Role of Students:
Student
Role of Key Staff members:
EE Coordinator/DP Coordinator
Individual Supervisor
Ideally, you should carry out the research for the essay solely under the direction of a school supervisor and within the school. However, in circumstances where the school deems it appropriate, you may undertake your research at an institute or university under the guidance of an external mentor. This must be with the prior agreement of the EE Coordinator/DP Coordinator, and the external mentor must be provided with a letter issued by the Pre-U Office outlining the nature of the EE and clear instructions about the level of guidance that is permitted. The IB Diploma Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that these external mentors are aware of the limits of their role in providing this service.
It is important to note that if this is the case, you must be allocated a supervisor within the school and undertake your reflection sessions with this person. Only a supervisor within the school is permitted to complete the reflection process for the EE with the student and provide both signature and comments on the Planning and Progress Form (RPPF). The nature of these comments may be informed by the external mentor but must not be provided by them.
The letter, which must be electronically signed by the external mentor, must be inserted in the appendix of the essay as part of the document file rather than as a separate document. If a student has had an external mentor, this signed letter is an important part of the authentication of the essay.
As the EE is an independent task and a formal assessment component, you must not receive assistance with any aspect of the research, writing or proofreading of the EE beyond that which is permitted through your Supervisor. If a Supervisor suspects that the EE submitted for assessment by a student could not have been completed without assistance they are required to bring this to the attention of the Diploma Programme/EE Coordinator, who in turn must inform the IB. This may then be investigated as a possible case of academic misconduct.
If you are writing your EE in a Language A or B where there is no member of staff who can communicate in that language, we will work together to identify an external mentor. They are able to comment on one full draft and conduct the reflection sessions as per the usual rules for a Supervisor. Once completed these need to be uploaded and have authenticity attested to by an internal member of staff, who should be working with the external Supervisor. As the reflections need to be conducted in the language of registration, then the external mentor in this situation would also need to be responsible for the comments on the RPPF after the candidate has entered theirs.
Further guidance will be given to any students who are considering this as a viable option for their EE.