External Examiner nominations
When selecting a nominee for appointment as an External Examiner for the College, it must be ensured that the nominee:
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is external to the College
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is an academic member of staff from another UK higher education institution. School Board of Examiners must seek permission from the College Assessment Board to appoint an External Examiner from overseas
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has relevant current experience and expertise in the discipline being examined, including the design and operation of assessment, in order to speak authoritatively on academic standards germane to the discipline and should be familiar with the standards and procedures of university-level education in the United Kingdom
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shall have relevant academic and/or professional qualifications to at least the level of the qualification being externally examined and/or extensive practitioner experience where appropriate
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has not been a lay member of Council, College student, employee of the College in the preceding five years
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has not been involved in the validation or approval of a programme as an external expert or similar in the preceding three years
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does not belong to any institution in which a member of College staff is appointed as an external examiner in the same subject
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does not have any close personal professional or contractual relationship with staff involved in the delivery of the programme nor be involved in any activity that could be considered a conflict of interest
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is not re-appointed within a period of five years following a previous appointment
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does not belong to an institution in which the exiting External Examiner belongs to
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Is eligible to work in the UK* .
*for full criteria please see the Regulations for examinations, A3
Process
Following informal approach and discussion:
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External examiner completes Section A - D of the nomination form
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Programme Board Chair completes Section E of the nomination form.
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School Board Chair authorises the nomination form.
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Nomination form sent to asq@kcl.ac.uk for approval by the Chair of the College Assessment Board and for a check of eligibility to work in the UK.
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Nomination confirmed by Chair of College Assessment Board within one month of authorised nomination and College level induction information supplied.
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Programme Board provides local induction.
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It is recommended that external examiners submit their Financial Details form at this stage to facilitate fee payment.
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External Examiners provides evidence of their eligibility to work in the UK to the Programme Board Chair (on the occasion of their first visit to the College) who takes a copy, signs it and forwards the copied evidence to the Quality and Academic Support Office asq@kcl.ac.uk.
Forms must either be submitted in hard copy or sent from your institutional email address (in the latter instance, the confirmation emails from the external examiner and Programme Board Chair must be attached to the authorisation email from the School Board Chair).
Terms of appointment
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External examiner appointments are normally* made for a period of four years (any extension must be applied for using the extended tenure form at the bottom of the page).
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The appointment will normally commence at the start of the academic year when the term of the previous external examiner comes to an end.
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The College will seek to terminate the appointment if an External Examiner fails to meet the associated duties
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The appointment is subject to three month's notice by either party.
*five years for Part Boards of Examiners in MB BS and BDS.
Extension of tenure
A Board of Examiners may request an extension of an External Examiner's appointment beyond four years in order to meet local requirements. Such a request must be approved by the Chair of the relevant Board of Examiners and submitted through the School for approval by the College Assessment Board.