UWE Bristol

External Examiner Annual Reporting

Rebecca Smith, Curriculum Enhancement ManagerRebecca24.Smith@uwe.ac.uk 0117 32 82545

Overview

• What is annual reporting?• Why do we carry out annual reporting?• Who is your audience?• The Report• UWE2020 Strategy - Theme• Submission• What happens with your report?• The ‘Faculty Response’• Reporting to the Vice-Chancellor• The Logistics

Points of Engagement with UWE• Moderation Reports/Process• Scrutiny Days/Pre-Examination Boards• Examination Boards Field/Award Boards/Boards• General correspondence with module leaders and

programme managers• Professional practice placement observations• The External Examiner Annual Report

What is annual reporting?

• QAA Quality Code: Chapter B7: External Examining • Indicator 12: External examiners submit a report

annually, at a time determined by the institution, to the head of the institution or to one or more named individuals that he/she designates.

• We require all of our External Examiners to submit a written report annually summarising their confidence in the standards of our curricula and recognition of good practice and areas for enhancement.

Why do we carry out annual reporting?• This is a critical aspect in the Monitoring and Evaluation of our

programmes to assure the quality and standards of our students’ degrees from an external standpoint. i.e. externality and independence.

• It will inform an overarching report at University, Faculty and Department level on the academic health of the University to Academic Board.

QAA Quality Code

• Underpinned by QAA Quality Code: Chapter B7 External Examining• Indicator 2: Awarding institutions expect their external examiners to

provide informative comment and recommendations upon whether or not: – an institution is maintaining the threshold academic standards set for its

awards in accordance with the frameworks for higher education qualifications and applicable subject benchmark statements

– the assessment process measures student achievement rigorously and fairly against the intended outcomes of the programme(s) and is conducted in line with the institution's policies and regulations

– the academic standards and the achievements of students are comparable with those in other UK higher education institutions of which the external examiners have experience.

QAA Quality Code Cont.

• Indicator 3: Awarding institutions expect their external examiners to provide informative comment and recommendations on: – good practice and innovation relating to learning, teaching and

assessment observed by the external examiners – opportunities to enhance the quality of the learning opportunities

provided to students.

Who is your audience?• Module leaders

• Programme leaders

• Field leaders (Quality) / Heads of Department

• Faculty Academic Standards and Quality Committees

• Academic Quality and Enhancement Committee

• Collaborative Provision Committee

• Collaborative Partners

• Learning and Teaching Enhancement Team (Me & QME Acc Man)

• Students – Student Rep Staff Forums

• Freedom of Information Requests

The Structure of the Report

• Each report aligns specifically to your role and there are minor differences within the questions:– Field External Examiner– Chief External Examiner– Non-Modular External Examiner

• Post Graduate Certificate in Education

• Graduate Diploma in Law

• Bristol’s International College

The Structure of the Report Cont.

1. Academic and Professional Standards (Questions 1.1-1.4);

2. Assessment Strategy (Questions 2.1-2.3)

3. Process and Procedure (Questions 3.1-3.3)

4. Collaborative Provision (Question 4.1)

5. Quality Enhancement (Questions 5.1-5.3)

6. Closing Comments (Questions 6.1-6.2)

7. External Examiner Resources (Questions 7.1-7.2)

Confidence Judgements

• Judgement Statements: Likert Scale – 1-4– Complete Confidence (1)– Broad Confidence (2)– Limited Confidence (3)– No Confidence (4)

• Two judgements per question:– UWE Delivered Provision– Collaborative Provision

• Supporting Commentary (Reviewing - 2 Boxes this year)– Please be specific e.g. identify partner/module

Example Report

General Pointers

• Be concise and specific – please see the good and poor examples of responses to the report on the External Examer Resources website

• Detail the module/programme, and if application the collaborative partner to which your comment relates so we can review & action

• When you highlight areas of good practice please expand on why it is good? i.e. substantiate your comment with the example

• As above for areas for enhancement

UWE2020 Strategy - Theme

• UWE 2020 Strategy Launched in 2013

• We will provide a theme and background information that is informed by our strategy

• Ask to identify areas of good practice and areas for enhancement in achieving the identified theme.

Submission

• Why meet the deadline?– Critical aspect of our internal Monitoring and

Evaluation – The sooner we can engage the sooner we

can share the identified good practice or action any areas of enhancement

– Chief External Examiner access

Feedback loops – What happens with your report?• Shared with your audience (discussed

earlier)

The ‘Faculty Response’

• Closing the feedback loop• A response from the Field Leader

– Acknowledge recognition for highlighted areas of good practice (to share with colleagues across Department/University as appropriate)

– Acknowledge any recommended areas for enhancement and actions that will be taken

– Rationale if we disagree with any aspects of your report

• Expect to receive your response by December

Reporting to the Vice-Chancellor

• External Examiners may, in exceptional circumstances, report separately and confidentially to the Vice-Chancellor on any matters of serious concern.

• Detailed in your report how you may do this.• Expected that these concerns would have been

raised through your initial engagement i.e. moderation process and Examination Boards.

The Logistics

• Receive an email from the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Team with your personalised report pro forma approx. 4 weeks before June Boards.

• Submission Date advised

• Submit to us by email

• Fee Payment

Thank you for listening!

Any questions?