New guidelines to shore up external examination system in UK

External examiners must be properly trained and supported, and institutions should consider the increase in workload that the post entails, in order for the system to properly function, according to new guidance published for the UK sector.

Two of the main bodies that represent higher education institutions – Universities UK (UUK) and GuildHE – have developed a set of principles alongside the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to safeguard the system, which has come under increasing strain in recent years.

The guidance is not mandatory, but universities are being urged to follow the 12 principles to ensure that external examination, which has been in use for almost 200 years, remains a “key mechanism” to ensure that academic standards are maintained and that public confidence in the quality of degrees remains high.

The guidelines stress that examiners appointed should have “expertise in the subject discipline in question” and should be impartial, with institutions told to review processes for avoiding conflicts of interest, such as appointing individuals with close personal links to staff in the department they will be assessing.

Universities should ensure that examiners’ views are “carefully considered” and should outline “clear reporting processes” for their feedback, which should be “actioned appropriately” or the institution should give reasons for disregarding it.

Universities should also support their own staff who act as externals for other institutions in recognition that “the external examiner system as a whole depends on the nationwide availability of suitable and qualified staff who are supported to carry out the role”.

This could involve paying for training and recognising the impact of the additional workload, with the staff member potentially being given less to do in their day-to-day role as a result.

In recent years, many universities have been forced to enact emergency procedures that have allowed them to bypass the external examination system in the face of disruption caused by Covid and after hundreds quit as part of industrial action taken over pay, pensions and working conditions.

The principles were developed after “inconsistencies” were identified in the system, and they have been agreed by the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment (UKSCQA). They will be added to the statement of intent on degree classifications.

Debra Humphris, the chair of UUK’s student policy regulation network and vice-chancellor of the University of Brighton, said the principles would “further enhance academic rigour, ensuring that students can be confident their degrees will stand the test of time”.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com