Annual report
All external examiners are required to submit an annual report, the submission of which will allow you to claim part of your annual fee.
FAQs
How to submit your annual report
You will be sent an email by the Academic Services (AS) in June. This email will contain a link to a personalised web page which will contain the annual report pro-forma.
You will be asked to complete the form electronically and click the "Send this form" button at the bottom of the form. The report form contains a combination of questions requiring a "Yes", "No" or "N/A" response, and questions requiring qualitative responses. The web page will time out after two hours, therefore please write your answers in a Word document, then paste them into the report form when you are ready to submit.
When to submit your annual report
You are expected to submit your annual report within four weeks of the main boards in June. You will receive an email reminder shortly before the submission deadline.
You will receive an email reminder shortly before the submission deadline.
Content of your report - Unit External Examiners
Unit External Examiners are required to report annually on issues related to unit assessment. The annual report will cover all units examined in the academic session, whether including those considered by unit assessment boards at the end of period one. Issues covered in the report will include:
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the overall performance of the students in relation to their peers on comparable units;
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the strengths and weaknesses of the students; the quality of knowledge and skills (both general and subject specific) demonstrated by the students;
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the structure, organisation, design and marking of all assessments;
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the quality of student learning as indicated by student performance;
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the implications to be drawn from the assessments for the curriculum, syllabus, teaching methods, and for the resources for the course; and
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any other recommendations arising from the assessments.
A sample report pro forma for 2010/11 will be available following its approval by the relevant committee in March.
Content of your report - Progression and Award External Examiners
Progression and Award External Examiners are required to report annually. The report will cover:
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standard and conduct of progression and award boards;
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application of University assessment regulations;
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course profiles.
A sample report pro forma for 2010/11 will be available following its approval by the relevant committee in March.
Responses to your annual report
The University aims to send a written response to your annual report within six weeks of the submission date. The response may come from the Faculty or the University's Academic Services, as appropriate.
The University aims to send a written response to your annual report within six weeks of the submission date. The response may come from the Faculty or the University's Academic Services, as appropriate.
How the University uses your annual report
Reporting process flow chart|
Once submitted, your report will be automatically logged by AS. It is then passed to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor who will read every report that is submitted and to the Faculty. Any reports that raise any areas of concern will be prioritised for the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who may request the Faculty or AS to take action.
At a Faculty level, your report will be received, read and responded to, as appropriate. Course teams will then use the reports as part of the annual programme monitoring process which takes place in January/February. The outcomes of annual programme monitoring will then be made available to the external examiners concerned.
At an institutional level, the external examiner reports play a key role in the University's quality assurance and enhancement procedures. The outcomes of the annual external examiner reports are reported to the University's Academic Standards and Development Committee at various points in the year; an emergent themes paper in October, and a further report in March to identify areas of good practice.
Analysis of External Examiner reports
Emergent themes
At the first meeting of the University's Academic Standards and Development Committee (ASDC), the committee receives a paper on the emergent themes arising from the most recent external examiner reports received by the University. The themes are are discussed by ASDC and inform its programme of work for the coming academic year.
Emergent themes from External Examiner reports 2010/11|
Emergent themes from External Examiner reports 2009/10|
Emergent themes from External Examiner reports 2008/09|
Emergent themes from External Examiner reports 2007/08|
Good practice analysis
As part of the University's increased focus on enhancement, and efforts to establish the 'Solent Curriculum' as a distinctive offering to our students, external examiner reports are analysed to identify areas and examples of good practice and innovation. Comments on the development of practical and intellectual skills, on industry relevance and student employability are of particular interest.
Papers setting out the results are available below:
Summary of good practice from External Examiner reports 2008/09|
Summary of good practice from External Examiner reports 2009/10|
Summary of good practice from External Examiners and themes for further analysis 2010/11|
The University values the input of external examiners and is grateful for the work you undertake. We look forward to receiving your report and thank you for your interest in the University and our students.
How long do I have to complete the report?
Once you begin work on your report there is a time limit of two hours to complete it, due to server restrictions. If you feel you need more than two hours to complete the form, it is advisable to type longer responses in a Word document and then paste them into your report.