Preparation for the External Examiner role
A consolidated taught course External Examiner policy has now been approved by Senate. This policy document does not include any changes in policy since 2024/25 and instead brings together all policy information into a single point for clarity and ease.
All policy information has been removed from these External Examiner webpages and can instead be found in the policy noted above. The remaining information present on these External Examiner webpages is guidance and supplementary information.
For the purposes of these webpages, and the taught course External Examiner policy, ‘department’ can be read as interchangeable with ‘school’ or other equivalent. ‘Partnerships’ are included under references to ‘departments’ unless a partnerships-specific note is included.
Please note that the policy and information on these webpages relates specifically to taught course External Examiners. For Postgraduate Research External Examiners, please see the Postgraduate Research webpages and contact pgresearch@essex.ac.uk with any queries.
IT and systems guidance for External Examiners and staff
New User Registration Guide
The New User Registration Guide (.pdf) takes a newly nominated External Examiner applicant through the initial nomination and appointment process, from submission of their online application up to the generation of a University of Essex IT log-in.
For internal University of Essex provision External Examiners
Should you encounter any IT issues please contact external.examiners@essex.ac.uk in the first instance. We are able to support with some basic IT fixes and signpost to the relevant teams for more complex issues.
External Examiners may access HR Organiser to inform the University of Essex of changes to their personal details, as outlined in the External Examiner User Guide (.pdf).
We also have some guidance documents to support you with accessing and using our systems.
External Examiner User Guide
The External Examiner User Guide (.pdf) explains to External Examiners the fundamentals of using University of Essex IT systems, including the External Examiner Report Portal for submission of reports, and for viewing departmental/school responses and course/module schedule details. Guidance for systems used to share information with External Examiners, including Moodle and FASER, are available on request.
For Partnerships External Examiners
Except in specific cases (which will be advised upon by the Quality and Academic Development team), External Examiners working for our Partner Institutions are not routinely required to activate and access University of Essex IT login credentials or any of Essex’s password-encrypted online systems. IT access and logins specific to individual Partners may in some cases be issued, but these arrangements are managed locally at relevant Partners and any queries related to IT logins or access to online materials should be referred to your contact at the Partner Institution.
For staff
Please see the below guidance documents for support on accessing and using the systems for External Examiners.
Training for External Examiners and staff
External Examiner webinars
The Quality and Academic Development Team run yearly training webinars for External Examiners and Departmental Staff. You will be invited to the relevant webinars as/when they are scheduled.
If you would like access to the recordings and materials from the webinars below, please contact external.examiners@essex.ac.uk. As standard, all new External Examiners are provided the link to the relevant webinar recordings.
Webinars list – for External Examiners
An introduction to External Examining at Essex: Autumn Term
- For all taught course External Examiners for University of Essex internal courses and modules
- Provides an overview of the External Examiner role and responsibilities, and what to expect
- Senior University colleagues attend to provide an overview of University priorities
Exam Boards and annual reporting: Spring
- Provides more in-depth training and guidance on the Exam Board and annual reporting processes
- For all taught course External Examiners for University of Essex internal courses and modules
Webinars list – for internal University of Essex staff
External Examiners – An overview for Departments: Autumn Term
- For all internal University of Essex departments – open to any staff involved with External Examiners
- Provides an overview of the External Examiner role and departmental expectations once an External Examiner has been appointed and is in post
