External examining

Documents

Appoinment of New External Examiners

Taught Programme

External Examiners for taught programmes are appointed to a standard four year tenure. New appointments must meet the guidance laid out in the UK Quality Code. 

All nominations must be submitted to external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk using the form below for approval by the Vice Provost for Education, following departmental endorsement.

For queries about appointment of taught programme examiners, please contact external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk 

Research Degree

For guidance relating to appointment of Research Degree examiners please click here or contact assessment.records@imperial.ac.uk

Induction of New Taught Programme External Examiners

The Quality Assurance Team will organise online induction briefings for newly appointed taught programme External Examiners.

Departments may find the following documents useful for new taught programme External Examiners:

Please find in the document below key information that you should be provided with once appointed, as agreed by the College Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC).

Key information for external examiners

External Examiner Roles and Responsibilities
Conduct of Boards of Examiners Meetings
Useful Weblinks 
Higher Education Acronyms and Terms (Apr 19)

The College will refund reasonable expenses incurred by our External Examiners in the course of completing their duties. Guidance is available in the claims form below.

Claiming External Examiner Expenses

External Examiner Expense Claim Form (Taught Programmes) [BSc, BEng, MSci, MEng, MSc, MPH, MA, MEd, MRes, PG Cert, PG Dip, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES]

External Examiner Expense Claim Form (Research Programmes)

‌Please ensure that all claim forms are emailed to external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk as a word document, along with pdf copies of your receipts. 


This section relates to undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes including MRes programmes.
 
Report Templates for Taught Programme Annual Reports

External Examiners for taught programmes are required to submit one report per year for each of the programmes which they examine. Where it is possible to do so, for example where you are appointed to examine a core programme with multiple pathways (year abroad, year in industry, with management etc.), the report can include all provision. If so, please ensure that where there may be specific considerations for a pathway or award that this is clearly signposted.

2022-23 External Examiner Annual Reports

External Examiner reports must be sumbitted via our online portal. Please select the appropriate link below to submit your report.

Undergraduate External Examiner Report Template 2022-2023

Postgraduate External Examiner Report Template 2022-2023

Clinical Medicine External Examiner Report Template 2022-2023

The online report is multiplatform, and can be completed on a desktop computer, laptop, iPad or mobile phone. 

Next and back buttons enable you to return to previously completed sections and check or amend your answers. At the end of the report you will have the opportunity to review all your answers before submitting, and to download a PDF copy of your submission for future reference.

The system should store your responses each time you click to a new page, and you to return to the same point in the survey, so you don’t have to complete in one sitting. Please note this will require tracking cookies to be enabled on your machine.

If you would like to request a personalised link to the template (i.e. in order to work on your report across multiple devices) or if you are having any difficulties in completing your report, please contact external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk . 

Please note that reports will be shared with staff and students across the College, and may be disclosed in response to Freedom of Information requests. Copies may also be shared with professional, regulatory and statutory bodies and the QAA. Therefore there should be no identifiable reference to individual students or staff members, either by name or CID number, to ensure confidentiality is maintained.

Fee payments will only be made upon submission of the annual report. The College reserves the right under the agreed terms and conditions to terminate an appointment, where a satisfactory report has not been submitted.

How Your Report is Considered

Once submitted, your report will be analysed by the QA team and the relevant Department/Faculty. Responses are considered in the following ways:

  • The Department will respond to your individual report. Their comments, along with a copy of your report, will be provided to you in a PDF document.
  • The QA Team will review all the reports for common themes and areas of concern. A summary of these themes and recommendations arising will be submitted to the College’s Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee (QAEC). A copy of the summary report will be sent to you along with the Department’s response to your individual feedback (as above).
  • The Department will include any actions arising from your annual report in the action plan for their undergraduate annual monitoring report, which is subsequently reviewed and tracked at Departmental, Faculty and College level. 
Serious Concerns

The College recognises that on occasion External Examiners may have a particular concern which they wish to raise outside of the general reporting arrangements. Further details are available below:

External Examiners for Research Degree viva examinations please check your initial appointment email for the necessary forms, or email assessment.records@imperial.ac.uk if you cannot locate this.

The following forms should be used for the examination of research degree programmes. For reports relating to MRes provision please see the section 'External Examiner Reports for Taught Programmes' above.

EngD Examination Report Form [doc]

PhD Examination Report Form [doc]

MD(Res) Examination Report Form [doc] 

MPhil Examination Report Form [doc]

The College also requires each examiner to provide a preliminary report on the thesis, alongside a final joint examiners report. The College has no requirement with regards to the format of these reports, however the below templates can be used if preferred: 

Joint Final Report Template ‌ [doc]‌

Preliminary Report - External Examiner Template [doc]‌

Preliminary Report - Internal Examiner Template‌

There is further information for research degree examiners in the 'Key Guidance Documents for External Examiners' and 'External Examiner Expenses' sections on this page. 

Please use the 'Contact Us' section if you need further information about Research Degree examinations.

For queries relating to taught programme examiners [BSc, MSci, MSc, BEng, MEng, MRes, MA, MEd, PG Cert, PG Dip, MBBS, I-Explore/Horizons and BPES] please contact external.examiner@imperial.ac.uk

For queries relating to research degree examiners [PhD, MPhil, MD-Res and EngD] please contact assessment.records@imperial.ac.uk