Appoinment of New External Examiners

Taught Programme

External Examiners for taught programmes are appointed to a standard four year tenure. New appointments must meet the guidance laid out in the UK Quality Code. 

All nominations must be submitted to external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk using the form below for approval by the Vice Provost for Education, following departmental endorsement.

• Guidelines on the appointment of taught course external examiners [BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng, MPH, MA, MEd, MRes, PG Cert, PG Dip, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES]
• External Examiner Taught Course Nomination Form 2019-20

For queries about appointment of taught programme examiners, please contact external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk 

Research Degree

• Procedure for appointment of examiners for research degrees [PhD, MPhil, MD-Res and EngD]
• Nomination of External Examiners and Exam Entry Form

For guidance relating to appointment of Research Degree examiners please click here or contact research.degree@imperial.ac.uk

Induction of New Taught Programme External Examiners

The Quality Assurance Team will organise induction days between November and February for newly appointed taught programme External Examiners, and those who did not have the opportunity to join a session in their first year. A provisional agenda for these sessions is below:

• Provisional Agenda for External Examiner Induction Days

Forthcoming Induction Days:

• Wednesday 22 January 2020
• Monday 24 February 2020

To book a place on an induction please email external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk 

Departments may find the following documents useful for new taught programme External Examiners:

• Information which Departments Should Provide to External Examiners
• FAQs on Mentorship for New External Examiners

Please find in the document below key information that you should be provided with once appointed, as agreed by the College Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC).

Key information for external examiners

External Examiner Roles and Responsibilities

• Taught Programme External Examiner Roles and Responsibilities [BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng, MPH, MA, MEd, MRes, PG Cert, PG Dip, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES]
• Research Degree External Examiner Roles and Responsibilities (PhD, MPhil, MD Res, EngD)

Conduct of Boards of Examiners Meetings

• Conduct of undergraduate board of examiners meetings‌ [BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES]
• Conduct of Masters level boards of examiners meetings [MPH, MA, MEd, MRes, PG Cert, PG Dip]

Useful Weblinks 

• Imperial College Regulations
• Quality Assurance Code
• AdvanceHE External Examiners resources

Higher Education Acronyms and Terms (Apr 19)

• Higher Education Acronyms and Terms Apr 19

The College will refund reasonable expenses incurred by our External Examiners in the course of completing their duties. Guidance is available in the claims form below.

 Claiming External Examiner Expenses

• External Examiner Expense Claim Form (Taught Programmes) [BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng, MPH, MA, MEd, MRes, PgCert, PgDip, MBBS, I-explore/Horizons and BPES]
• External Examiner Expense Claim Form (Research Degrees)  [PhD, MPhil, MD Res, EngD]

Hotel Accomodation

• Imperial College London offers a hotel reservations service for those visiting the College on business. They can assist with finding rooms close to our campuses for reasonable rates. For more information please click the link: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/visitors-accommodation/local-hotels/
• If you are attending the College in your role as External Examiner, and wish to reserve one of these rooms, please liaise with the Reservations Team by email to make your provisional booking, and copy in external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk . We can then arrange payment to the hotel directly on your behalf.

Report Templates for Annual Reports

External Examiners for taught programmes are required to submit an Annual Report per year for each of the programmes which they examine. Where it is possible to do so, for example where you are appointed to examine a core programme with multiple pathways (year abroad, year in industry, with management etc.), the report can include all provision. If so, please ensure that where there may be specific considerations for a pathway or award that this is clearly signposted.

All reports should be submitted within one month following the Final Exam Board.

For 2018-19 we are moving to an electronic External Examiner Report Form for our external examiners, which can be accessed below. Please ensure you submit your responses via this portal.

• 2018-19 Undergraduate External Examiner Report [Qualtrics]
• 2018-19 Postgraduate External Examiner Report [Qualtrics]
• 2018-19 External Examiner Report (MBBS Clinical Examinations) [doc] (please complete if you have observed practical clinical examinations on the MBBS programme, i.e. PACES)

The online report is multiplatform, and can be completed on a desktop computer, laptop, iPad or mobile phone.

As long as you use the same device, the system will store your responses so far and allow you to return to the same point in the survey, so you don’t have to complete in one sitting. (Your answers will not be available to view by the QA team until you press the final arrow at the end).

Forward and back buttons enable you to return to previously completed sections and check or amend your answers.

If you encounter any problems please let the team know at external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk . Please could we ask you to submit your report within one month of the exam board meeting.

Please note that reports will be shared with staff and students across the College, and may be disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests. Copies may also be shared with professional, regulatory and statutory bodies and the QAA. Therefore there should be no identifiable reference to individual students or staff members, either by name or CID number, to ensure confidentiality is maintained.

Fee payments will only be made upon submission of the annual report. The College reserves the right under the agreed terms and conditions to terminate an appointment, where a satisfactory report has not been submitted.

How Your Report is Considered

Once submitted, your report will be analysed by the QA team and the relevant Department/Faculty. Responses are considered in the following ways:

• The Department will respond to your individual report. Their comments, along with a copy of your report, will be provided to you in a PDF document.
• The QA Team will review all the reports for common themes and areas of concern. A summary of these themes and recommendations arising will be submitted to the College’s Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC). A copy of the summary report will be sent to you along with the Department’s response to your individual feedback (as above).
• The Department will include any actions arising from your annual report in the action plan for their undergraduate annual monitoring report, which is subsequently reviewed and tracked at Departmental, Faculty and College level. 

Serious Concerns

The College recognises that on occasion External Examiners may have a particular concern which they wish to raise outside of the general reporting arrangements. Further details are available below:

• Procedure for raising serious concerns [pdf]
• Confidential serious concerns report form  [doc]

For queries relating to taught programme examiners [BSc, MSci, MSc, BEng, MEng, MRes, MA, MEd, PG Cert, PG Dip, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES] please contact external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk

For queries relating to research degree examiners [PhD, MPhil, MD-Res and EngD] please contact research.degree@imperial.ac.uk