Internal Examiner Consultation

Why are we looking at Internal Examining?

• New Teaching Concordat
• Over-recruitment of students in 2020
• Reducing Workloads initiative includes minimising amount of time departments spend on Exam Boards, Sub Boards etc.
• Ensuring that Postgraduate Teaching Assistants are treated fairly
• New UCL Personal Relationships policy
• Recent standardisation of assessment regulations
• New digital assessment platforms

What are we looking at?

• Who can act as an Internal or Assistant Internal Examiner? How does this vary across disciplines?
• How should we involve staff who are not on ‘academic’ or ‘teaching’ contracts e.g. researchers, clinicians, lab technicians, honorary staff, NHS clinicians?
• How important is it that an examiner is (regularly?) involved in teaching on the programme?
• What criteria are needed for ‘emergency’ appointments, e.g. if a programme has over-recruited?
• What training and experience do examiners need?
• How do examining teams calibrate their understanding of the assessment criteria, both internally and against national standards?
• Should newly-appointed examiners have a mentor?
• Do we need to reconsider the role of Exam Boards and/ or Internal Examiners in light of recent changes to the assessment regulations which reduce the need for extensive deliberations?
• Do all Internal Examiners need to attend the Exam Board?
• Should UCL introduce a third category of ‘Senior Internal Examiners’ who are responsible for managing the assessment process and who are the ones to attend the Exam Board?
• Should UCL introduce ‘Module Boards’ for markers to moderate and agree component and module marks, and ‘Award Boards’ with a more limited membership which oversee progression, award and classification decisions?
• Appointments currently have to be approved by the Faculty Board of Examiners - is this necessary? If not, what would you recommend instead?
• Examiners currently need to be reappointed annually - is this necessary? If not, what would you recommend instead?
• How else could the appointment process be made less onerous?
• The current rules on conflicts of interest are quite detailed. How could these be simplified?

An online feedback form has been set up: UCL Internal Examiner Consultation

You can respond as an individual or group – e.g. you might collate a response from your Board of Examiners, Departmental Teaching Committee, Faculty Board of Examiners or any other group with a particular interest in internal examining.

The consultation will run from 2 November 2020 to 1 February 2021 to give committees time to meet.

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact us via academicregulations@ucl.ac.uk