Frequently Asked Questions
- Where can I find information about being an External Examiner at UEL?
- What will my role entail as External Examiner at UEL?
- Will I have an Induction?
- What support will be provided, if you are an inexperienced external examiner?
- Do I need to attend all assessment board meetings?
- When will I receive work to moderate?
- Where can I find information on external examining and e-submission?
- When and how do I submit my report?
- Which report proforma should I complete?
- I am an external examiner for more than one delivery site; how do I report on the individual partners/sites?
- How do I claim my expenses?
- How do I claim my fee payment?
1. Where can I find information about being an External Examiner at UEL?
Please refer to the External Examiners Manual.
2. What will my role entail as External Examiner at UEL?
External examiners help to:
- verify that academic standards are appropriate for the award or part thereof which the external examiner has been appointed to examine;
- support/advise our University to assure and maintain academic standards across higher education awards;
- support/advise our University to ensure that the assessment processes are sound,fairly operated and in line with our policies and regulations.
For further information see Guidance Notes for Prospective Examiners
In addition to the External Examiners' Manual, which provides an explanation of your terms of reference and all general University regulations relevant to the assessment of students, you will receive from our university’s Quality Assurance & Enhancement Office: a contract & your terms of reference.
During your first year of office you will be invited to an induction day designed to help you to understand your role and how our university operates. The event comprises of two elements a University-wide induction in the moring, following by a school-based induction event in the afternoon.
Academic schools are responsible for induction at local level; you will also have an opportunity to meet staff in the school to discuss how you wish to fulfil your duties. At that point you will receive a copy of the module specifications and any other relevant information.
4. What support will be provided, if you are an inexperienced external examiner?
In addition to the External Examiners Induction event, the school will arrange for an experienced external examiner from the field (or associated field) to act as a mentor to offer you support and guidance. Your Field Leader will provide you with the details of your mentor.
5. Do I need to attend all assessment board meetings?
You should attend relevant assessment board meetings. You should contribute to assessment board decisions and ensure that those decisions have been reached by means according with UEL’s requirements and standard practice in higher education. If you are unable to attend, you should still be involved in the process, either by email or telephone. The School will ask you to complete an EE2 form if you are not in attendance.
6. When will I receive work to moderate?
It is up to you and the School to work out how you will undertake this responsibility. Some examiners ask for samples to be sent to them in the post prior to the assessment board. Others prefer to come to our University the day or morning before the assessment board so that they have time to look at work in-depth prior to the meeting. Often a combination of both of these methods is preferable, as the introduction of semesterisation makes the time between marking and assessment boards very short, and we appreciate that this will probably be the most time-consuming part of your job and that it will often occur at the busiest time of the year. Where it is agreed that you will receive work for moderation by post, normally a minimum of 5 days should be allowed for moderation to be completed, in addition to any postal time involved.
7. Where can I find information on external examining and e-submission?
As part of an ongoing project to increase the use of electronic submission, marking and feedback of coursework, External Examiners may be required to access UEL Plus (the University of East London’s Virtual Learning Environment) to moderate student submissions directly with Turnitin (a plagiarism detection tool used by a majority of UK Higher Education Institutions). Please note that not all areas are using this method of moderation at present, therefore your school will advise you directly.
Turnitin, and its marking facility GradeMark, are being used to facilitate the widespread implementation of e-Submission of Coursework. This guide will provide information on how to access UEL Plus, locate the appropriate Turnitin link and how to moderate using Turnitin GradeMark.
Please click on the link below to find out more about external examiner and e-submission.
Click here for information on External Examining and e-Submission
8. When and how do I submit my report?
As part of your contractual responsibilities you are required to write an annual report. Reports should normally be submitted within a month of the final assessment to which you attend for each academic session. Your report should be submitted via email/post to the External Examiners’ Administrator extexam@uel.ac.uk.
Click here for the External Examiners Report proformas
9. Which report proforma should I complete?
All examiners should complete the Field Board Report Proforma, with the exception of the specific School Award Board Examiners which hold separate Award Board contracts, who should complete the Award Board Report Proforma.
10. I am an external examiner for more than one delivery site; how do I report on the individual partners/sites?
We would prefer that you submit one report, however, the report should be completed with specific comments for each site under the report headings, for example:
The standards attained by the students
UEL on-campus
[place comment]
Partner 1 Name
[place comment]
11. How do I claim my expenses?
Please complete the claim form below and submit it along with all receipts to the External Examiner’s Administrator.
Click here for the Expenses Claim Form
12. How do I claim my fee payment?
Your fee payment is automatically processed following receipt of your completed annual external examiner report. Payroll is run once a month and payments are made on the last Thursday of the month.
Guide for Prospective External Examiners
A Guide for Prospective External Examiners (see link below) is available which provides brief notes of guidance about the role of an external examiner at our University and will answer some initial questions that prospective examiners may have.
For further details see:
