External examining is a key feature of the UK higher education system. This programme has been developed following the Degree Standards project on external examining that ran from 2016 to 2021.
The Institutional Development of External Examiners programme is a sustainable approach for higher education providers to enhance the professional development of external examiners. It is a key part of the Degree Standards provision designed to contribute to the maintenance of degree standards and their reasonable comparability across the UK higher education systems by providing training for external examiners. The Institutional Development of External Examiners trains institutional developers to deliver the Personal Development for External Examiners course.
Once completed participants from the programme are able to facilitate the Personal Development for External Examiners course within their institution.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about the programme, please complete the form by clicking below and we will send you an information sheet with further details. A member of our team will be in touch shortly to discuss your requirements.
Impressive bank of resources, and led by well experienced facilitators who fostered a collegiate atmosphere. Great to meet and share experiences with other academics – the opportunity to continue to network with them is welcome.”
Institutional Development of External Examiners workshop participant in 2020-21
Learning outcomes
Engagement in the developer training will enable participants to demonstrate:
- sound knowledge and understanding of the relevant policy, research and issues in external examining and academic standards
- familiarity with and sufficient commitment to Personal Development for External Examiners course materials and activities to communicate key messages convincingly
- practical command of the process for all modes of delivery of the Personal Development for External Examiners course to enable effective facilitation, e.g course preparation and organisation, accurate presentations, clear task instructions, time management, working with partner facilitator, fostering active engagement of all participants, judicious use of examples from personal experience
- skilful management of the plenary discussions and confident responses to participants’ questions to maintain a focus on, communicate and/or reinforce key messages;
- ability to maintain a focus on external examining
- commitment to critical reflection on personal facilitation, identification of appropriate development needs and collaborative development of the Personal Development for External Examiners course.
Institutional benefits
As a result of committed participants attending the course, the institution will have:
- qualified facilitators who can keep delivering the training to their institution’s staff
- normally two cohorts of staff trained on assisted and observed Personal Development for External Examiners
- the foundation of a community of practice to enhance assessment, with the potential to build further internal and external networks
- the chance for collective reflection on institutional practices of assessment and marking, which have the potential to change institutional practices.
Who should attend?
Typically, new facilitators are experienced academics, educational developers or have senior roles relating to quality assurance or enhancement within an institution. To take part in a Institutional Development of External Examiners programme, a new facilitator will:
- have completed the Personal Development for External Examiners course
- have been nominated by their institution or Advance HE
- be experienced in running development workshops in higher education
- be experienced as an external examiner or in quality assurance and enhancement relevant to external examining
- have sound, up to date, knowledge of assessment in higher education
- have time to carry out the preparatory work and attend the whole of the workshop day, and to have time to run the Personal Development for External Examiners course in the longer-term.
Booking Information
We are pleased to offer a 5% early booking discount on bookings made before 30 September 2026.
Current adopters
48 UK higher education providers have adopted the Personal Development for External Examiners Course to train their own staff to become external examiners. They are:
Hartpury College
King’s College London
Anglia Ruskin University
Liverpool John Moores University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Newcastle College
Sheffield Hallam University
Trinity Laban
University of Gloucestershire
University of Hertfordshire
University of Leicester
University of Salford
University of Brighton
University of Chester
Edge Hill University
University of Bradford
University of Birmingham
University of South Wales
University of the Arts London
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Queen’s University Belfast
University of Bolton
Coventry University
Open University
Wrexham Glyndwr University
University of Reading
City, University of London
University of Portsmouth
University of West London
University of the Creative Arts
University of Lincoln
Newman University
University of Nottingham
London School of Economics and Political Science
Oxford Brookes
University of Liverpool
Cardiff University
University of Sussex
Lancaster University
Plymouth Marjon University
University of West England
Royal Northern College of Music
University of Chichester
University of Northampton
University of Roehampton
Newcastle University
BIMM Institute
University of Winchester
