External Examiners

In the UK Higher Education system, universities are responsible for the academic standards of the awards that they offer and for the quality of the education they provide to enable students to meet those standards.

The role of the External Examiner is an essential part of the University of Hertfordshire’s quality assurance processes. They essentially externally ‘audit’ the programmes that they are appointed to in terms of the attainment of academic standards and the quality of the education.

The University  appoints external examiners mainly from other Universities, but also from industry and/or the professions. They are qualified and experienced in the subject, have an understanding of the academic standards required for the award and are also independent of the University of Hertfordshire.

They are able to provide carefully considered advice on the academic standards of the programmes and/or modules to which they have been appointed and can offer advice on good practice and how to enhance the quality of those programmes and modules. They are also able to offer an informed view of how standards compare with the same or similar awards at other UK Universities of which they have experience.