Welcome to

The UNIVERSITY

of PORTSMOUTH

External Examiner Induction2012

Andy ReesAcademic Registrar

September 2012

Outline of the morning

Quiz AnswersThe role of the External Examiner at PortsmouthCase Studies and Discussions

Quiz Answers

Changes From September 2012…InternalNew academic year structureNew assessment regulations• Undergraduate courses typically made up of

year long 20 credit units

• Postgraduate courses typically made up of year long 30 credit units

NationalQAA Quality Code (Part B, Chapter B7 External

Examining)

2012/13 Academic Calendar

17 September – Academic year starts, Induction Week

24 September – 1st teaching block (autumn)17 December – Christmas break7 January – 2nd teaching block (spring)29 March – Easter break22 April – 31 May – Consolidation and

assessment period15 -26 July – Graduation weeks8 July- 2 August – 2nd attempt assessment period

Two Tier System

Course level Board of Examiner

(BoE)(Award

External Examiner)

Unit level Unit Assessment Board

(UAB)(Subject

External Examiner)

The External Examiner Role at the University of Portsmouth

• Quality Assurance Role … using your expert judgement to report on:• whether standards are appropriate• the comparability of student

standards of achievement to similar courses elsewhere in the UK

• the extent to which processes for assessment, examination, and determination of awards are sound and have been fairly conducted

Subject External Examiners

• Appointment is for a group of units for a period of 4 years

• Normally, a unit is the responsibility of only one subject external examiner … however, a subject external examiner is responsible for a number of units

Award External Examiner

• Each named qualification has an award external examiner

• Annually the award external examiner is drawn from the pool of subject external examiners for the units contributing to the named qualification

• An award external examiner may be responsible for more than one named qualification

Unit Assessment Boards (UAB) • UABs will normally meet once a year - typically

3rd week in June• UABs confirm marks and assign credit at unit

level• The group of units for which a UAB is

responsible may be larger than the group of units for which the subject external examiner is responsible… therefore, there may be more than one subject external examiner associated with a UAB

The Subject External Examiner• At the beginning of the academic session,

the Subject EE will receive: • Unit Description (inc. Learning Outcomes

(LOs) and Assessment Strategy)• Statement of how the assessment artefacts

will meet the strategy and allow students to demonstrate they have met the LOs

• Before the UAB, the Subject EE will receive:• The assessment artefact used• Marking schemes• A sample of students work

• Sample size guidelines: • Not less than 20% • To include: all failed work, all work over

70%, cross selection other grades• Comments on coversheet

• The Subject External Examiner cannot require any individual mark to be changed

• The explicit agreement of the Subject External Examiner is required before a UAB may….• Apply moderation to the range of marks

within a unit• Set pass or other criteria at levels other

than those specified in the unit description

• The Subject External Examiner’s signature on the mark sheet signifies:

• General satisfaction with the effectiveness and adequacy of relationship between the assessment strategy and the Los …. but

• It doesn’t imply the Subject External Examiner agrees with every individual mark

• What should you do if you don’t want to sign it…?

• We encourage Subject External Examiners to attend the UAB. If they cannot attend they must submit comments and make their views known based on the sample of assessments they have been sent

• We encourage Subject External Examiners to meet students

• Viva voce examinations are not possible

• The Subject External Examiner must submit a report, using the University pro-forma, within 4 weeks of the UAB

Board of Examiners (BoE)

• BoE meets once a year – typically 1st week of July

• Recommends progression to next level• Recommends individual students’ award of

qualification and classification• BoEs cannot alter confirmed marks • BoEs may consider compensation • The Award external examiner must attend the

BoE when awarding students

The Award External Examiner

• The Award External Examiner will receive for each named qualification:

• Programme Specification• Programme level assessment matrix• Any programme specific assessment

regulations

• Before the BoE meets, the Award External Examiner shall have the opportunity, in any of the units for the course, to examine:

• The sample of assessed work sent to the Subject EE

• The cover sheet completed by the Subject EE or any other comments/ issues raised

• Any further assessed work deemed appropriate by the Award External Examiner

• The Award External Examiner’s signature on the Conferment List (UP6) relates to satisfaction with:

• The equitable and fair consideration of each individual student profile against the assessment regulations

• The adequacy of the assessment process in allowing the course level Los to be demonstrated

• The standard of the qualification in comparison to that of similar named qualifications elsewhere in the UK

• It doesn’t imply that the Award External Examiner agrees with every individual mark or classification

• Award External Examiners are encouraged to meet students

• Viva voce examinations are not possible

• The Award External Examiner must submit a report, using the University pro-forma, within 4 weeks of the Board of Examiners

The External Examiner’s Report

• Reports to be submit within 4 weeks of the UAB or BoE

• The Head of Dept will respond to the report• The report form allows the external to record if

they are satisfied or not with the previous year’s response

• Who sees your report?• What happens if you don’t submit a

report?

Useful Contacts

External Examiner appointments and reportsCat Palmer (cathryn.palmer@port.ac.uk)

Assessment RegulationsGeorge Allison (george.allison@port.ac.uk)

Any questions?

Case Studies