Transforming the external experience: collaboration and external examining

In this discussion session at Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 a panel made up of Alison Bone (University of Brighton), Paul Maharg (University of Strathclyde) and Chris Rust (Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Brookes University) presented the case for a new system of external examining with standards within a discipline set across institutions. Could such an innovative system work in law?

Note: the panel’s presentations are available on Paul’s SlideShare space: view Paul’s slides | Alison’s slides | Chris’ slides

The concept and operation of external examinership is due for review and substantial change. The system is a key element in the claims of higher education to have stable, valid, reliable system of peer assessment operating across institutions in the UK, conducted as it is within systems of peer review and quality assurance and enhancement. It is claimed that external examiners bring to the process of assessment within programmes of study the qualities of objectivity, independence and impartiality. They often moderate decisions of internal assessors, and may comment upon curriculum issues as these are revealed by the assessment process.

There are however serious problems with the concept and implementation of the system. Arguably the most serious is the disjunction that exists between teaching and learning within individual institutions and the standards associated with that culture, and the standards brought to bear on the assessment process by the external examiner. While there is little data on this issue, there is a perception that external examiners do not engage sufficiently with the problematic relationship between institutional cultures and standards as these exist between institutions, and the process and products of the assessment processes within institutions.

Rather than arguing for a system based upon deeper engagement within an institution, the panel proposed the setting of standards across institutions within a discipline. They argued for the role of external examiners to be based less upon the oversight of internal moderating rules, such rules operating as algorithmic. Instead they proposed a system that would set out to link the products of learning and teaching cultures within institutions with the products of the same disciplines in other institutions. Thus, disciplines across institutions would collaborate in setting mutually agreed standards of work for different levels of student performance.

The panel presented examples of how such an innovative system might work in practice and discussed the possibility of setting up a project within law to carry out such inter-institutional standardisation activities – contact Paul on e-mail: paul.maharg@strath.ac.uk if you would like to be part of the project.

Further reading

• Cuthbert M (2003) The external examiner: how did we get here? (presentation from the UKCLE/ALT workshop on external examiners, 6 June 2003)
• Gaunt D (1999) ‘The practitioner as external examiner’ Quality in Higher Education 5(1):81-90
• Hannan A & Silver H (2004) Enquiry into the nature of external examining York: Higher Education Academy
• Hannan A & Silver H (2006) ‘On being an external examiner’ Studies in Higher Education 31:57-69
• Harris P & Bone A (2002) ‘The experience of external examiners’ The Law Teacher 36(2):167-182
• Higher Education Academy (2004) Enhancing support for external examining: report and action plan York: Higher Education Academy
• Jinks A & Morrison P (1997) ‘The role of the external examiner in the assessment of clinical practice’ Nurse Education Today 17(5):408-412
• Joyner R (2003) ‘The selection of external examiners for research degrees’ Quality Assurance in Education 11(2):123-127
• Lewis R (2005) External examiner system in the United Kingdom: fresh challenges to an old system (policy analysis for the PPAQ research program) Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina
• Quality Assurance Agency (2008) External examiners and their reports Gloucester: QAA
• Quality Assurance Agency (2004) Code of practice: external examining Gloucester: QAA
• Quality Assurance Agency (2002) Round table meetings on external examining Gloucester: QAA
• Sheehan J (1994) ‘External examiners: roles and issues’ Journal of Advanced Nursing 20(5):943-949
• Silver H (1997) ‘External examining and the academic’ in G Wisker (ed) Making the most of the external examiner (SEDA paper 98) Birmingham: SEDA
• Silver H (1996) ‘External examining in higher education: a secret history’ in R Aldrich (ed) In history and in education: essays presented to Peter Gordon London and Portland, OR: Woburn
• Silver H, Stennett A & Williams R (1995) The external examiner system: possible futures (report of a project commissioned by the Higher Education Quality Council) London: Open University Quality Support Centre
• Smith H & Oliver M (2004) A grounded theory of external examining York: Higher Education Academy
• Warren D (1985) ‘Enquiry into the role of external examiners’ Studies in Higher Education 10(3):331-342
• Yorke M (1996) ‘The use of external examiners in art and design’ Quality Assurance in Education 4(2):4-11

Last Modified: 9 July 2010