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External Examiner Policy

Eileen Long
Eileen Long
  • Updated

1.   Purpose

This External Examiner Policy outlines the NCI approach to the selection, appointment, induction, responsibilities, reporting and review of external examiners for all validated programmes. It recognises external examining as an essential quality control mechanism for NCI to support public confidence in the integrity of assessment practices and decisions within NCI. The Policy is benchmarked against QQI Assessment and Standards Guidelines, Revised 2022 and the QQI Effective Practice Guidelines for External Examining (2015).

 

2.   Scope and Definition

This policy spans the appointment of external examiners for all validated undergraduate, postgraduate programmes delivered on campus, online, and in hybrid formats. This policy should be read in conjunction with the NCI External Examiner Procedure which outlines how the institution delivers this policy consistently across NCI programmes.

An external examiner is an independent expert who is a member of the broader community of practice within the programme’s field of learning and whose accomplishments attest to their likelihood of having the authority necessary to fulfil the responsibilities of the role. External examiners are usually drawn from the higher education community. They can be drawn from other communities of practice provided they have the necessary competences or acquire them prior to engagement.

3.   Principles

External examiners at NCI:

  • Provide independent, expert oversight of our assessments, learning outcomes and academic standards.
  • Provide benchmarks against national and European standards.
  • Enhance fairness, equity, consistency and integrity in assessment processes.
  • Ensure constructive external feedback informs decisions made throughout NCI’s programme lifecycle management process.

4.   Policy Statements

External Examiners will:

  • Be appointed to each validated programme.
  • Enhance the alignment of programme and module learning outcomes with national standards and European benchmarks.
  • Review the appropriateness of the programme assessment strategy, assessment procedures and subsidiary module assessment strategies.
  • Agree the marking schemes and model answers where applicable with Faculty/AF, before the examination papers/assessments are finalised.
  • Determine whether the applied procedures for assessment are valid, reliable, fair and consistent.
  • Attend at least one meeting each academic year of the QQI Exam Boards.
  • Produce an External Examiner Annual Report for consideration and action at a programme, school and institutional level.

 

5.   Procedures

External Examiners are appointed for a three-year term of office through a structured process overseen by the Registrar. A summary of external examiners will be prepared and considered annually by Academic Council and its sub-committees as outlined in the External Examiner Procedures Document to continuously improve College assessment practices:


 

 

6. Roles and Responsibilities

Role Responsibilities
Registrar
  • Overall responsibility for ensuring external examiner roles and responsibilities are benchmarked against NCI, QQI and ESG guidelines and requirements.
  • Ensuring an annual analysis of external examiner appointments, feedback and recommendations is provided to Academic Council

via the Academic Programmes and Quality Committee.
Head of Assessment and Examinations
  • Providing guidance to Programme Directors, Vice-Deans and Deans on the NCI processes for the nomination, selection, appointment, training, deployment and payment of examiners.
  • Ensuring external examiners are recruited, trained and receive all relevant documentation in a timely manner.
  • Ensuring payments are made to external examiners following completion of their roles and responsibilities.
Deans/Vice- Deans
  • Ensuring external examiners are appointed to all programmes within the School.
  • Approving all nominations for external examiner vacancies.
  • Ensuing all programmes directors have utilised external examiners in accordance with NCI’s procedures.
  • Reviewing reports and recommendations from external examiners when reviewing programme and school assessment strategies.
  • Ensuring all internal marking is completed in a timely manner to enable samples to be provided to External Examiners.
Programme Directors
  • Nominating suitably qualified external examiners.
  • Ensuring all external examiner feedback is considered and where appropriate responded to in annual and cyclical programme monitoring, review and revalidation processes.
Programme Coordinators
  • Providing ongoing support to external examiners and faculty/AF.
  • Collection of all assessment and exam papers requiring external examination and ensure that external examiners have access to the collection of all assessed work stored within the single source

of truth.
Assessment & Examinations Team
  • Managing the appointment, induction, training, reporting and exam board participation activities of external examiners.
  • Ensuring all external examiners have access to a ‘single source of truth’ of assessments, sample papers, template and guidelines.
External Examiners
  • Reviewing draft examination papers, marking schemes, rubrics, and significant assessments (such as dissertations).
  • Reviewing a sample of learner work across grade bands.
  • Confirming fairness, validity and reliability of assessments.
  • Confirming that student results correspond to actual performance.
  • Informing NCI of any potential or actual conflicts of interest which may compromise their role. 

 

Version Control

Reference Code TCH-POL-008-PUB Executive Owner Registrar
Policy/Procedure Manager Head of Assessment and Examinations Approval Body Academic Council
Date Approved December 2025 Effective Date 01/09/2026
Date of Next Review December 2028 Version Number V1

Change Log: 

Policy developed using legacy QAES provisions relating to External Examiners, with restructuring to establish a standalone institutional policy governing the appointment, independence, tenure, role, participation in Examination Boards, and reporting obligations of External Examiners. Content is aligned with current academic governance structures and QQI requirements for externality and standards assurance.

Chapter 4 – Assessment (2018) superseded in part, as follows:

  • Section 4.4.1 – External Examiners

Replaced in full by a standalone External Examiner Policy. Core principles relating to independence, oversight of standards, review of assessment instruments, participation in Examination Boards, and submission of annual reports are retained and formalised under a distinct governance framework.

  • Sections 4.10.5 and 4.10.6 – External Moderation

Policy-level requirements for external oversight of assessment standards are consolidated under a single institutional framework. Operational moderation processes are formalised separately in the External Examiner Procedure.

 

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