GuidelinesfortheselectionandapprovalofpotentialExternalExaminers

13 November 2013

Criteriafor appointment

ThecriteriafortheappointmentofExternalExaminersaresetoutin the Appointment of External Examiners document. Thepurposeoftheseguidelines istoprovideadviceonthe recruitmentprocessandtopointoutfactorsto betakenintoaccountwhen selectingpotential ExternalExaminersand/ortobe drawntotheattention oftheExternalExaminersCommitteein submittingnominationsforapproval.

Timescales

Heads of School should be seeking a replacement External Examiner 18 months prior to the end of the existing External Examiner’s tenure. In cases where a replacement is difficult to find, or in niche subject areas, it would be wise to begin this task to begin 24 months prior to the end of the existing External Examiner’s tenure.

Similarly, in the case of newly validated programmes/subjects it is important that the first steps are taken to secure an appointment during the programme/subjectdevelopment process.

Even when there is no matching home programme it is good practice, where possible, to employ an external examiner who oversees both the collaboration and a University programme within a cognate area. These externals should therefore be able to make judgements on the comparability of standards. If logistics mean that the external(s) only oversees the collaborative programme, then arrangements should be made for some sampling of the home programme work by the collaborative external and vice versa.

Recruitmentofpotentialexternalexaminers

Itisrecognisedthatfromtimetotime,therecanbedifficultiesinfinding suitablenomineeswhopossesstherelevantexperience toundertakethe roleofanExternalExaminer.ThefollowingmaybehelpfultoSchoolsinrecruitingpotentialExternalExaminers:

OtherInstitutions

OtheracademicinstitutionsoperatingsimilarprogrammescanbeasourceofpotentialExternalExaminers. ProgrammeLeaderscouldmakeenquiriesto otherinstitutionstoestablishtheparticular focusoftheircoursesand whethertherearestaffwhomaybewillingandsufficiently experienced to actasExternalExaminers.

Inmakingsuchinvestigations,Schoolsshouldtakeintoaccountthe University's wishtoinvolveExternalExaminersfromawiderangeofUK institutions. Schools shouldnotlimitthemselves tothose institutions withwhomstaffalreadyhaveaclose associationorwhichare geographicallyneartoLincoln.

Currentexternalexaminers

WithrespecttothereplacementofanExternalExaminer,Schools may wish to enquire whether the out-going Examiner is able to recommendanappropriate successorfromanotherinstitutionotherthan his/herown.

ProfessionalStatutoryandRegulatoryBodies/Associations

Professional bodiesoftenpublishtheirownlistofapprovedExternal Examinersandprofessionalassociations (e.g.British Psychological Society)whichcanbeusedasasourcefornominations.

ExternalEvents

Attendanceatconferences,workshops,seminars,etc.oractingonvalidationpanelsmayyieldpossiblecontactsfor potentialfutureExternalExaminers, asmayanycollaborative linkswithother institutions.

HE Academy Subject Centres

The Academy Subject Centres often have lists of potential External Examiners.

Access the web site follow the linkto the appropriate Subject Centre.

Websites

The School may already have a pool of External Examiners that can be approached;if not there are a number of websites that can be of use. JISC Mail has a group for External Examiners (discussion forum) on which advertisements can be posted by External Examiners and institutions, and is free to the academic community:

There are other websites available that are specific to academic areas and have tools to enable you to find External Examiners. You may already have membership to such a site or perhaps you would be interested in becoming a member. As some of these sites do incur a subscription charge, please check with the budget holder for your School before committing to any payment.

In order to maintain updated information please email the Officer to the External Examiners Committee at with any useful websites you may know of.

Demonstratingthatthecriteriafor appointmentaremet

Thecandidate’s abilitytosatisfythe criteriafor the appointmentofExternal Examinersmustobviously betakenintoaccount when consideringpotentialExternal Examiners.Inexceptionalcasesthe School maywishtoproposeanomination foranExternalExaminerwho doesnotfully meetthe selection criteria. The proposer mustprovideafullcasefor consideration withthenomination detailing thelevelof alternativeexperienceandabilities,andhowtheyintendtosupportthe newExternalExaminer inthefirstyearofappointment.

Itisimportanttodemonstratethat,althoughanomineemaynotfully meetallcriteria,s/hehas the necessary overall balanceofexperience andis abletojudgecomparability of academic standards. Thefollowingguidanceisprovidedonthe rangeofevidencewhichmust be includedinthesupportingstatement to theExternal Examiners’Committeeaspart of thedecisionmakingprocessso thatajudgment canbemadeaboutwhether anomineeisappropriate, includingonthebasis oftheoverallprofileifallthecriteriaarenotfully met. The External Examiners’ Committee may require a formal mentoring arrangement as a condition of approval. Inexperienced External Examiners will be asked to confirmthe supporttheyhavereceivedfrom the School and/or theMentorin theirfirstyearofappointment.

Rationale for appointment

ExperienceandAttributes

TheExternalExaminers’Committeewilllookforevidenceofthefollowing:

  • ProfessionalExperience

Atleast3years’relevantexperienceandnormally5years. Foracademic staff,thisshouldcoverteaching, designing andoperatingavarietyof assessments. Non-HEInomineesmusthaveahighdegreeofspecialist knowledgeoftherelevantfield.

  • Education/Qualifications

Relevant academic qualifications to at least the level of the qualification being externally examined, and/or extensive practitioner experience where appropriate.

Additionally,itshould be confirmed whether theapplicantis theholderofarecognisedteachingqualification.

  • SkillsandAbilities

Itis expectedthatacademicnomineeswillhave experienceofassessment techniqueswhich testarange ofcognitiveand/orpracticalskills. Evidence todemonstratethiscouldinclude:

  • Scholarly activityinthesubjectarea(e.g. conference papers, publishedpapers,booksorrefereedarticles)
  • Ability tomakecomparisonwith similarprovision (e.g. through validationexperience orthroughexperienceofanotherinstitutionor employer)
  • Interestincurriculumdevelopment(e.g.throughmembershipof programmedevelopment, teamorinternalrevieworvalidation mechanisms)
  • External recognition(e.g. through membershipof a professional association,or receipt of industryawards)
  • Involvementin subjectbenchmarkingorinternal/externalquality review
  • Memberofanorganisationwithahighreputationforqualityand standards
  • Abilitytocommunicatepositivelytoinfluencequalityenhancement.

CollaborativeProvision

ProposalsforExternalExaminersforCollaborativeProgrammesmusthave previousExternalExaminingexperience. Itisdesirableforproposalsfor CollaborativeProvisiontohaveexperienceofcollaborativeactivity.

13 November 2013