The importance of quality control

One of the less well-known features of British higher education is the institution of the external examiner. Each university department appoints one or more external examiners- a senior figure from a different university whose job it is to read the work of students in the department (essays, dissertations, examination scripts of undergraduates and graduates) and to confirm that the standard of work and the marks awarded conform to standards elsewhere in other British universities known to the examiner. 'The decision of the external examiner is final' is a sentence familiar to students checking university regulations before they begin their final examinations.

In other words, not only do we have regular visits by representatives from Lancaster University advising us on our running of the MA programmes, but also we are visited by an external examiner from a UK university other than Lancaster. The external examiner is usually appointed for three years only and a new examiner cannot be from the same university as the previous one.

The Centre for Social Studies is proud to be part of this system as an Associated Institution of Lancaster University. The Centre's students, with their particularly varied religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, gain confidence from the knowledge that their final marks are subject to confirmation by someone they will very probably never meet but who has read their work thoroughly and has compared the standards of marking to those elsewhere in the UK.

Of course the external examiner is not the only quality control system to which the MA programmes are subject. The degrees awarded are those of Lancaster University and the programmes are therefore subject to review by the UK's Quality Assurance Association for higher education (more details at http://www.qaa.ac.uk/)

External examiners' reports are not normally public documents, and while it would be unusual to give quotations from them, it is permissible to note that since the Centre opened in 1995 they have consistently confirmed that standards are fully comparable with those at the best UK universities. A recent five-year review of the work of the Centre, which included a visit by senior figures from Lancaster University and Cambridge University, also produced a very favourable report.