WELCOME
External Examiners’ Induction
March 2017
Checking Eligibility to Work in the UK
To comply with UK Border Agency legal obligations for employment checks under the provision of the
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 it is a requirement of your appointment that you are able to
provide documentary proof that you are eligible to work in the UK.
•
Today you will be asked to sign to confirm that you have provided original documentary proof to
comply with the above requirement
•
Your passport will be checked and copied to confirm that the documentary proof is acceptable.
•
Your passport will be returned to you later in the morning.
Please do not leave without it
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
WELCOME
External Examiners’ Induction
March 2017
Professor Gwendolen Bradshaw - PVC (Learning, Teaching & Quality)
Alison Carass (Academic Policy & Regulation)
Sue Ledger (External Examining)
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
• Housekeeping
• Pack contents:
– Programme for the day
– Presentation slides
– Guide to External Examining for Taught Programmes
– Sample Board of Examiners result sheet
– Sample completed Annual Report
– QAA UK Quality Code for HE – Chapter 7 – External Examining
– University of Bradford Strategy 2015 – 2025
– Evaluation Form, Expenses Claim Form and return envelope
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
• Welcome to the University and Introductions
• UK Quality Code for Higher Education (Quality and
Enhancement)
• Current initiatives
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Assessment Committees and
Boards of Examiners
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Guide for Boards of Examiners and
Related Processes
A Guide has been created to combine all the relevant information in
one place and this can be found at the following webpage:
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/documents-templates-anddownloads/a-z/#d.en.125701
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Assessment Committees
• Consider performance in individual modules and assign
definitive marks which may not be changed thereafter
• Membership includes Internal Examiners and Module
External Examiners.
• Quorum: Chair, Module Leader, or nominee, for all modules
under consideration.
• If Module External Examiners are unable to attend their
views should be taken into account and they should agree
the outcomes.
• Alternatively, they may attend by Skype/telephone or video
conference. No approval needed for non-attendance or
use of Skype etc.
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Assessment Committees (2)
• May scale marks and should report any scaling to Boards of
Examiners who received the marks concerned.
• An Assessment Committee may change an individual mark
provided that this is done with the concurrence of those
internal examiners who have reviewed all the work for the
module concerned.
• This might be done on the basis of a recommendation to
the Internal Examiners for the module from the External
Examiner who has reviewed only a sample of work.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Extenuating Circumstances Sub-committees
• Consider claims for extenuating circumstances
submitted by students
• meet prior to the Board of Examiners
• make recommendations on whether circumstances
should be accepted to the Board of Examiners.
• the Board of Examiners receives recommendations and
makes a decision on course of action to be taken
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Boards of Examiners
• Consider progression and award, including
classification of Honours Degrees
• May not change any of the marks awarded by an
Assessment Committee
• Take Extenuating Circumstances into account
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Boards of Examiners (2)
• Membership includes Internal Examiners and course
and/or personal tutors for students under review plus
Programme External Examiners
• Quorum: Chair, Programme Leader, or nominee, for all
Programmes under consideration, Programme External
Examiner. A representative from AQPO must also be
in attendance
• Faculties should consult External Examiners when
arranging dates for Boards
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Boards of Examiners (3)
Undergraduate Programmes
• External Examiners are required to attend all meetings,
including those for Partnership Provision, which are
considering for the first time the progression and award for
that cohort of students.
• Attendance is not required at supplementary Boards of
Examiners considering progression and award following reassessment, if no issues are identified with module
assessments at the Main Board and none are anticipated in
relation to supplementary assessments.
• If significant issues have emerged in the supplementary
period then the External Examiner will be expected to
attend.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Boards of Examiners (4)
Postgraduate Programmes
• External Examiners are required to attend all meetings, including
those for Partnership Provision, where awards are being
considered for the first time.
• External Examiners are not required at any interim Boards held at
the end of the taught component to consider either the
supplementary assessment required for students to gain the
award or making awards to students following re-assessment in
the project/dissertation.
• Again, if issues are identified in the original assessments or
significant issues are anticipated, or have emerged, in relation to
the supplementary assessment, then the External Examiner will
be expected to attend.
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Boards of Examiners (5)
• If External Examiner is unable to attend the Board, the
approval of the PVC (Learning, Teaching & Quality) must be
given in order for the Board to go ahead. The External
Examiner’s views must be taken into account and they
should agree the outcomes before results are released.
• If an External Examiner cannot attend a meeting, it is
possible to facilitate this, if appropriate, via Skype or
Telephone/Video Conferencing. This should be done in
such a way as to enable the External to participate in the
meeting as if they were actually present.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Progression and Award
(University Regulations)
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
SUMMARY OF PROGRESSION REGULATIONS
(Individual Faculties may have waivers in relation to specific
programmes, due to professional/validating Body requirements)
Foundation Year / Certificate of HE / Diploma of HE /
Foundation Degree / Honours Degree of Bachelor
• All Stages: 40.0% in 100 credits, 35.0% in the other 20.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Ordinary Degree
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•
The Ordinary Degree route will no longer be offered to students commencing
programmes from 2016/17. The route will be honoured for all students who
commenced studies before this date.
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Ordinary Degree as an exit award will be retained for all undergraduate Honours
and Integrated Masters programmes, however, the credit requirements brought in
line with sector to120 credits at Levels 4 and 5 and at least 60 credits at Level 6
which must be passed at 40.0% or above. Also no longer made with Merit or
Distinction.
•
Students who registered prior to 2016/17 will progress to the Ordinary Degree (if
offered) at Stage 2 or Stage 3 if they do not meet the criteria for Honours
progression at the end of Stage 1or Stage 2, but achieve 40.0% in 80 credits, and
35.0% in another 20 credits.
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At Stages 2 & 3: 40.0% in 80 credits, 35.0% in 20 credits.
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Students must have undertaken all permitted attempts at supplementary
assessment for the Honours Programme before transfer to the Ordinary Degree.
15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Integrated Degree of Master
(e.g. MPharm, MEng, MChem)
• Students take 480 credits over 4 Stages.
• Eligibility at each Stage is the same as that for the
Honours Degree of Bachelor, unless a waiver applies
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Postgraduate Taught Programmes
Postgraduate Certificate
• 60 credits, with at least 40.0% in 40 credits and 35.0% in other 20
Postgraduate Diploma
• 120 credits, with at least 40.0% in 100 credits and 35.0% in other
20.
Master's Degree
• 180 credits, with at least 40% in 160 credits and 35.0% in other
20.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
PROGRESSION REGULATIONS:
Undergraduate
• All students have a right to a Second attempt although this might
not be in the August supplementary period. Will be permitted to
take supplementary Assessment as follows:
• 80 credits or more below 40% - repeat year with attendance
• 70 credits or more below 40% - repeat individual modules
• 60 credits or less below 40% - supplementary assessment in
August.
• Automatic Third Attempt if meet requirement to achieve 40% in
80 credits
• Automatic referral in up to 20 credits
• 40% Carry forward mark
Postgraduate
• All students have the right to one supplementary assessment
• 35% Carry forward mark
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
AWARD OF UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE:
Calculation and Classification
• Students are required to meet the credit requirements
• Best 100 Credits from Stage 2 and Stage 3 used in calculation of
Degree
• Weighting between Stages 2 and 3 is 20/80
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•
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•
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Setting of Degree Classification Boundaries is fixed as follows:
First Class Honours
68.0%
Second Class Honours - First Division
58.0%
Second Class Honours - Second Division
48.0%
Third class Honours
Below 48%
15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
AWARD OF UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE (2):
Merit and Distinction
• Boundaries for Merit and Distinction at undergraduate
level, for example, Cert HE, Dip HE are now fixed as
follows:
• 68.0% = Distinction
• 58.0% = Merit
• The Best 100 credits will be used when calculating the
award of Merit or Distinction
• Students with agreed Extenuating Circumstances may be
considered for a classification of award other than that
indicated by the above calculation
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
AWARD OF POSTGRADUATE DEGREE:
Calculation and Award of Merit and Distinction
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•
Students are required to meet the credit requirements and all credit
is used in calculation of the award of Merit or Distinction.
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The boundaries for Merit and Distinction are now fixed as follows:
•
•
68.0% = Distinction
58.0% = Merit
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In addition to the overall average, students on the Masters
programme are required to achieve a Project/Dissertation mark of at
least 60% for Merit and at least 70% for Distinction.
•
Students with agreed Extenuating Circumstances may be considered
for a classification of award other than that indicated by the above
calculation
15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
External Examining at Bradford
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
External Examining at Bradford
• The QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education,
Chapter B7,External Examining, sets out the following
Expectation about external examining, which Higher
Education institutions are required to meet:
Higher education providers make scrupulous use of
external examiners
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15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
External Examining at Bradford
• Guide for External Examining of Taught Programmes
has been developed in line with the QAA UK Quality
Code Chapter B7 to assist External Examiners, staff,
partners and students understand the role at Bradford
• http://www.brad.ac.uk/aqpo/documents-templatesand-downloads/a-z/external-examining-for-taughtprogrammes.php
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
What we expect from our External Examiners
We hope that our External Examiners will:
• Be a Critical Friend
• Offer independent assessment of our academic
standards and quality
• Ensure that our students are dealt with fairly in the
assessment and classification process
• Identify and share good practice
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
What our External Examiners can expect from us
We hope that our External Examiners will:
• Feel supported by dedicated Central and Faculty
resources
• Understand what their role is from the outset
• Receive all the information required in a timely
manner to carry out their duties effectively
• Feel confident to have open and frank discussion and
to know that their comments have been considered
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
External Examiner roles at Bradford
All our External Examiners are responsible for a group of
Modules. In addition, most of our External Examiners are
also responsible for a Programme or group of
Programmes.
An important element of the role is to ensure that the
threshold academic standards across all Modules and
Programmes are:
• Being maintained
• Comparable
• In line with University regulations
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Main Duties of External Examiners
Modules
This part of the role is to provide confirmation that the
module assessments have been:
• Appropriately designed in line with FHEQ levels and
individual module learning outcomes
• Marked in a fair and equitable manner
And that good quality feedback has been given to
students in a timely way
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Main Duties of External Examiners
Programmes
This part of the role, where applicable, is to ensure that
Programmes are:
• Aligned to National Subject benchmarks
• In line with University regulations
• Meet the Programme learning outcomes
And that the assessment process has been carried out in
a fair and equitable manner.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Main Duties of External Examiners
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•
Preparation
Handbooks, Regulations, FHEQ, Subject benchmark
statements, ongoing dialogue with teams
•
Review
all assessment briefs – both examination and coursework titles
•
Sampling
representative sample of work
•
Confirmation
of marks and of awards made
•
Reporting
Annual report form, one per examiner
15 March 2017
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Recognition of Prior Learning
All Recognition of Prior Learning is approved at an
Assessment Committee/RPL meeting.
External Examiners are required to sample:
• Mapping documents for recognition of prior
certificated learning
• Proposals for recognition of prior experiential learning
The process is outlined in the Guide to Recognition of
Prior Learning and on the web at:
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/assessment-andexternal-examining/recognition-of-prior-learning/
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Working with Partner Institutions
The University of Bradford assumes full responsibility for
external examining at Partner Institutions:
• Some External Examiners will have a role examining
programmes and modules studied at Partner institutions in
the UK and overseas
• External Examiners have the same role for programmes and
modules operating at Partner Institutions; this includes
sampling work, confirming marks, progression and award
and assuring the quality of the provision there
• There is a specific section in the Annual Report to compare
Partner programmes with the onsite programmes and to
identify any specific strengths or weaknesses there.
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Student Information
• The name, position and institution of External
Examiners are included in handbooks for students
• Students may not contact External Examiners directly
and any such contact should be referred to Academic
Quality & Partnerships Office in the first instance
• External Examiner reports are published in their
entirety on a secured part of the AQPO website for
access by staff, students, partners and external
examiners
• Students have access to Annual Reports as members
of University decision making committees
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Reporting
All External Examiners are required to complete an
Annual Report.
• The Report is updated and emailed each academic
year in September and again in June to External
Examiners for completion by the deadline:
• 31 July for Undergraduate programmes
• 30 November for Postgraduate programmes
• Or four weeks after the last Board of Examiners
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Reporting (2)
The Annual Report is very important to the enhancement
planning for the Programmes, Faculties and for the
Quality Management of the University:
• http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/documentstemplates-and-downloads/a-z/external-examinerannual-report-template-15-16.php
• The report template is a Word document and should
be completed electronically and emailed to AQPO at
[email protected] or posted to AQPO
for my attention
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Judging Standards
Appendix 6 of the Guide lists the main areas for comment but you
might want to think about these questions as you go through the
year:
Standards
• What are the threshold standards?
• Are the standards set at validation and as detailed on the
programme specification being maintained?
• Does the curriculum remain valid, current and coherent?
• Is there comparability and consistency of standards across the
Programmes/Modules?
• Are assessment criteria, marking schemes etc. set at the
appropriate levels?
• Are threshold standards comparable with other HEIs in the same
subject/at the same level that you are familiar with?
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Judging Standards (2)
Process
• Are the assessments appropriate, properly designed and
applied fairly and equitably?
• Is the marking at the right level?
• Has RPL been mapped and assessed appropriately?
• Has the marking scheme/grading criteria been properly
applied?
• Do students receive appropriate written feedback?
• Is assessment being carried out in accordance with our own
academic regulations?
• Is the Board of Examiners/Assessment Committee
operation appropriate?
• Are the procedures governing extenuating circumstances
and academic misconduct applied fairly?
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Judging Standards (3)
Enhancement
Is there good practice and innovation observed in relation to
learning, teaching and assessment?
Are there any opportunities to enhance the quality of
students’ learning?
Partnership provision
Did you have enough information about the partnership
programme?
Are you able to compare the provision against onsite
provision?
Are there are strengths or weaknesses specific to this
provision?
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
University Response to Reports
The University will write to you in response to your
Annual Report form including:
• University response to institutional issues raised by
External Examiners
• Action Plan detailing Faculty actions and responses to
issues and recommendations made by you
The Action Plan will also form part of enhancement
planning for the Faculty and quality management of the
University
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Causes for concern
• Examiners may alert the Vice Chancellor directly to
serious failings in standards or process where there is
no satisfactory response from the department/Faculty,
etc.
• QAA’s Concerns Scheme and/or equivalent PSRB
mechanisms may also be invoked
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Fees and Expenses
• The fee for external examining is paid normally on
receipt of the Annual Report via the monthly payroll
run
• Expenses can be claimed in relation to attendance at
meetings and other activities related to sampling of
assessments
•
Full details are in the Guide at Appendix 3
• The claim form can be downloaded from the website
at http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/assessment-andexternal-examining/external-examining/informationfor-external-examiners/
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Resources:
University of Bradford Academic Quality & Partnerships Office
http://www.brad.ac.uk/aqpo/
• General Information; Board of Examiners meetings
information pack; Regulations for award bearing taught
courses of study; University Ordnances and Policies
Higher Education Academy External Examining Handbook
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/
HE_Academy_External_Examiners_Handbook_2012.pdf
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Resources:
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and
Subject Benchmarks:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-andquality/the-quality-code/quality-code-part-a
QAA UK Quality Code Chapter B7 – External Examining
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/quali
ty-code-B7.pdf
University of Bradford Regulations:
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/ordinances-andregulations/
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Academic Quality & Partnerships Office
Academic Quality Officer:
External Examining
Sue Ledger
Tel: 01274 233231
Email: [email protected]
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/assessment-andexternal-examining/external-examining/
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
• Any questions?
• Evaluation form
• Department meetings this afternoon – Representatives
to meet us for lunch and take you to your session in
the Faculty
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Thank you
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION