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Departmental Checklist for Supporting External Examiners

A checklist of good practice in relation to information and guidance to be provided for new External Examiners.

Who’s Who in the Department

Externals should be provided with a “who’s who” for the department including:

  • Head of Department
  • Departmental Examinations Correspondent
  • Board of Examiners Secretary
  • Director(s) of Studies (undergraduate/postgraduate)
  • Departmental administrator/secretaries
  • Other academic staff who will be members of the Board of Examiners.
Information

The following should be provided:

  • relevant departmental literature (e.g. Student Handbook, Course Specifications, module and syllabus details, other literature provided to students and staff)
  • details of marking schemes and examination board conventions
  • timetable of tasks, meetings etc relating to the examination process, highlighting those requiring specific input from the External Examiner
Induction Process

External Examiners should be encouraged to visit to department prior to the examination process if they wish. Such a visit would enable them to

  • meet relevant staff
  • discuss the department’s  teaching and learning strategies
  • discuss previous examples of students’ work
Communication

To help ensure effective and efficient communication:

  • departmental contacts should be given to the External Examiner (it should be clearly indicated who the External should contact in relation to different matters)
  • the nature of the examination tasks should be clearly identified with specific details of the action required of the External Examiner at each stage (e.g. the instructions accompanying batches of student work should always be clear and comprehensive).
  • there should be a clear and early exchange of information about the departmental timetable of activity and the External Examiner’s availability clearly during the examination cycle.