SSPEL Newsletter: Research and Scholarly Activities

Introduction

I have been very lucky, in my limited years lecturing in HE, to have been both an external examiner, for a number of HEI’s, and to have corresponded with a number of academics, acting as an external examiner, for programmes that I have lectured on. In my experience it has only been in the last few years, since the formation of the QAA and the introduction of their guidelines, that the role of an external examiner and process of external examining has been comprehensively established and formalised. Prior to that it seemed that the role was performed almost on an ad hoc basis with examiners being appointed on their academic position and research reputation, rather than their knowledge of the process of teaching, learning, programme management and assessment. With this in mind I would like to take this opportunity to share a few observations and experiences of external examining and reflect on the effectiveness of the process.

The role

In general the role is time consuming. There is usually a long drawn out process by which you are confirmed in the position. This incorporates the submission of a CV, an interview and the compulsory attendance at induction days. It then requires the individual to be familiar with the HE assessment procedures, degree classification regulations, extenuating circumstances not to mention the subject knowledge of the programme for which you are responsible. This can be further expanded in terms of your position as a Subject or Programme external which demands more of your time and effort in corresponding with our externals who may only be responsible for one discipline.

Over the course of the academic year you are then required to review exam papers and link these to LO’s and aims of the programme and review samples of student work from the modules. In addition, and in order for you to get any form of remuneration, you are required to attend programme and subject boards, lead on viva voce’s, meet staff and produce a 2000 word annual report…which although time consuming, is not half as time consuming as it is working out how to use the electronic online format !

If the role is performed to its fullest requirements it is a very effective procedure and benefits not only the HEI but the individual and corresponding home HEI in the process.

The remuneration

Yes, there is payment involved but it is minimal (£300-£500 before tax !) which bearing in mind the above duties and responsibilities equates to around £6-8per hour, approx 50hrs per year including travelling etc.. and yes we do have a choice but isn’t it good for course development, keeping abreast of (or at least in step with!) our competitors, monitoring standards of graduates and raising the profile of yourself as well as your HEI. It therefore seems a worthwhile experience and the monetary reward well I don’t really believe that anyone would do it purely for that, it just is not worth it !

R&S or Staff Development

I have had some discussions with colleagues about the nature of external examining and where it fits within the realms of R&S or Staff Development. Indeed some colleagues think that it does not fit into either, however the QAA value the experience (not surprising given the role and responsibilities) and often look for external examining experience within subject groups when doing subject reviews, HEI audits and even HEI’s going through taught degree awarding power application processes. They consider involvement in this process as beneficial to subject groups and HEI’s in general but they fail to elaborate on why this is so.

So where does the role fit in ? I don’t really see it as staff development. I am keeping up to date with progress at other institutions that are more research led rather than teaching led. It is all well and good keeping abreast of the published research but sometimes the process of embedding this research into degree programmes can be quite challenging so to see it operating in other establishments makes the process more readily understandable and applicable where appropriate and again these ideas can be ‘pinched’ and adapted to suit the home institution programmes. Ideas that I have pinched in the past include forms of assessment, the use of formative and summative assessment and how they are embedded into a degree programme, the structure of a degree programme and its administration, how ideas are generated by team members as well as programme content.

Added Value

I strongly believe that external examining provides a way for adding value to an existing degree programme. I think it is another method/process for informing subject teaching teams on programme developments in other HEI’s and in a way adding value to your own degree programme by ‘pinching’ good ideas and ignoring the not so good ideas. The process provides an opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t work in a programme (without learning from your own mistakes !), by bouncing ideas of colleagues not associated with your own programme and therefore getting a different and fresh perspective on programme content and structure. It is about sharing good practice and good experiences and it is about being a critical friend.

The future

We will always need EE’s or at least until the QAA tell us otherwise. However HEI’s always seem to struggle to find external examiners that are willing to commit to the process for 4 or 5 years and provide that level of critical support (not surprising given the role outlined above). It is a rewarding process (although time consuming) and offers a different perspective to lecturing and course administration when compared to your home institution. I would recommend it to anyone genuinely interested in the whole process of degree programme delivery.

Lance Doggart