Transcript External Examiner Induction Presentation

WELCOME
External Examiners’ Induction
October 2014
Checking Eligibility to Work in the UK
To comply with UK Border Agency legal obligations for employment checks under the provision of the
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 it is a requirement of your appointment that you are able to
provide documentary proof that you are eligible to work in the UK.
•
Today you will be asked to sign to confirm that you have provided original documentary proof to
comply with the above requirement
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Your passport will be checked and copied to confirm that the documentary proof is acceptable.
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Your passport will be returned to you later in the morning.
Please do not leave without it
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15 October 2014
EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
WELCOME
External Examiners’ Induction
October 2014
Celia Moran (Director of Academic Quality and Partnerships)
Alison Carass (Academic Policy & Regulation)
Sue Ledger (External Examining)
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• Welcome to the University and Introductions
• UK Quality Code for Higher Education (Quality and
Enhancement)
• Student engagement with External Examiner Reports
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Assessment Committees and
Boards of Examiners
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Assessment Committees
• Consider performance in individual modules and assign
definitive marks which may not be changed thereafter
• Membership includes Internal Examiners and Module
External Examiners.
• Quorum: Chair, Module Leader, or nominee, for all modules
under consideration.
• If Module External Examiners are unable to attend their
views should be taken into account and they should agree
the outcomes.
• Alternatively, they may attend by Skype/telephone or video
conference. No approval needed for non-attendance or
use of Skype etc.
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Assessment Committees (2)
• May scale marks and should report any scaling to Boards of
Examiners who received the marks concerned.
• An Assessment Committee may change an individual mark
provided that this is done with the concurrence of those
internal examiners who have reviewed all the work for the
module concerned.
• This might be done on the basis of a recommendation to
the Internal Examiners for the module from the External
Examiner who has reviewed only a sample of work.
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Extenuating Circumstances Sub-committees
• Consider claims for extenuating circumstances
submitted by students
• meet prior to the Board of Examiners
• make recommendations on whether circumstances
should be accepted to the Board of Examiners.
• the Board of Examiners receives recommendations and
makes a decision on course of action to be taken
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Boards of Examiners
• Consider progression and award, including
classification of Honours Degrees
• May not change any of the marks awarded by an
Assessment Committee
• Take Extenuating Circumstances into account
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Boards of Examiners (2)
• Membership includes Internal Examiners and course
and/or personal tutors for students under review plus
Programme External Examiners
• Quorum: Chair, Programme Leader, or nominee, for all
Programmes under consideration, Programme External
Examiner. A representative from AQPO must also be
in attendance
• Faculties should consult External Examiners when
arranging dates for Boards
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Boards of Examiners (3)
Undergraduate Programmes
• External Examiners are required to attend all
meetings, including those for Partnership Provision
• If no issues are identified with module assessments at
the Main Board, and none are anticipated in relation to
supplementary assessments, the Chair may advise that
External Examiner attendance is not required at the
Supplementary Board.
• If significant issues emerge in the supplementary
period the External Examiner will be expected to
attend.
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Boards of Examiners (4)
Postgraduate Programmes
• External Examiners are required to attend all
meetings, including those for Partnership Provision,
where awards are being considered.
• External Examiners are not required at interim Boards
considering re-assessment only.
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Boards of Examiners (5)
• If External Examiner is unable to attend the Board, the
approval of the PVC (Learning and Teaching) must be given
in order for the Board to go ahead. Their views must be
taken into account and they should agree the outcomes
before results are released.
• If an External Examiner cannot attend a meeting, it is
possible to facilitate this, if appropriate, via Skype or
Telephone/Video Conferencing. This should be done in
such a way as to enable the External to participate in the
meeting as if they were actually present.
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Progression and Award
(University Regulations)
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SUMMARY OF PROGRESSION REGULATIONS
(Individual Faculties may have waivers in relation to specific
programmes, due to professional/validating Body requirements)
Foundation Year / Certificate of HE / Diploma of HE /
Foundation Degree / Honours Degree of Bachelor
• All Stages: 40.0% in 100 credits, 35.0% in the other 20.
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Ordinary Degree
• All students register for an Honours Degree in the first instance.
• Students may progress to the Ordinary Degree (if offered) at
Stage 2 or Stage 3 if they do not meet the criteria for Honours
progression at the end of Stage 1 or Stage 2, but achieve 40.0%
in 80 credits, and 35.0% in another 20 credits.
• At Stages 2 & 3: 40.0% in 80 credits, 35.0% in 20 credits.
• Students must have undertaken all permitted attempts at
supplementary assessment for Honours programme before
transfer to Ordinary degree.
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Integrated Degree of Master
(e.g. MPharm, MEng, MChem)
• Students take 480 credits over 4 Stages.
• Eligibility at each Stage is the same as that for the
Honours Degree of Bachelor, unless a waiver applies
• Students may be awarded a dual degree at the end of
the four years.
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Postgraduate Taught Programmes
Postgraduate Certificate
• 60 credits, with at least 40.0% in 40 credits and 35.0% in other 20
Postgraduate Diploma
• 120 credits, with at least 40.0% in 100 credits and 35.0% in other
20.
Master's Degree
• 180 credits, with at least 40% in 160 credits and 35.0% in other
20.
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PROGRESSION REGULATIONS:
Undergraduate
• All students have a right to a Second attempt although this might not
be in the August supplementary period. Will be permitted to take
supplementary Assessment as follows:
• 80 credits or more below 40% - repeat year with attendance
• 70 credits or more below 40% - repeat individual modules
• 60 credits or less below 40% - supplementary assessment in August.
• Automatic Third Attempt if meet requirement to achieve 40% in 80
credits and to have undertaken the second attempt
• Fourth attempts no longer permitted for students registering in
Stage 0 or 1 from 2013/14
• Automatic referral in up to 20 credits
• 40% Carry forward mark
Postgraduate
• All students have the right to one supplementary assessment
• 35% Carry forward mark
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AWARD OF UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE:
Calculation and Classification
• Students are required to meet the credit requirements
• Best 100 Credits from Stage 2 and Stage 3 used in calculation of
Degree
• Weighting between Stages 2 and 3 is 20/80
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Setting of Degree Classification Boundaries is fixed as follows:
First Class Honours
68.0%
Second Class Honours - First Division
58.0%
Second Class Honours - Second Division
48.0%
Third class Honours
Below 48%
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
AWARD OF UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE (2):
Merit and Distinction
• Boundaries for Merit and Distinction at undergraduate
level, for example, Cert HE, Dip HE and Ordinary Degree are
now fixed as follows:
• 68.0% = Distinction
• 58.0% = Merit
• The Best 100 credits will be used when calculating the
award of Merit or Distinction
• Students with agreed Extenuating Circumstances may be
considered for a classification of award other than that
indicated by the above calculation
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AWARD OF POSTGRADUATE DEGREE:
Calculation and Award of Merit and Distinction
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Students are required to meet the credit requirements and all credit
is used in calculation of the award of Merit or Distinction.
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The boundaries for Merit and Distinction are now fixed as follows:
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68.0% = Distinction
58.0% = Merit
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In addition to the overall average, students on the Masters
programme are required to achieve a Project/Dissertation mark of at
least 60% for Merit and at least 70% for Distinction.
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Students with agreed Extenuating Circumstances may be considered
for a classification of award other than that indicated by the above
calculation
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
External Examining at Bradford
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External Examining at Bradford
• The QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education,
Chapter B7,External Examining, sets out the following
Expectation about external examining, which Higher
Education institutions are required to meet:
Higher education providers make scrupulous use of
external examiners
• Chapter A5, Externality, is also relevant. This expects
that:
Higher education providers ensure independent and
external participation in the management of threshold
academic standards
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External Examining at Bradford
• Guide for External Examining of Taught Programmes
has been developed in line with the QAA UK Quality
Code Chapter B7 to assist External Examiners, staff,
partners and students understand the role at Bradford
• http://www.brad.ac.uk/aqpo/documents-templatesand-downloads/a-z/external-examining-for-taughtprogrammes-1415.php
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What we expect from our External Examiners
We hope that our External Examiners will:
• Be a Critical Friend
• Offer independent assessment of our academic
standards and quality
• Ensure that our students are dealt with fairly in the
assessment and classification process
• Identify and share good practice
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What our External Examiners can expect from us
We hope that our External Examiners will:
• Feel supported by dedicated Central and Faculty
resources
• Understand what their role is from the outset
• Receive all the information required in a timely
manner to carry out their duties effectively
• Feel confident to have open and frank discussion and
to know that their comments have been considered
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External Examiner roles at Bradford
• Module External Examiners
• Programme External Examiners
• Both Programme and Module External Examiners
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Main Duties of Module External Examiners
Responsible for a group of modules
An important element of the role is to provide
confirmation that the module assessments have been
properly designed, marked in a fair and equitable
manner and feedback has been given to students in an
appropriate way:
• Preparation
• Review
• Sampling
• Confirmation
• Reporting
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Main Duties of Programme External Examiners
Responsible for a Programme or group of Programmes:
An important element of this role is to ensure that the
academic standards of the programmes are being
upheld in comparison with other UK institutions, with
National benchmarks and in line with the University’s
regulations:
• Review
• Confirmation
• Reporting
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Both Module and Programme External
Examiners
Most External Examiners at Bradford are responsible for
both Modules and Programmes:
• The role is a combination of the Module and
Programme External Examiner roles described already.
• They are required to attend the Board of Examiners
and are invited to attend the Assessment Committee.
• They should complete one report detailing module
and programme comments
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Recognition of Prior Learning
All Recognition of Prior Learning is approved at an
Assessment Committee/RPL meeting.
External Examiners are required to sample:
• Mapping documents for recognition of prior
certificated learning
• Proposals for recognition of prior experiential learning
The process is outlined in the Guide to Recognition of
Prior Learning and on the web at:
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/assessment-andexternal-examining/recognition-of-prior-learning/
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Working with Partner Institutions
The University of Bradford assumes full responsibility for
external examining at Partner Institutions:
• Some External Examiners will have a role examining
programmes and modules at Partner institutions in the UK
and overseas
• External Examiners have the same role for programmes and
modules operating at Partner Institutions; this includes
sampling work, confirming marks, progression and award
and assuring the quality of the provision there
• There is a specific section in the Annual Report to compare
Partner programmes with the onsite programmes and to
identify any specific strengths or weaknesses there.
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Student Information
• The name, position and institution of External
Examiners are included in handbooks for students
• Students may not contact External Examiners directly
and any such contact should be referred to Academic
Quality & Partnerships Office in the first instance
• External Examiner reports are published in their
entirety on a secured part of the AQPO website for
access by staff, students, partners and external
examiners
• Students have access to Annual Reports as members
of University decision making committees
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Reporting
All External Examiners are required to complete an on-line
Annual Report.
• The on-line Report is updated and emailed each academic
year to External Examiners for completion by the deadline:
• 30 August 2015 for Undergraduate programmes
• 30 November 2015 for Postgraduate programmes
• Or four weeks after the last Board of Examiners
The report is divided into sections for comment on the
different aspects of External Examining including a separate
section for Partnership provision and space for additional
commendations, recommendations and exemplary practice
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Reporting (2)
The Annual Report is very important to the enhancement
planning for the Programmes, Faculties and for the Quality
Management of the University:
• The report should be completed as fully as possible
• There should be consistency of comments with those given
informally to teams
• The report should contain a frank appraisal of the
programmes/modules with honest observations, comments
and recommendations
• The report should be completed and submitted by the
deadline or as soon as possible after the Board of
Examiners
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Reporting (3)
The Annual Report should contain comments and
recommendations on:
• Maintenance of academic standards and alignment at the
appropriate level against National benchmarks and the
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
• Comparability of standards and student performance within
the programme and between different programmes at
different HE institutions
• The fairness and rigour of the assessment process
• Reliability of standards of marking and confirmation of
achievement of outcomes
• Examples of good practice
• Possibilities for enhancement
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Judging Standards
As a checklist you might want to think about these questions:
Standards
• What are the threshold standards?
• Are the standards set at validation being maintained?
• Does the curriculum remain valid, current and coherent?
• Is there comparability and consistency of standards across
the Programmes/Modules?
• Are assessment criteria, marking schemes etc. set at the
appropriate levels?
• Are threshold standards comparable with other HEIs in the
same subject/at the same level?
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Judging Standards (2)
Process
• Are the assessments appropriate, properly designed and
applied fairly and equitably?
• Is the marking at the right level?
• Has RPL been mapped and assessed appropriately?
• Has the marking scheme/grading criteria been properly
applied?
• Do students receive appropriate written feedback?
• Is assessment being carried out in accordance with our own
academic regulations?
• Is the Board of Examiners/Assessment Committee
operation appropriate?
• Are the procedures governing extenuating circumstances
and academic misconduct applied fairly?
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Judging Standards (3)
Enhancement
Is there good practice and innovation observed in relation to
learning, teaching and assessment?
Are there any opportunities to enhance the quality of
students’ learning?
Partnership provision
Did you have enough information about the partnership
programme?
Are you able to compare the provision against onsite
provision?
Are there are strengths or weaknesses specific to this
provision?
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University Response to Reports
The University will write to you in response to your
Annual Report form including:
• University response to institutional issues raised by
you
• Action Plan detailing Faculty actions and responses to
issues and recommendations made by you
The Action Plan will also form part of enhancement
planning for the Faculty and quality management of the
University
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Causes for concern
• Examiners may alert the Vice Chancellor directly to
serious failings in standards or process where there is
no satisfactory response from the department/Faculty,
etc.
• QAA’s Concerns Scheme and/or equivalent PSRB
mechanisms may also be invoked
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Fees and Expenses
• The fee for external examining is paid normally on
receipt of the Annual Report
• Expenses can be claimed in relation to attendance at
meetings
•
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Full details are in the Guide at Appendix 3
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EXTERNAL EXAMINER INDUCTION
Resources:
University of Bradford Academic Quality & Partnerships Office
http://www.brad.ac.uk/aqpo/
• General Information; Board of Examiners meetings
information pack; Regulations for award bearing taught
courses of study; University Ordnances and Policies
Higher Education Academy External Examining Handbook
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/
HE_Academy_External_Examiners_Handbook_2012.pdf
QAA UK Quality Code Chapter B7 – External Examining
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualitycode-B7.pdf
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Academic Quality & Partnerships Office
Academic Quality Officer:
External Examining
Sue Ledger
Tel: 01274 233231
Email: [email protected]
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/aqpo/assessment-andexternal-examining/external-examining/
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• Any questions?
• Evaluation form
• Department meetings this afternoon – Representatives
to meet us for lunch and take you to your session in
the Faculty
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Thank you
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