1 Collaborative Provision and External Examining Nicola Clarke Centre for Academic Standards and Quality Enhancement (CASQE)

Collaborative Provision & External Examining University policies and procedures relating to External Examining for programmes offered in collaboration with partners do not differ from arrangements for home programmes Key source of information is the External Examining website at On the website, there is a section on Collaborative Provision and External Examining – with cross-references to the main website for standardised procedures Collaborative Provision and External Examining2

3 Appointment of External Examiners Each programme MUST have at least one External Examiner – this is to align with the QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education. All External Examiners for programmes awarded by MMU are appointed by MMU as members of staff. Criteria for appointment are provided within Section 3 of the Institutional Code of Practice and Regulations for External Examining at Link Tutors should work with the programme team to identify suitable nominees. Nominations processed via the Faculty Quality Enhancement Team. Guidance on the nominations process and the relevant templates are available at

Collaborative Provision and External Examining4 Communication with External Examiners Formal contractual correspondence is sent by CASQE, together with regular all- Examiner correspondence on institutional matters Communication with External Examiners at an early stage is key to establishing a good working relationship Communication between the programme team, Link Tutor(s) and the External Examiner must be co-ordinated. Responsibility for the co-ordination of communication may vary according to the nature of the partnership Examiners should be provided with programme-specific details - for example confirmation on areas for which they have been appointed. Details of what should be sent are set out in the Institutional Code of Practice and Regulations for External Examining Information on Assessment Board meetings must also be provided in a timely manner

Collaborative Provision and External Examining5 Information for Students Basic details of the name, position and place of work of each Examiner on their programme should be published for students – with a clear statement that the students must not contact the Examiners directly. Standard University appeals process to be followed if a student wishes to make an appeal or complaint. The basic details on External Examiners can either be posted on the VLE programme area, or made available in the programme handbook.

Collaborative Provision and External Examining6 Roles and Responsibilities External Examiner Roles and Responsibilities are set out in Section 3 of the Institutional Code of Practice and Regulations on External Examining MMU normally operates a two tier Assessment Board structure. Examiners appointed in two categories – Subject and Award External Examiners Where a programme is approved to operate in a single-tier Assessment Board structure, the Examiner fulfils the functions of both Subject and Award Examiner Programme-specific duties are identified by the programme team, and must be clearly communicated to the Examiner External Examiners for collaborative programmes may be asked to undertake visits to meet students. They are also expected to attend the relevant Assessment Board, which may be held at the partner premises

Collaborative Provision and External Examining7 Programme Review & Modification External Examiners are: Asked to ensure currency of unit content and the coherence of units within a programme Consulted on any changes to units Consulted at the point of programme periodic review

Collaborative Provision and External Examining8 Moderation Practices The University’s Institutional Code of Practice for the Assessment of Students – located at - is a comprehensive document with a number of sub-sections. In relation to moderation practices to be followed, these include: –For Franchised provision, a dedicated document ‘Moderation Guidance for Collaborative Partners’, and –For Externally-Validated provision, the University’s standard moderation procedures as detailed in the document ‘Procedures for the Verification, Marking and Moderation of Assessments’ External Examiners should NOT be asked to act as a marker of student work

Collaborative Provision and External Examining9 Assessment Boards Faculty Senior Administrative staff co-ordinate the arrangements for all Assessment Boards and should be consulted regarding these arrangements Programme Leaders/Link Tutors should ensure that External Examiners receive early notification of Assessment Board dates and other arrangements Franchised programmes will normally fit within the Tiered Board structure. The document ‘Procedures for the Operation of Assessment Boards’ located at details the role of the External Examiner within this structure

Collaborative Provision and External Examining10 Assessment Boards – Externally Validated Programmes Arrangements for Assessment Boards for Externally Validated programmes are set out within the document ‘Procedures for the Conduct of Single-Tier Assessment Boards for Validated Provision in Collaborative Partnerships’ available at External Examiners in these instance adopt the role of both Subject and Award External Examiner. Where there is more than one Examiner on the Team, the senior member will endorse the recommendations of the meeting

Collaborative Provision and External Examining11 External Examiner Annual Reports All External Examiners must complete a report on an annual basis – the annual fee will not be paid until this has been received External Examiners on Collaborative programmes should complete the Subject External Examiner report template EE4S – available at CASQE will contact all Examiners to request the annual report and to provide guidance on report completion and submission Reports are submitted to MMU Quality Enhancement Teams – who arrange for them to be circulated to partners for consideration

Collaborative Provision and External Examining12 Programme Committee Response to Reports Programme Committees must consider individual reports, and the Programme Leader must respond to issues raised by the External Examiner Student Representatives must be involved in this process and ‘Guidance for Programme Leaders on Student Representatives’ consideration of External Examiner Reports’ is available at Reports and response to issues must be included with the documentation for Continuous Monitoring and Improvement

Collaborative Provision and External Examining13 Sharing Reports with Students In addition to sharing External Examiner reports with Student Representatives, completed reports should be made available to all students on the programme Where possible, reports should be posted on Moodle, or the VLE in operation at the partner. Alternative arrangements should be made where this is not possible Guidance on this, and on making certain required Examiner details available to students, are provided in the document ‘Guidance for Programme Leaders on posting External Examiner details and reports on Moodle’ at

Collaborative Provision and External Examining14 Payment for External Examiners Payment is only made when the annual report has been submitted Fin 1E available at expenses.php should be used to submit the claimhttp:// expenses.php Claims should be submitted to the relevant Faculty Quality Enhancement Team – details at examining.phphttp:// examining.php

Collaborative Provision and External Examining15 Contact Nicola Clarke Academic Standards and Quality Assurance Manager Centre for Academic Standards and Quality Enhancement Tel: