External Examiners
Guidance for External Examiners when navigating EERS
Annual external examiner reports provide invaluable independent feedback to the University at programme and course level, and sometimes also at the institutional level.
How do I receive a report to complete online?
When a report has been allocated to an External Examiner, they will receive an e-mail notification containing a link to the External Examiner Reporting System (EERS). Everything you need to complete and submit the report can be found on the EERS homepage.
An alternative way to access EERS is through the MyEd portal.
How do I view reports submitted in previous years?
You can view reports submitted in previous years on the EERS homepage. Historical reports can be found in the ‘Previous Reports’ table and can be viewed by clicking on the report’s name in the ‘Report Reference’ column. This will display the report, along with your report findings and the Academic Response Coordinator’s comments.
The report is displayed in a summative format, showing only the questions that you added a comment for, but can be displayed in full by clicking ‘view the original report’ at the bottom of the ‘Report Summary’ box.
How do I complete a report?
External Examiners will receive an e-mail containing a link that will take them to the External Examiners Reporting System (EERS).
Reports you have been asked to complete will be displayed in the ‘Active Reports’ table. You can click on the report’s name in the ‘Report Reference’ column to access the report. This page contains the ‘Report Summary’, ‘Report Coverage’, and ‘Key People’ tables.
The report findings are entered into the ‘Report Summary’ in answer to a series of questions. These can be answered ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘N/A’ (if the question is not a mandatory one). If choosing ‘No’, you will be asked to provide the reason behind this choice. Once you have chosen your answer, you will have the option to add a ‘Commendation’ or a ‘Suggestion’. At the end of each section is a ‘Save Progress’ button which will allow you to leave the report and return to it at a later date.
Once you are happy with your answers, you can click the ‘Submit Report’ button at the bottom of the page. If you have answered all of the questions, the submission will be confirmed; if there are questions outstanding, they will be highlighted above the ‘Submit Report’ button and flagged within their respective sections of the report.
If there are no outstanding questions remaining when you click ‘Submit Report’ then a confirmation screen will be displayed. You can now view the report’s status on the EERS homepage.
What happens on submission of a report?
If a report is submitted successfully, a ‘Thank you’ screen will display in confirmation. The Academic Response Coordinator will then receive an e-mail notification which will allow them to view your report. The Payment Administrator will also receive a notification and can arrange the payment for your submission.
You can view the report status and any responses made by the Academic Response Coordinator by clicking on the ‘Report Reference’ on the EERS homepage.
How do I search for reports?
External Examiners can search for a report from any screen within EERS by using the yellow ‘Search’ field in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Please note that only reports which have been completed and submitted will be shown in the results. The ‘Search’ field allows for basic searches to be performed using the ‘Report Reference’. To search, type, or copy and paste, the title of the ‘Report Reference’. This list is dynamic and will suggest results as you begin to type.
Each report has the following naming convention:
[College]_[School]_[Academic_Year]_[Entry_Scheme]_[External_Examiner]
E.g: HSS_HCA_2018/9_UG_Smith
If you are having difficulty finding the report you need, you can try using the ‘Advanced Search’ function via the link directly below the ‘Search’ field. This will display a search screen on which you can return results without knowing the ‘Report Reference’; simply choose the relevant School, Academic Year, and Scheme, then click ‘Search’. If known, you can also choose the External Examiner and Academic Response Coordinator to further refine your results.
How do I print a report?
EERS does not have its own print facility, but a report can be printed using the options available to you through your internet browser.
Open the report that you wish to print by opening the EERS homepage and clicking on the relevant ‘Report Reference’. This will display the ‘Report Summary’. You can now use your browser’s print functionality to print the report; for example, by right-clicking on the report and selecting ‘Print’ from the menu, or pressing Ctrl+P on your keyboard. This should open a print dialogue from which you can preview your printed report and proceed to print.