The University of Nottingham, in collaboration with Advance HE have engaged in a national endeavour to provide professional development for external examiners. The professional development course (PDC) was developed by Advance HE in partnership with Office for Students as part of the degree standards project on external examining.

The aim of the course is to enable aspiring, new or experienced examiners to:

• Understand the role of the external examiner as articulated in the UK Quality Code for Higher education and be confident to undertake it.
• Develop a deeper understanding of the nature of academic standards and professional judgement, and explore the implications for external examining.
• Use evidence informed approaches to contribute to impartial, transparent judgements on academic standards and the enhancement of student learning.

Course Details

The course is comprised of two parts:

• Part One: Online activities and reading, which normally take 3-5 hours to complete (Advance HE’s Virtual Learning Environment)
• Part Two: Two synchronous webinars over two half-day (via Teams)

On completion of the two sessions, you will be added to the Advance HE’s list of those who have completed the external examiner professional development course.