Subject External Examiners: Information, Support and Engagement with the University

Transcription

1 Subject External Examiners: Infrmatin, Supprt and Engagement with the University In rder t discharge the respnsibilities f a Subject External Examiner at Sheffield Hallam University, infrmatin and supprt will be available and External Examiners will be engaged in the fllwing ways - Appintment, agreement and acceptance f rle Initial cntact with an External Examiner will nrmally be made by a member f academic staff wh is respnsible fr the awards/mdules/subject area fr which the appintment is sught. The External Examiner respnsibilities and these engagement prcesses may be prvided fr infrmatin, prir t, r alng with an appintment frm fr cmpletin. The area f prvisin under the External Examiners duties, details f cllabrative partners where apprpriate, Prfessinal, Statutry and Regulatry Bdy respnsibilities, appintment dates and fee will all be detailed n the appintment frm. External Examiners are asked t agree these during cmpletin f the frm. It is wrth nting that mdules that d nt cntribute fr the highest award fr which the students are registered are nt rutinely sent t External Examiners fr mderatin, althugh External Examiners may be asked fr advice regarding these mdules. The appintment frm is reviewed against the QAA criteria and receives final apprval frm the University Head f Academic Quality and Standards. Upn appintment, the University will send the fllwing infrmatin - an appintment letter that prvides the External Examiners website address, an invitatin t a University inductin event, and details f UK Brder Agency verificatin requirement the apprved appintment frm the External Examiner respnsibilities Infrmatin, Supprt and Engagement with the University (this dcument) the previus External Examiner's Annual Reprt where available Any changes t the appintment, e.g. additinal duties, extensin t appintment, will be dne via amendments t the appintment frm, then agreed with the External Examiner and apprved by the University as set ut abve. In case f queries r cncerns, cntact details fr the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards will be included n the appintment letter and are prvided at the end f this dcument. The External Examiners website The External Examiners website is a resurce prvided fr University staff and External Examiners. Infrmatin will include - Academic Quality Framewrk nline guide Blank appintment frms Annual Reprt template Respnsibilities f External Examiners Infrmatin, Supprt and Engagement with the University (this dcument) Inductin infrmatin Cntact details The website will als link t - University visin statement Academic Calendar Standard University Assessment Regulatins

2 University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy Frm t claim fees and expenses Operatin f Assessment Bards Quality Assurance Agency Higher Educatin Academy handbk fr External Examining UK Visas and Immigratin - Preventing Illegal Wrking Please cntact the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards, if yu have any queries r suggestins fr the website. Publicatin f External Examiner details fr students The identity and current psitin f External Examiners will be published fr students, nrmally via mdule Blackbard sites fr n-site prvisin, and via student handbks fr students studying with cllabrative partners. Alng with this, there will be a statement fr students, making it clear that it wuld be inapprpriate fr students t make direct cntact with External Examiners. Students will be directed t frmal mechanisms fr engaging in the quality prcesses. External Examiners shuld refer any direct cntact received frm a student t the University r Cllabrative Partner. Any cncerns shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. Verificatin f eligibility t wrk in the UK Under the Immigratin, Asylum and Natinality Act 2006, the University has a legal bligatin t check that all ptential emplyees have eligibility t wrk in the UK and that they have cntinued eligibility fr the duratin f their emplyment. By making these checks, the University can be sure it des nt break the law by emplying illegal wrkers. External Examiners must present riginal dcuments as specified by the UKVI at their Inductin and befre any wrk is undertaken. Attendance at Inductin University Inductin events will be held at several times thrughut the year. External Examiners will be invited t an event via appintment letters and fllwed up with further details as arrangements are made. External Examiners shuld attend an event prir t the cmmencement f their duties, if an External Examiner cannt make the first available event, they will be invited t future events. External Examiners will have access t all infrmatin via the External Examiners website. University inductin events will include - rles and respnsibilities f being an External Examiner at the University standard assessment regulatins peratin f assessment bards verificatin f assessment tls case studies fr grup discussin Inductin will als prvide an pprtunity fr each External Examiner t meet a University academic clleague fr the prvisin, alng with the cllabrative partner where pssible. During this meeting, the fllwing infrmatin will be prvided - curse/ mdule descriptrs, marking criteria, and prfessinal cnsideratins e.g. fitness t practice, as necessary assessment schedule methd t be used fr mderatin f student wrk - e.g. Blackbard, n-site visit prcesses and guidance fr visiting cllabrative partners, and/r placement sites, and/r meeting students can be discussed as required Exceptinally, an individual inductin culd be arranged t suit the External Examiner's requirements.

3 If an External Examiner is unable t attend an inductin event prir t the cmmencement f duties, the University will advise them t read the infrmatin via the External Examiner website, and the particular curse and mdule infrmatin will be prvided in advance. If an External Examiner is new t the rle, a range f additinal supprt is available, fr example it may be pssible t arrange fr the External Examiner t - bserve a Subject Assessment Bard review previus annual reprts and/r mderatin cmments with the utging External Examiner be mentred by an experienced External Examiner During inductin, many pprtunities will be prvided where questins and cncerns can be answered, hwever if questins remain after the event, they shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. Access t Blackbard Shrtly after inductin and UKVI verificatin, a Blackbard accunt will be created and individual user ids and passwrds will be ed t each External Examiner. The SHU member f staff respnsible fr individual Blackbard sites will then cntact the External Examiner t explain what use will be made f Blackbard and will enrl the External Examiner t sites as necessary. Queries regarding yur accunt details shuld be directed t the Administratr (Quality), Academic Quality and Standards. Queries regarding access t the Blackbard sites shuld be directed t the academic cntact. Verificatin f cursewrk and exam assessment instruments Verificatin f assessment instruments (cursewrk r practical briefs and examinatin questins) ensures that their frm and cntent are apprpriate and valid in terms f: quality, standards and use f Plain English, assessment f learning utcmes, syllabus cverage, level f challenge, fairness t students. The peratin f the verificatin f assessment instruments is managed by the University Examinatin Service. Verificatin is carried ut via a SharePint site, rather than sent t External Examiners via . Accessing assessment dcuments via SharePint When all the mdules fr which an External Examiner is respnsible are ready fr verificatin, the academic lead will send the External Examiner an t advise that the assessment tasks are ready fr review. The will cntain: - guidance dcumentatin cntaining full instructins n the prcess - a link t the relevant mdule assessments n the University s SharePint site - a feedback frm t recrd yur cmments relating t the assessments External Examiners shuld use their existing Blackbard user id and passwrd t access the assessment tasks n SharePint. Reviewing assessment dcuments

4 The SharePint site will cntain a list f mdules that are ready fr review External Examiners shuld select the mdule they wish t review, review the assessments and any supprting dcumentatin, and cmplete the feedback frm Return the cmpleted feedback frm t shuverificatin@shu.ac.uk within tw weeks. If External Examiners are unable t meet this deadline, they are asked t please let the University Examinatin Service knw s that a revised deadline can be agreed. The feedback frm is passed n t the mdule leader(s) cncerned, wh review External Examiner cmments and make any necessary amendments t the assessments Any respnse frm the mdule leader is held n SharePint alng with the final assessments If yu have any queries regarding the prcess, please cntact the Assessment, Awards and Regulatins team via shuverificatin@shu.ac.uk r n Fr cllabrative prvisin fr registered students, liaisn and the verificatin f all assessment tls will be managed by the cllabrative partner, with versight by the Link Tutr within the Faculty. Mderatin f student wrk Mderatin f student wrk is managed by individual academic staff, administratin staff r cllabrative partner as apprpriate. Cntact details and methds f viewing wrk will vary depending n the External Examiners nature f appintment and subject area; this can be discussed during the inductin meeting between the External Examiner and University academic staff. Methds fr viewing wrk include Blackbard, , pst, drp bx, and n-site. A schedule f when t expect wrk will be prvided at the beginning f the academic year, and where pssible 3 weeks will be allwed fr external mderatin. Samples fr external mderatin are based n 3 per band (including fails), r 10%, whichever is the greater. Where a student's assessed wrk is the unique prduct f the student's research r creativity, r where there is a specific prfessinal bdy need, each student's wrk shuld be seen by the External Examiner. The rle f mderatin is t - cnfirm mdule mark sets make recmmendatins fr the further internal mderatin f mdule marks recmmend adjustments t whle mark sets Where it is impractical fr External Examiners t receive student's assessed wrk, e.g. fr presentatins r perfrmances, an agreement shuld be made between the academic cntact and External Examiner fr the mst apprpriate methd f reviewing the assessment prcess and the utcme f the students' wrk. Cncerns regarding mderatin shuld be directed t the academic cntact, r cllabrative partner, and a number f ptins will be discussed, fr example an External Examiner may request t see a larger sample f wrk. It will be agreed whether the cncerns need t be addressed befre final decisins regarding marking are made Queries regarding cntact details shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. Placement visits where apprpriate and/r meetings with students

5 Visits t placement lcatins and/r meetings between External Examiners and students may be valuable in enabling External Examiners either t gain a deeper understanding f mdule(s) and/r t explre further the peratin f particular methds f assessment. Placement visits shuld be discussed with the University academic cntact, pssibly during the inductin meeting. Arrangements t meet students, if required, shuld be made thrugh the academic cntact, r cllabrative partner. Cntact details will vary depending n the nature f appintment and the External Examiner's subject area. The purpse f these meetings is t gain student feedback n mdules, curse and experience. It wuld nt be apprpriate t discuss individual peple and/r assessments. NB: External Examiners n Nursing and Midwifery, and Teacher Educatin prgrammes are required t visit practice every year and include a review f their findings within their reprt. Queries regarding cntact details shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. Attendance at Subject Assessment Bards Subject Assessment Bards are managed by the Bard Secretary wh will be part f the Student Administratin Teams in Assessment, Awards and Regulatins, r cllabrative partner and cntact details will vary. External Examiners are expected t attend Assessment Bards and invitatins will be sent with as much ntice as pssible. Als, External Examiners are sent infrmatin in relatin t all Bards fr cmment. Subject Assessment Bards will fcus n the verificatin f mdule marks and results. The rle f the Subject Assessment Bard is t - cnfirm that all mdules have been delivered accrding t the mdule descriptr cnfirm that internal and external mderatin has taken place and verify students marks receive Academic Cnduct (ACP) and Extenuating Circumstances (ECP) decisins have respnsibility fr cnfirming verall mdule results (these cannt be changed at the ratificatin stage) At the end f the Bard, the External Examiner will be asked t endrse the decisins made; this will be nted in the minutes, alng with whether the decisins are final r are t be taken t a higher Bdy. If the External Examiner des nt endrse the decisins f the Bard, the minutes will recrd the reasns and what actin is t be taken next. A particular reasn fr this is t ensure that the cnsequences are understd fr students whse marks are being cnsidered. Student Administratin Teams will infrm students if there is t be any delay in finalising and cmmunicating their results. External Examiners d nt have the pwer t ask fr alteratins t be made t marks fr individual students. During the visit t attend a Subject Assessment Bard, there will als be the pprtunity fr External Examiners and academic cntacts t discuss the peratin f the mdules. The utcmes f these discussins will infrm the annual mdule review and will be dcumented n the Mdule Review frm by the Mdule Leader. Mdule Leaders are required t cmplete a Mdule Review each year frm nt later than tw weeks after the relevant Subject Assessment Bard. Queries regarding cntact details shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards.

6 Submissin f an annual reprt Annual reprts shuld be submitted electrnically t the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. Reprts shuld nrmally be submitted within 1 mnth f the main Subject Assessment Bard, using the standard template available thrugh the External Examiner website. The University will External Examiners with a reminder; hwever it is the respnsibility f the External Examiner t submit their annual reprt. External Examiners shuld nte that annual reprts will be made available t students and fr that reasn, individual staff and students shuld nt be named. All students will have access t the summaries f reprts and students can request t see individual annual reprts. The University will acknwledge the receipt f an annual reprt, and circulate it t relevant University staff in Faculties, Academic Quality and Standards and cllabrative partners fr cnsideratin. Respnses t the reprts will be returned t the External Examiner as sn as pssible and nrmally within 6 weeks f circulatin t University clleagues. The University will als submit annual reprts t Prfessinal, Statutry and Regulatry Bdies as required. The University will summarise annual reprts and the respnses, these will be published fr: Faculty cnsideratin University cnsideratin, including infrming the Institutinal Prfile cllabrative partner cnsideratin, where relevant students t access, via the Students Unin Blackbard site and via Cllabrative Partners student representatives t discuss at staff/student meetings Actins arising frm annual reprts will be taken frward thrugh the University's annual mdule and curse review prcess. External Examiner reprts will als be cnsidered as part f the University's Departmental Peridic Review prcess. External Examiners will have the pprtunity in their annual reprt t indicate whether they are satisfied that issues they have previusly raised have been addressed. External Examiners shuld als nte that failure t submit a cmplete annual reprt will result in nn-payment f their fee. Any queries shuld be raised with the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. External Examiner as a 'Critical Friend' f the curse team The External Examiner's rle as a 'critical friend' t the curse team is an imprtant part f the review and develpment f prvisin. Onging dialgue between the curse team and External Examiner may take place thrughut the year. In particular, the curse team may cnsult Examiners during curse planning and preparatin fr re-apprval f the prvisin, and fr example, the External Examiner may be invited t a meeting f the curse planning team. Payment f fees and expenses The University perates a fee schedule (implemented frm September 2012) based n the number f mdules under an External Examiner's respnsibility, attendance at Subject Assessment Bards, any cllabrative nature f the prvisin, and submissin f the annual reprt. Individual fees are set ut in the appintment frm and agreed by the External Examiner during cmpletin and apprval f the frm. The ttal payment includes the fee plus hliday pay (based n 12.07% f the fee). Claims fr expenses shuld be made within 3 mnths f the expense being incurred. Claims fr fees shuld be made annually and can be submitted alng with, r fllwing, the submissin f the annual reprt, hwever all claims must be received within 3 mnths f the main Subject

7 Assessment Bard. The University will External Examiners with a reminder t claim fees and expenses; hwever it is the respnsibility f the External Examiner t make a claim fr payment. All claims must be submitted using the University's standard claim frm which will be available, alng with guidance, via the External Examiner web site. Claims fr fees and expenses may be submitted electrnically r by hard cpy. Claims fr expenses must be accmpanied by receipts, either riginal receipts r scanned cpies will be accepted. All claims shuld be submitted t the Administratr (Quality), see the end f the dcument fr cntact details, and the receipt f the claim will be acknwledged. Claims fr expenses nly will be prcessed upn receipt and payment will nrmally be within 2 weeks. Claims which include a fee and are received and prcessed by the 20 th f each mnth will be paid n the 18 th f the fllwing mnth. Payment f fees will nly be made fllwing receipt f a cmplete annual reprt. External Examiners are cnsidered as wrkers fr tax purpses. The University has an bligatin t make sure all wrkers pay tax, therefre the University will deduct tax at surce. The nly exceptin t the abve prcess is fr thse External Examiners wh are self-emplyed and submit an invice fr payment f the grss amunt t a Limited Cmpany. In this case, the University defers its respnsibilities and expects that the Limited Cmpany will be cncerned with the payment f tax. Any queries shuld be raised with the Administratr (Quality), Academic Quality and Standards. Current External Examiner details External Examiners are asked t prvide their preferred cntact details n the appintment frm and cnfirm these n the annual reprt. External Examiners whse details have changed, including change f emplyment r ther details, at any ther time are asked t ntify the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. This allws the University t: ensure student wrk is submitted t the crrect address ensure External Examiners receive imprtant cmmunicatin sent frm the University check whether the change results in any cnflicts f interests that must be addressed ensure the details prvided fr students are crrect Submissin f written cmments if required in cnnectin with student appeals r cmplaints The advice f an External Examiner may be sught either during the investigatin f a student cmplaint r appeal, r as part f the review f the student case if the appeal is admitted and referred back t the Subject Assessment Bard. If the assistance f an External Examiner is required, they will be cntacted by a member f the Student Administratin Team. It shuld be nted that this wuld be a rare ccurrence. External Examiners have the right t raise any matter f serius cncern with University Vice-Chancellr If an External Examiner has serius cncerns that can't be satisfied thrugh nrmal prcesses, r where an External Examiner deems it necessary t name an individual member f staff, they have the pprtunity t submit a separate cnfidential written reprt. The reprt shuld be submitted t the University Vice-Chancellr, via the address at the end f this dcument. The University will prvide a cnsidered and timely respnse, utlining any actins that will be taken as a result. Als apprpriate staff and/r student representatives will be infrmed f the implicatins f any cnfidential reprt, r the actin arising frm such a reprt.

8 The nrmal annual reprt shuld als be submitted cntaining matters nt deemed cnfidential. Queries regarding this shuld be directed t the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards. External Examiners wh have a serius cncern relating t systematic failings with the academic standards f prvisin and have exhausted all published applicable internal prcedures, including the submissin f a cnfidential reprt t the University Vice- Chancellr, may invke the QAA's cncerns scheme r infrm the relevant prfessinal, statutry r regulatry bdy External Examiners are referred t the QAA's cncerns scheme: guidance fr External Examiners, nting that recurse t the scheme will nly take place in cases where internal mechanisms fr fllwing up cncerns have been exhausted. External Examiner appintments can be terminated at any time, subject t apprved institutinal prcedures, fr failure by the External Examiner t fulfil his/her bligatins r if a cnflict f interest arises which cannt satisfactrily be reslved. The imprtance f the rle f the External Examiner in cntributing t the University's management f quality and standards means that any failure t fulfil the rle is viewed seriusly by the University. Effrts will be made t encurage engagement between External Examiner and the University as set ut abve. Hwever if failure ccurs then actin, including early terminatin f the cntract where apprpriate, will be taken. In particular, the failure t attend Subject Assessment Bards withut making exceptinal alternative arrangements, the failure t submit mderatin cmments within the apprpriate timescale, the failure t submit annual reprts, r the prvisin f incmplete annual reprts may be apprpriate grunds fr early terminatin. Terminatins may als be required fllwing a change t the prvisin; examples include the clsure f a curse, r the realignment f mdules t subject areas. A cnflict f interest may arise during an External Examiner's term f ffice. Where this cannt be reslved, nrmal practice is fr the External Examiner t resign. Hwever, as a last resrt, the University may terminate the appintment in rder t prtect the independence f its External Examining arrangements. Terminatin is nt restricted t a particular time perid, e.g. the end f an academic year. If a terminatin is deemed apprpriate, the University will write t the External Examiner, clearly utlining the reasns fr the terminatin. Decisins will be based n sund evidence and apprved by the Head f Academic Quality and Standards. Queries shuld be directed t the Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners), Academic Quality and Standards.

9 External Examiners will have regular cntact with University and cllabrative partner staff, many f these will vary depending n the particular subject area and nature f appintment. The fllwing is a list f cntacts that will be required by all External Examiners. The External Examiners website (cntact details can als be fund here) Nami Hardy, Senir Quality Officer (External Examiners) Academic Quality and Standards n.hardy@shu.ac.uk and Ruth Feather, Administratr (Quality) Academic Quality and Standards r.feather@shu.ac.uk and Sheffield Hallam University, Academic Quality and Standards, Oneleven Building, City Campus, Sheffield, S1 1WB University Examinatin Service Assessment, Awards and Regulatins shuverificatin@shu.ac.uk Sara Daines, University Examinatin Manager s.daines@shu.ac.uk Melanie Furniss, University Examinatin Manager m.s.furniss@shu.ac.uk Prfessr Philip Jnes Vice-Chancellr The Vice Chancellr's Office, Hward Building, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Sheffield, S1 1WB