Appointment Guidance for Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate External Examiners

The role of External Examiner is considered as a very important part of quality enhancement and assurance to maintain academic standards at the appropriate level and to ensure that student performance is properly judged. The External Examiner is a key member of the Board of Examiners and is consulted on, and may influence decisions on, course or programme structure and content.

The External Examiner moderates the examination process and submits an annual report, for which a fee is paid. External Examiners are appointed for all taught programmes (undergraduate and postgraduate) and for research degree candidates. Specific criteria must be satisfied for appointment.

External Examiners are appointed for a period of four years. The following information outlines the process of appointing a new external examiner and what action is required to be taken by the School. Please note that the tenure of an appointment can be extended by a further year only in exceptional circumstances.

Appointment of External Examiners

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New or Replacement Examiners

When an External Examiner’s appointment is about to end, Academic Policy & Governance will send the School a reminder that a new External Examiner will need to be appointed. This is done nine months prior to the end of appointment date.

Schools should approach possible candidates on an informal basis. The proposed examiner should be a member of academic staff in a higher education institution and have undertaken a normal range of teaching and examining duties for the last seven years.

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Appointment Criteria

Please ensure that potential candidates meet all the following criteria:

  1. Knowledge and understanding of UK sector agreed reference points for the maintenance of academic standards and assurance and enhancement of quality.
  2. Competence and experience in the fields covered by the programme of study, or parts thereof.
  3. Relevant academic and/or professional qualifications to at least the level of the qualification being externally examined, and/or extensive practitioner experience where appropriate.
  4. Competence and experience relating to designing and operating a variety of assessment tasks appropriate to the subject and operating assessment procedures.
  5. Sufficient standing, credibility and breadth of experience within the discipline to be able to command the respect of academic peers and, where appropriate, professional peers.
  6. Familiarity with the standard to be expected of students to achieve the award that is to be assessed.
  7. Fluency in English and, where programmes are delivered and assessed in languages other than English, fluency in the relevant language(s) (unless other secure arrangements are in place to ensure that external examiners are provided with the information to make their judgements).
  8. Meeting applicable criteria set by professional, statutory or regulatory bodies.
  9. Awareness of current developments in the design and delivery of relevant curricula.
  10. Competence and experience relating to the enhancement of the student learning experience.

The following should be clarified prior to submitting a nomination:

  • The nominee should not have been an external examiner for any undergraduate or taught postgraduate programme/course in the University of Glasgow at any time during the five years prior to the date of appointment.
  • The nominee should not have been a member of staff of the University of Glasgow within the five years prior to the date of appointment.
  • At the proposed date of appointment, the nominee should not hold an external examinership for undergraduate or taught postgraduate degrees in more than one other institution.
  • At the date of appointment, no member of staff of the nominating School(s) should be an examiner for an undergraduate or taught postgraduate programme/course in the nominee’s department/school.

If a candidate does not meet all the criteria listed above, please contact Academic Policy & Governance (apg-external-examiners@glasgow.ac.uk) for further advice.