3.1.1 Process of assessment and role of external examiners
- 3.1.1.1 Setting assessments
- 3.1.1.2 Marking examination scripts and other assessment
- 3.1.1.3 Module Boards
- 3.1.1.4 Role of External Examiners at Module Boards
- 3.1.1.5 External Examiners and dissertations / projects
- 3.1.1.6 Presence of External Examiners at Module Boards and Degree Classification Boards
- 3.1.1.7 Reassessment diet
- 3.1.1.8 Deferred assessment
- 3.1.1.9 Oral examinations
- 3.1.1.10 Reporting procedure for External Examiners, and procedures for response
- 3.1.1.11 Security of the assessment process
- 3.1.1.12 Incomplete assessment results
- 3.1.1.13 Role of External Examiners in taught postgraduate programmes
3.1.1.1 Setting assessments
Details of assessment are required in the submission of every new module, and major changes to assessment have to be notified to the relevant Dean, who will scrutinise these for consistency within a School, and broad consistency across the Faculty.
Because all new module submissions must be reviewed by an External Examiner, it follows that External Examiners should be involved in agreeing that the proposed scheme of assessment is appropriate to the learning outcomes of the module.
External Examiners should normally see and approve the final versions of all end-of-module examination question papers before they are submitted to Registry. Where an External Examiner makes suggestions for substantive change to examination questions, a written response should be made by the appropriate School Officer to the External Examiner to indicate either the acceptance of the suggestion, or any compelling reasons for varying or declining the suggestion, and kept on file. Substantive changes to examination papers will not normally be permitted after submission to Registry, but exceptional requests for such changes must be approved by the relevant Dean as well as the External Examiner.
The Head of School has ultimate responsibility to ensure that end-of-module examination papers are submitted to Registry no later than the date indicated by Registry each year. This date will be posted on the web at Semester Dates: Key Deadlines and Dates.
The nature, description and timing of assessed coursework (continuous assessment) should be set out in module handbooks at the start of the module so that they comprise part of the initial module information made available to students and so that appropriate short loan lists can be in place. It is desirable for students to have a good understanding of the totality of what is expected of them on entry to the module. Such information also enables students to begin work early in the module, manage workloads, acquire necessary resources and obtain advice in good time, as well as enabling them to make appropriate choices of modules in the first place.
External Examiners should be given regular opportunities to review the totality of the set assessment for a module (examinations and coursework) and to advise on the appropriate balance of different forms of assessment, potential overlaps between the content of assessments, and the degree to which the total of assessed work corresponds to the complete set of learning outcomes for the module (including generic or transferable skills). Each module should be subject to such a review at least once every four years.
The University has fora within which discussion of best practice in setting assessments occurs. These include the Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee, TLA Open Fora and workshops run by CAPOD.
3.1.1.2 Marking examination scripts and other assessment
Schools are expected to produce and publish grade/mark descriptors for each level of study and type of assessment (where appropriate), which conform to the SCQF guidelines for that level (eg 1000-level modules map onto SCQF level 7, 2000-level modules onto SCQF level 8, etc.). Grade/mark descriptors should be sufficiently relevant to the assessment for which they are used so as to provide meaningful feedback to students about their performance. Additional comments on assessment should amplify further the judgements made, highlighting areas for improvement as well as justifying the award of the mark.
The descriptors will have been notified to the External Examiner as part of an initial briefing, on which an External Examiner may comment.
External Examiners should see samples of continuous assessment and should agree in advance the nature of the sampling with the School. The nature of the sample may be different for Honours and sub-Honours work, but in the latter case at least a sufficient sample of work at all significant borderlines should be scrutinised.
Individual continuous assessment marks are not normally liable to change by an External Examiner, but comments by an External Examiner on consistency and standards are of the highest importance and should be answered by action within the School. Any comments on these issues will be raised at the Academic Monitoring and Assurance Group.
The University has accepted the use of oral presentations as a legitimate part of assessment. Where oral assessments form part of the module result, some evidence should be placed on record and made available to the External Examiner as to the criteria used and the reasons for the particular marks and/or grades awarded. The nature of this evidence (such as use of pro formas) is a matter that should be approved by the External Examiner.
The University requires anonymisation by matriculation number at all levels for assessed written coursework and examinations where practicable. For coursework, once the marking (and moderating or second marking, where applicable) has been anonymously completed, it is permissible to record marks against the students name and provide formative feedback to the student on an individual basis. For end-of-module examinations, only the School Examinations Officer or other administrator nominated by the Head of School has the right to break the seal, for the purpose of entering or confirming the mark against the student's name on results sheets, and this transcription should be checked by a second individual. The breaking of anonymisation, once marking has been completed, may occur either before or after Module Boards have sat.
Schools vary in practice with regard to marking strategies. Marking strategies should be appropriate both for the form of assessment and for the subject disciplines, and they should be in accordance with best practice in that discipline. Some Schools use blind double marking; in some others, the second marker has the advantage of the comments of the first marker. The External Examiner should be briefed about the School practices and has the right to comment. A students final module grade should not normally be awarded on the basis of a single individuals marking of all elements, and in exceptional cases where this does occur, this should be notified clearly to the External Examiner and to the relevant Dean(s). The identification of second markers is the responsibility of the Head of School (or other delegate). A second marker may be appointed outwith the School or University, if necessary, for example when an appropriate specialist is not available in the University.
Where (student) peer assessment is employed for summative assessment, it must be appropriately monitored by the module coordinator, and a record must be kept of the process and outcomes. In such cases it should not normally constitute more than 25% of the work of the module. Schools should also consider carefully the extent of peer assessment that is employed for summative assessment across modules in a programme. Procedures for its use should be explicitly discussed with and approved by the relevant External Examiner, who should take into account the balance of assessment methods across the module and programme of study.
3.1.1.3 Module Boards
The results of every module should be considered at an individual Module Board. Module Boards should normally consist of those academic staff who assessed the module, the relevant External Examiner and the signatory designated by the Head of School, who is responsible for reporting results. Where the External Examiner is not present for a diet, his/her views on the module must be presented formally by a member of the Module Board, and minuted. Degree Classification Boards are formally separate from Module Boards; the decisions of a Module Board may not be reopened subsequently.
Every Module Board should keep a written minute of its decisions, including the rationale for all key decisions. Schools are encouraged to make best use of the time of the External Examiner by presenting well-prepared information.
3.1.1.4 Role of External Examiners at Module Boards
The functions of an External Examiner in this regard can be defined as follows:-
- advice on particular problematic cases that cannot be resolved within the School;
- external monitoring of marking standards and procedures;
- benchmarking standards in modules and programme development.
Procedure as regards the first function designated above is straightforward. In these particular cases marks and/or grades are necessarily open to change in the light of the External Examiner’s advice. Schools should, however, make every effort to resolve discrepancies in marking prior to referral to the External Examiner.
The monitoring and benchmarking functions of the External Examiner should be carried out through selective sampling of scripts and assessed work. It is therefore not normally appropriate that an External Examiner should be used as first or second marker, or asked to mark a large batch of scripts in its entirety. An External Examiner should be substantially concerned with sample monitoring.
It follows that the External Examiner’s role in changing grades should be defined carefully. The External Examiner may be consulted on specific problem cases. It would never be appropriate, however, to change grades of individual students simply on the basis of a sampling exercise. If serious issues arise about the standard of marking (consistently too high, consistently too low, or too bunched), an External Examiner has a duty to note this, and it may result in an adjustment of grades at the time of the Module Board. A Module Board may shift all grades in line with the External Examiner’s recommendations, or revisit the assignment of marks to grades without altering the rank position of individuals within the module.
As noted above, it follows that all continuous assessment grades should be considered as technically provisional until approved by the Module Board, though the number of instances where wholesale changes of the nature mentioned above will occur is expected to be small, especially if Schools follow best practices of checking standards of question setting and marking across modules. This is particularly appropriate for team-marked modules where some central monitoring of marking by the module co-ordinator is expected. All examination grades, or final project/dissertation grades, should be considered as open to revision in the light of an External Examiner’s recommendations. As before, where sampling of examination scripts results in consistent upward or downward movement at one or more levels, all similar grades should be shifted in line with the External Examiner’s recommendations, and where a wider grade distribution is called for, the rank order of students should be retained.
In order to address issues of workload or expertise, Schools may request the appointment of several External Examiners, including specific External Examiners for sub-Honours modules, for reassessment diets or for postgraduate-level modules. Where multiple External Examiners exist for a single programme, at least one should provide feedback for the programme as a whole as well as for modules.
3.1.1.5 External Examiners and dissertations / projects
Schools should decide, in consultation with the External Examiner, how dissertations and projects are to be assessed. Arrangements will depend on the number and nature of projects involved, and their weighting in the degree programme. However it is not be the University’s expectation that External Examiners would act as second markers, but rather would continue their function as moderators of assessment.
3.1.1.6 Presence of External Examiners at Module Boards and Degree Classification Boards
The basis of the modular system is that a numerical grade based upon a qualitative judgment of the student's performance is assigned for each module and the aggregation of these grades (weighted according to the credit value of each module) determines the final degree outcome.
The essential input of the External Examiner as monitor and benchmarker of standards must therefore take place at the modular level. Attendance of an External Examiner at all the Module Boards in his/her assigned subject area, preferably at the end of both semesters but as a minimum at the end of Semester 2, is indispensable.
For degree classification meetings the situation is somewhat different. The logic of the modular structure makes degree classification a largely automatic and uncontroversial process, all the more so with the universal adoption of the agreed formula for calculation. It will often be practical, and desirable, that External Examiners be present at Degree Classification Boards; it is one possible occasion for External Examiners to present their views on the degree programme as a whole and other issues of quality assurance or enhancement, and it may give rise to reflection as to the spread of degree results. It must be stressed, however, that the process of classifying degrees in the University of St Andrews is an algorithmic process based on a universally applied formula, and the work of the External Examiner, and indeed of all Examiners, must be focused on the Module Boards.
School-based Degree Classification Boards shall be constituted by at least five members of the full-time academic staff of the School, normally including the Head of School as convener. The responsibility for the composition of the School-based Degree Classification Board and of the School Special Circumstances Board lies with the Head of School.
It is not normally necessary for School-based External Examiners to be present at the Arts Joint Honours Degree Boards, since at least two Schools or Departments are represented, and the Dean of Arts will be in attendance and will be able to provide an external perspective.
3.1.1.7 Reassessment diet
The reassessment diet takes place late in the summer. Because of the tight turnaround for reporting results, Schools may choose to have dedicated External Examiners for this process; they will have to negotiate the presence of an External in St Andrews. Alternatively, if their External Examiner is unable to attend the relevant Boards, then they must agree in advance the processes by which the External Examiner will be enabled to perform his/her function.
3.1.1.8 Deferred assessment
Deferred assessment is assessment which has been deferred beyond the reporting deadline for the module. The Module Board should
- decide the nature of the deferred assessment(s);
- minute that decision and its rationale; and
- note that deferred assessment(s) should be completed as soon as possible, and not normally more than two semesters after the original assessment.
Students who defer assessment beyond the reporting deadline for the resit diet and who have achieved less than 80 credits for each academic session completed will fall under the regulation for Termination of Studies. If the deferments are for good reason, then the student should appeal against Termination of Studies stating the reasons for the deferments. A possible outcome of a successful appeal against Termination of Studies is that the Dean may recommend to the Vice-Principal (Proctor) the discounting of one or both semesters.
Students who defer assessment beyond the reporting deadline for the resit diet and who have achieved 80 or more credits for each academic session completed must apply to the Pro Dean Undergraduate for permission to defer the outstanding assessment into the next session and must complete such deferred assessments by the reporting deadline for deferred assessments.
Examination assessments deferred into the next session will normally be conducted in the relevant examination diet. Students who fail to complete such deferred assessment by the end of the next session will be required to retake the module in its entirety or gain credit from alternative modules.
3.1.1.9 Oral examinations
The University recognises that the oral examination is a legitimate assessment method for particular modules, especially at postgraduate level. Where oral examinations are used, however, they must apply to all students in a module. Oral examinations must not be used in the degree classification process.
3.1.1.10 Reporting procedure for External Examiners, and procedures for response
Formal feedback from External Examiners happens normally at four points:-
- scrutiny of new module and programme proposals;
- scrutiny of assessment actually set in a module;
- verbal or written feedback at the time of Module Boards and Degree Classification Boards, where appropriate;
- written end-of-session report, which is required by the University before the fee is paid.
As regards module and programme proposals, where an External Examiner makes suggestions for substantive change in proposals, a written response should be sent by the appropriate School officer to indicate the School's response to the suggestions made, with a view to reaching an agreed position. Exchanges of messages should be retained as evidence.
As regards feedback at Module Boards, it is essential that, at the conclusion of each diet of Module Board meetings, time be allocated for the External Examiner(s) to offer feedback on the outcomes and procedures involved and on wider issues of quality assurance and enhancement encompassing programmes as a whole. If External Examiners are present at Degree Classification Boards, this may provide another opportunity for such feedback. This feedback must be minuted by an Examinations Officer or other nominee, and a copy sent to the External Examiner(s) subsequently, for the record. Where matters are raised by an External Examiner for consideration or action by the School or the University, a written response must be sent by an appropriate School officer to the External within the time specified in the documents referred to below, and kept on file for the purposes of monitoring and review. Where University procedures are involved, the minute and any correspondence must be copied to the relevant Dean.
3.1.1.11 Security of the assessment process
The Head of School is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the School has processes in place to protect the security of examination questions and of assessment results prior to reporting to Registry. In particular:-
All Assessments: Marking of assessed work should be carried out in an appropriately private environment. Assessment results must be logged centrally in the School as soon as the marks are assigned (not solely at the end of the semester). Heads of School, in conjunction with their Head Secretary or School Administrator, must ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to guarantee the secure storage of assessment papers and results, to which records the Head of School must have access at any time.
Coursework Retention: Only samples of coursework (appropriate to the discipline) need to be kept for a period of two years (for the purposes of internal monitoring reviews).
Examinations: Setting: At the time of setting, modifying and obtaining External approval for examination questions, secure processes must be employed both in electronic and hard-copy communications.
Examinations: Storage: Heads of School, in conjunction with their Head Secretary or School Administrator, must ensure that there are appropriate measures in place to guarantee the secure storage of examination papers, to which documents the Head of School must have access at any time.
Examinations: Transport: Heads of School shall ensure there is safe and secure transport of examination papers when they are in the care of the School.
Examinations: Retention of Marked Scripts: Marked examination scripts should be retained in a secure location for one year following the reporting of the results for sub-honours modules and for one year following the year of graduation for all modules leading to the classification of a degree award.
Retention of Evidence of Academic Misconduct: Coursework or examinations that have been the subject of a case of proven academic misconduct (either minor or major in terms of the Academic Misconduct Policy) must be kept for a period of two years from the date of the Module Board(s) that awarded a grade for the relevant module(s).
3.1.1.12 Incomplete assessment results
When there is an incomplete set of assessment results for cohorts of students as a result of a significant disruption of the assessment process, the University’s policy is that the outstanding module assessments must be completed and marked before module grades can be assigned. This is required in order to preserve the integrity and quality of the grades that the University awards.
Similarly, the University’s policy is that all module grades must be duly reported before a qualification or degree classification can be assigned. The University will not award qualifications or assign degree classifications on the basis of partial or incomplete results.
If necessary, where a full set of results is not available for a student due to no fault of the student, a lesser qualification may be awarded on a temporary or permanent basis on condition that the full requirements of the lesser qualification have been satisfied.
In particular circumstances where there are incomplete sets of assessments results for a cohort of students as a result of a significant disruption of the assessment process, the University may waive normal requirements for progression within a programme. Such decisions require the approval of the relevant Dean.
In circumstances where student results are incomplete or delayed due to no fault of the student, the Head of School must ensure that the School can and will provide timely supporting references and documentation about work completed upon request.
Information on how to deal with incomplete Assessment Results as a result of student absence see Policy on Student Absence.
3.1.1.13 Role of External Examiners in taught postgraduate programmes
The duties of the External Examiner in relation to taught postgraduate programmes are similar in principle to those in undergraduate programmes, and some External Examiners may operate in both areas. Taught postgraduate module results must normally be reported on the same deadline and in the same way as undergraduate module results. For a definition of specific duties regarding dissertations, see Policy for Supervisors and Students in Taught Postgraduate Programmes.