The review found that, on the whole, external examining arrangements in the UK are working well, but the degree of consistency should be improved and the transparency for students should be increased. The review was carried out by Professor Dame Janet Finch who retired last year after 15 years as Vice-Chancellor of Keele University.
The external examining system involves experts coming in to provide an independent verification of academic standards. All UK universities make use of this network of independent and impartial academic advisers, drawn from other universities or from areas of professional practice.
External examiners play a vital role in maintaining academic standards in UK higher education, helping institutions ensure that: the academic standards for courses are set and assessed at the appropriate level according to the national qualifications frameworks; the standards of student performance are comparable to similar programmes in other institutions; and examination and marking are carried out properly and with fairness and rigour.
Recommendations in the report include:
- A national set of minimum expectations for the role of external examiners should be developed
- There should be a national set of criteria established for the appointment of external examiners, and these should be adopted by each institution
- The name, position and institution of all external examiners should be included in programme details provided to students
- All external examiners’ reports should be made available, in full, to all students, with the sole exception of any confidential report which may be made to the vice-chancellor
- All universities should recognise the importance of the external examiner role when looking at staff promotion procedures
Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said:
“The review demonstrates how seriously the sector takes academic standards, and how relatively effective external examining arrangements already are. It also identifies some areas where improvements to the system can be made.
“We support fully the report’s recommendations, especially those that seek to improve consistency. We also support the plan to increase transparency for students. We should ensure that as much information is openly shared with students as possible.
“The external examining arrangements in the UK are a valuable safeguard. Very few other countries have such safeguards. Colleagues across all universities devote considerable time and effort to both being external examiners and ensuring the arrangements work well so that students are treated fairly and standards are kept high.”
Professor Dame Janet Finch, chair of the review group, said: “Maintaining the UK university sector's reputation for high quality is crucially important, so I would urge every institution with degree-awarding powers to consider and adopt the review's recommendations, as soon as possible.
“This is particularly important at a time when students are increasingly focused on the value of their qualifications, and are rightly concerned about the quality of the education they receive.”
To download a copy of the review, please click here.
(Source: www.universitiesuk.ac.uk)
