Taught External Examiner Duties

The External Examiner role is a key function in the maintenance and safeguarding of standards, whilst acknowledging and recognising that those standards are set autonomously by each institution. The University will provide its External Examiners with all materials, guidance and information on its academic and quality procedures necessary to carry out the role. In return, the University expects its External Examiners to engage fully with their duties, particularly with respect to Examination Boards and submission of Annual Reports. These duties and expectations are detailed in the External Examiner Procedures (Taught Programmes) and a brief overview is available in External Examiner (Taught Programmes) Duties. For External Examiners acting as assessor for a Integrated Degree Apprenticeship, more information on this role is available in the EQA External Examiners Degree Apprenticeship guidance An annual report pro forma is provided‌ below. Guidance for the mentoring of examiners who are new to the role can be found in the Mentoring arrangements document.

External Examiner forms

Academic Contact (Department)

  • For Lancaster-based provision, the primary academic contact is the Assessment Officer for the Academic Department.
  • For International Teaching Partnerships (ITPs), the first point of contact should be the Faculty Director of ITPs.
  • For Regional Teaching Partnerships (RTPs) the academic contact is normally the Programme Leader in the college.

Administrative Contact (Institution)

All queries relating to appointment, reports, and payment of fees and expenses should be sent to externalexaminers@lancaster.ac.uk

Things to Note:

Change of Personal Details

External Examiners must inform the University if their circumstances change (e.g. academic position or employer, contact details, visa status, etc.). This is particularly important where the change relates to restrictions on appointment of External Examiners. The Change of Details form‌ should be completed and returned to externalexaminers@lancaster.ac.uk as soon as possible.

Data Protection and Freedom of Information

While External Examiner Annual Reports are intended for consumption internally to Lancaster University staff, students and collaborative partners, External Examiners should note that the information contained within them may be disclosed in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and other legislation. External Examiners should therefore avoid making reference by name to individual members of staff or students when writing their annual report.

External Examiners should ensure that they store copies of students' work, marks and any other personal information securely and in line with the Policy on Categorising and Protecting University Information Assets.

Electronic information should be deleted promptly following use. Hard copies of materials should be returned to the Academic Department.

Further Resources

Nationally available publications which may be of interest to External Examiners, particularly those who are new to this area of work are listed below: