These professional development programmes are a collaboration between college staff and the Academic Development & Inclusion (ADI) Team.
Becoming an EE, what does it involve?
External experts are individuals who are not directly involved with a course and who can provide independent and impartial comment and input to a course design, its management, monitoring, evaluation and review as part of a course/programme validation process.
External Examiners are critical in assuring the academic standards of university awards. They ensure that the academic standards set for an award are appropriate for the qualification, the academic standards of student performance are comparable with similar programmes and subjects in other UK institutions with which they are familiar.
They also ensure that the processes for assessment, examination and the determination of awards have been conducted fairly, inline with the University's regulations, policies and procedures.
For more information on what might be involved in being an External Examiner at a UK University, visit the Academic Quality and Standards (AQS) External Examining SharePoint page.
External Examining Programmes
Hallam's Introductory workshop on External Examining
ADI host a 2.5 hour introductory workshop that explores the steps involved in securing an EE role and an outline of the role requirements. The materials used are available to Hallam staff. The workshop is co-delivered by college staff who are experienced EEs and who provide their perspective on the role.
If you and your school/institute would like to have a bespoke sessions, please contact the ADI Team.
Have a read through the feedback comments from colleagues who have attended this workshop.
Advance HE: External Examining Development Programme
The 'Personal Development for External Examiners' course aims to contribute to the maintenance of degree standards and their reasonable comparability across the UK higher education systems by providing training for external examiners. This is the only training course for external examiners in the UK. It has been developed in collaboration with a range of HE providers.
For more information, visit the Advance HE: External Examiners website.
Updating your EE status
You should discuss with your line manager to let them know you are intending to apply for an EE role. being an EE is an important means of ensuring academic standards across the sector and provides valuable insights into academic practices at other institutions.
Why are we asking you to record this information?
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) requires universities to keep a record of academic staff undertaking examining roles at other institutions. This information will also enable us to target professional development opportunities to support you in your role.
You should also let your line manager know when you have secured an appointment and then record your external examiner role on Core Portal as follows:
- Click on 'My Profile' (your photo).
- Select 'Other Information' on the drop-down list, followed by 'External Examiners of Courses'.
- Click on the blue 'ADD' button on the top right-hand corner to update the institution, subject area, tenure and course type for your external examiner role. (Please note that for non-UK institutions, select 'Other' - not listed/not known' from the External Institution drop down list).
It's simple to do and should only take a couple of minutes. You only need to record details of taught courses where you are an external examiner.
Last updated: 3rd July 2025 NB
