE reports

Heads of Departments are reminded that external examiner reports should be a standing item on  Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings to ensure compliance with the requirement to make external examiners’ reports available in full to students. If you wish to distribute the reports on myessex, moodle or equivalent, please consult with Academic Standards and Partnerships Office prior to doing so.

Publishing of EE names

Please note that it is now a national requirement that the name, position and institution of external examiners are to be made available to students in award and module information published to students. This will be published on the module descriptors, by the Academic Standards and Partnership Office.

Updated policies

• Criteria for the appointment of external examiners.
• Roles and Responsibilities of external examiners.
• Information provided to external examiners – good practice across the University.
• External examiners report forms, which also includes a guidance checklist.

Consideration of reports

• Upon receipt of the external examiner report, the Head of Department/Schools should discuss the reports at a team level and make a considered and timely response to each external examiner. The response should outline any action to be taken (or the reason why there will be no action if this is the case) in response to external examiners’ recommendations, copying this to the Dean, the Academic Standards and Partnerships Office and the relevant Education Manager. 
• Responses to the external examiners report should be included in the Annual Review of Courses Report.

If you have any queries please e-mail academicstandards (non-essex users should add @essex.ac.uk)

Page last updated: 30 September 2013