External Examining – Pre-Board Tasks

The Board of Examiners Data Hub task on Portico has been rolled over to the 2024-25 Academic Year (AY). There are four tasks that Board teams will need to complete by 30 May 2025 for both Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) Boards. 

All tasks can be completed on Portico ‘Award, Assessments and Achievements’ tab - ‘Board of Examiners’ container - using the ‘Board of Examiners Data Hub’ task and may be completed by any members of staff listed as Board staff.

Tasks:

1. Check the appointment status of External Examiners
   who are active for the 2024-25 AY and are expected to participate in the Board of Examiners meeting should now be showing as ‘Current Appointed’. 
   
   Refer to Resources for Faculty and  Board Teams for guidance on how to run a ‘External Examiner process report’ showing External Examiners’ tenure start and end dates.
   
   NB: Let us know as soon as possible if your Board is not running this year or there are any changes to the External Examiner's term.
2. Check all modules are attached to the right Boards and assign them to the relevant External Examiners (this is vital to calculate the fee payments for External Examiners).
   
   Refer to Resources for Faculty and  Board Teams for guidance on how to assign modules in Portico. Please ensure the correct module is assigned to the External Examiner, paying close attention to the Period and Occurrence columns.
   
   If a module is not appearing on the Board, please contact the Curriculum Information Management team (formerly Student Lifecycle):  curriculuminformation@ucl.ac.uk with the details of the Board of Examiners and module/s.
   
   NB: Modules can be reviewed by multiple External Examiners only if the modules and External Examiners are allocated to the same Exam Board. A single module delivery can only be allocated to one Board. If you have a module which needs to be reviewed by multiple Boards, please contact us before the Board meeting.
3. Populate Board Meeting Dates in Portico - enter the final BoE meeting date on Portico together with all other relevant BoE dates.
   Refer to Resources for Faculty and  Board Teams for guidance on how to enter BoE dates on Portico.
   
   NB: The final BoE meeting date triggers the request for External Examiners to submit their annual report. It is important Board teams enter accurate information in advance of the Board meeting.
4. Check staff are assigned to Board Roles - ensure you have the correct staff appointed as Chair, Deputy Chair, Board Admin 1 and Board Admin Board 2. Every Board requires all four positions to be filled with different named individuals (Chair, Deputy Chair, Admin 1, Admin 2). Board Role assignments can be updated via the Board of Examiners including Board Chairs and Deputy Chairs.

Please refer to Resources for Faculty and  Board Teams for guidance on how Board teams, Faculty colleagues can assign staff to Board Roles.
NB: Once changed on Portico, please submit a request to ISD to grant access to the Board of Examiners container on Portico for updated Board members.

If you are having difficulty completing the pre-board tasks, please review the Resources for Faculty and  Board Teams for further guidance (screen shots included) in the first instance.

Contact details for further information: 

• General queries should be routed through the relevant Faculty Education Teams.
• Contact the Curriculum Information Management team (formerly Student Lifecycle): curriculuminformation@ucl.ac.uk with the details of modules not appearing on correct Exam Boards.
• Contact externalexaminers@ucl.ac.uk for queries relating to changes to the External Examiners appointment or period of tenure or changes to the status of the Exam Board.