1. Brunel University Briefing for External Examiners March 2014
Dr Steve Mullins
Deputy Head of Registry

2. Content Appointment of External Examiners Role of External Examiner
External moderation of Assessment
Panels/Boards of Examiners
Vice-Chancellor’s Representative
External Examiners’ Reports

3. Appointment of External Examiners
Senate Regulation 4 governs the appointment of and role of External Examiners
At least 1 External Examiner per award bearing Programme
Appointment normally for 4 years but may be extended by one further year
Heads of School Nominate External Examiners, who are appointed by Senate
A Chief External Examiner may be appointed

4. Role of the External Examiner
To assist with the quality assurance of programmes
Review of standards of student performance
Review of comparability of standards with those of similar programmes in other UK HEIs
External Examiners report on
Standards of University awards
Fairness of University assessment, examination and awarding processes
To assist with quality assurance of programmes by

5. External Moderation of Assessment
Comment on assessment e.g. examination paper questions
Samples of assessed work made available together with full set of provisional grades
Not required to study each piece of work in detail
Is the work of appropriate standard and comparable with other UK HEIs?
Do grades/marks assigned reflect published marking criteria?

6. External Moderation of Assessment
Information provided:
10% sample size
Indication of where adjustments already made
Samples provided should represent full range of achievement
20% of Masters dissertations or all if fewer than 10 students
All dissertations available on day of the BoE

7. Panel of Examiners Panel of Examiners chaired by HoS or nominee
Panel members nominated by the Chair and shall include:
At least one External Examiner
Appropriate Academic Staff responsible for teaching and assessment of the programmes under consideration
Panel is responsible to Senate (not the School)
External Examiners are full voting members of the Panel of Examiners, their role includes:
Participation in the assessment process for individual modules or assessment blocks
Moderation of assessment
Quality assurance of the assessment process as it relates to individual modules or assessment blocks

8. Board of Examiners
BoE constituted by the Head of School for each programme leading to an award of the University
Board of Examiners is responsible to Senate – not the school
Considers progress of students, actions to be taken as a result of accepted Mitigating Circumstances, UG progression between levels and recommendations for award
Chair of the BoE, nominated by HoS, is not normally responsible for delivery of programme(s) under consideration.
Membership of the BoE:
At least one External Examiner
Vice-Chancellor’s representative
Chair’s of all panels involved in the assessment process
Appropriate academic staff

9. Board of Examiners
Board may not adjust the grade/mark assigned to a student by a Panel, except where assigning grades where MCs have been accepted
External Examiners are full voting members of the BoEs, their role includes:
Participation in decision about individual student awards and/or progression
Participation in determination of recommendations for awards
Provision of comment and advise on i) academic standards expected, ii) structure, content and assessment of programmes, and iii) the overall conduct of the examination process

10. Vice-Chancellor’s Representative
Senior member of the University Administrative staff – normally from registry
Most BoEs have a Lead VCR and an Assistant VCR present
BoE may not conduct business resulting in recommendation of an award in the absence of the VCR
Role of the VCR to i) ensure proceeding of a BoE are carried out in accord with Senate Regulations and approved programme specification(s), ii) report to the Head of Registry any irregularities, and iii) report to Head of Registry where an External Examiner expressed dissatisfaction with the proceedings or decision of the BoE.
VCR also ensure accurate recording of BoEs decisions and transmission to students

11. External Examiner Reports I
All External Examiners submit a report annually to the Vice-Chancellor – by 31st July each year
Request for reports and reminders sent out by the Quality and Standards Office
Pro-forma/web form provided for the report
External Examiners may also write in confidence to the Vice-Chancellor at any time during their period of appointment about any matter relating to their duties
Fees paid once reports are received

12. External Examiner Reports II
School required to respond to the comments made in the External Examiners Report both directly to the External Examiner and in their annual monitoring reports
University will provide a central response to broader issues, particularly regarding regulations
Fees paid once reports are received
External Examiner reports and University responses published to current students and staff. Web page also available to External Examiners.