The external examiner plays an important role in all degree level examinations in higher education in the United Kingdom. The external examiner system was introduced into the UK during the 19th century, and it is therefore also found in countries whose higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 systems were developed on the basis of United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 practice, or strongly influenced by it, after its introduction, including New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is one of the oldest systems of quality control

Quality control

Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...

 within higher education.

It is a requirement for all degree level examinations at British universities, and in countries operating a similar system, that at least one member of the examining board

Examination board

An examination board is an organisation that sets examinations and is responsible for marking them and distributing results. Examination boards have the power to award qualifications, such as SAT scores, to students...

 should be from a university other than the one awarding the degree (and should have no recent affiliation with it). This applies both to undergraduate examinations, where there may be hundreds or even thousands of candidates, and to postgraduate examinations including those for the PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 where a special board is convened for each candidate.

Role

While the role of the external examiner varies with the level of examination, the purpose of the system remains the same: to ensure that standards are kept the same across universities, and to provide an assurance of fair play given that internal examiners might be prejudiced for or against a candidate. In consequence, by convention, and often by regulation, if examiners disagree the view of the external examiner takes precedence.

Undergraduate examinations

In undergraduate examinations, external examiners typically see, and have to approve, draft examination questions before the papers are set; and they will mark the work, or review the marks, of at least a sample of candidates. They are often asked to adjudicate when candidates are on borderlines or when internal examiners have disagreed about a candidate's marks. Externals are expected to make a report both to the department and also to the university authorities; they have wide licence to comment on all aspects of the degree programme, including its staffing and teaching, not just on the examination process. Where viva voce

Viva voce

Viva voce is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice," but most often translated as "by word of mouth."It may also refer to:*Italian for "live voice."*Voice vote in a deliberative assembly...

examinations are still held as part of the final degree assessment, it is common for external examiners to take part in them. Students may have the right to ask for their work to be considered by the external examiner. External examiners are typically appointed for a period of three or four years, and it is common to consult them about changes to the programme that are being introduced during their period of office. In the case of undergraduate examinations in broad disciplines, there are commonly several external examiners with different areas of expertise on a board of examiners.

PhD Examinations

In PhD examinations within the British system, there are normally only two or three examiners, and the external examiner usually takes the lead in questioning the candidate in the viva voce examination which is the key stage of the assessment. In some other countries, e.g. Australia, New Zealand and India, externals commonly send their opinions by post, though there may also be a "local" external examiner who is present at the viva.

Appointees

Whatever the level of examination, it is normal to appoint as externals senior academics of acknowledged expertise - though in the case of PhD exams, expertise takes priority over seniority if the two criteria cannot both be met, as is often the case with highly specialised subjects. An invitation to serve as an external examiner is therefore usually seen as something of an honour, though often an inconvenient one: although a fee is paid to external examiners, it is usually small, and a considerable amount of work is involved, often at the busiest time of the academic year.

While the external examiner in the form described here (and the use of the title "External examiner") is specific to British or British-influenced higher education, the use of examiners from other universities (and often other countries) is widespread in other countries, especially for PhD examinations.