The responsibility for nominating potential external examiners lies with the Programme Lead, or – in the case of collaborative provision - the Liaison Manager, in consultation with the delivery team at the partner organisation. The nomination form is available from the APQO website, and link Quality Assurance Officers can provide advice on the suitability of potential nominees prior to completion of the form.
The Faculty AESC/QLIC, or authorised quality sub-group, is responsible for reviewing all nominations, and ensuring that they meet the University’s criteria prior to submission of the documentation to the link QAO for approval by the Chair of QLIC (the PVC Student & Staff Experience). They should not approve nominees who do not meet the criteria, and should refer incomplete nomination forms back to the Programme Lead for more information. Approved nominations should be forwarded to the APQO, via the Faculty link QAO, who will arrange for the nominee to be approved by the Chair of the Quality & Learning Infrastructure Committee.
Once the Chair of QLIC has approved a nomination, the APQO carries out a check on the nominee’s eligibility to work in the UK – in line with Home Office rules - and then sends out a letter of appointment (copied to the Programme Lead/Subject Coordinator, Liaison Manager, Faculty Quality Team members and link QAO) with an acceptance form which must be signed and returned by the external examiner. They will then be provided with a staff number and password so they can access the relevant University systems, including the VLE. Once approved, the Faculty will arrange to provide the external examiner with relevant programme and module information, marking schemes, examination committee dates and a copy of the previous external examiner’s report.