External Examiner Access, Support & Security

From the 17th of September 2024, changes to External Examiner (EE) accounts were applied to enhance External Examiner access to University of Derby (UoD) systems. Our standard process for UoD External Examiner accounts includes the use of an assigned UoD mailbox (mentXXXX@derby.ac.uk)

The UoD mailbox is to be the main point of communication. Your Ment Number is provided by the University of Derby EE Team and is detailed within your initial appointment letter/ email. If you are unsure of your Ment Number, please contact externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk

The UoD mailbox should be accessed regularly by EEs to ensure important information is not missed. UoD policy means that auto-forwarding to other accounts is not permitted.

The same MENT Number and associated password is used to sign into UoD systems such as BlackBoard Ultra and the Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Platform (QMEP). All automated notifications from UoD systems will be sent to this UoD mailbox.

External Examiner access is monitored by the EE team, and any issues are being addressed so that all External Examiners are supported. Please email us at externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk if you having difficulties with your UoD set up and email.

Clear guidance on how to set up the accounts along with an FAQs document is shared with EEs at the start of tenure. Additionally, the EE team offer Teams meetings to support and guide External Examiners with their account set up. A positive working relationship is established with the IT Service desk to deal with any tickets raised by the External Examiners quickly and effectively.

External Examiner MENT Account Guidance

How to set your password

Browse to https://passwordreset.microsoftonline.com/
Enter your username and the captcha (your username can be found on your UoD External Examiner Appointment email and will be in the format of MENT****)
Choose ‘I’ve forgotten my password’
Click email, which should then send you a code to your email address
Enter this in the portal and then set your new password. You should also get prompted at this point to configure Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).
Set up your Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

Please read the following guide carefully before commencing the setup of MFA. We recommend viewing the guide on a PC/laptop: Multi-Factor Authentication guide: https://itservicecentre.derby.ac.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360016964839

Select the relevant option for your verification codes and follow the steps in the guide
Please complete click Done/Finish when the above has been done
Managing Security Details - https://itservicecentre.derby.ac.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360021027839-Manage-Your-Security-Details-for-Multi-Factor-Authentication-MFA-Student-Guide-
EMERGENCY ACCESS VIA BACK UP DEVICE – REQUIRED. Add another method to allow you to keep access to your account in the event of a change of device, loss or damage: EG: Authenticator app or text codes on another device. We are unable to continually reset your security on your account
Please do not remove the app or change your device without having a backup option set - this will break access to your account

Logging into your University of Derby (UoD) MENT account

The following link will enable you to login to your account, https://www.office.com/

Select 'Sign in'
Then select ‘Work or school account’.
Please use your Ment email address ment****@derby.ac.uk, with the password you have created for your UoD account.
Once logged in you will be able to access the Outlook App from the App Launcher, this is the nine dots on the top left-hand side of the screen.

Accessing Microsoft Teams for the University of Derby (UoD) account

In your Microsoft Teams app, if you have one click your account name in the top right-hand corner

Choose ‘add another account’
Click ‘Create or use another account’
Sign in with your UoD account
You can also access teams via a web browser
If it is visible launch the app and confirm access

Keeping our Digital World Safe

During 2026 the University of Derby has introduced new security standards for anyone who accesses University systems, including our External Examiners. These changes aren’t just about meeting regulatory or contractual expectations — they’re about keeping our community, our data and the people we work with safe from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

To keep systems secure, we need our External Examiners to ensure that any device used to access University information is fully supported, kept up to date and correctly configured. This includes running supported operating systems, applying updates promptly, enabling automatic updates wherever possible and ensuring devices have encryption, firewalls and anti-malware in place. As per guidance from Digital Solutions and Services, devices that fall out of support will pose a threat and the use of these devices needs to be reconsidered.

These improvements support much more than the University's security. They also benefit individuals in their personal lives. A device that is regularly updated is far less likely to be infected with malware, have passwords stolen or be compromised through phishing scams.

We know these changes may require some adjustment. Cyber security, however, is now an essential part of how every organisation stays operational. By raising our standards, we’re protecting research, finances, confidential documents and the wider community who rely on us.

If you have questions about the new requirements or how they might apply to you, please contact externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk.

Please also review the following link, providing helpful information:

https://itservicecentre.derby.ac.uk/hc/en-us/articles/32508047044754-Keeping-Partner-Devices-Secure-and-Up-to-Date

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can I contact for further support with my password and MFA

Our IT department will be able to assist you with this.

You can contact IT in the following ways:

Through the online chat (you do not need to be logged in to use/access this) https://itservicecentre.derby.ac.uk/hc/en-us
By raising a support request Submit a request – IT Services - University of Derby
You can also contact the Centre for Quality Assurance, External Examiner team on externalexaminers@derby.ac.uk who can liaise with you on the difficulties you are having and contact the IT department on your behalf.

Opening Hours (IT Service Centre): Mon-Fri 08:30 - 16:30
Opening Hours (Chat): Mon-Fri 08:30 - 17:00

How can I re-set my password myself?

If you needed to re-set your password, you can do this by following the below steps:

Please go to https://password.derby.ac.uk
Enter your MENT email address, MENTxxxx@derby.ac.uk. Enter the characters in the picture; click Next.
Ensure that I've forgotten my password is selected and click Next;
Choose your preferred communication method so a code can be sent for verification.
Retrieve the verification code from either your Authenticator app, text, or phone call and enter this into the text box on screen.
Enter a new password. This should be unique to your University account. The password should be 12 characters minimum (for example based on three random words) and include a combination of any 3 of the following - Lowercase letters, uppercase letters, Numbers, Special characters.

The password must not contain:

Your name
Your username
A password you have previously used in the system

How can I add another Outlook Mailbox to my existing Outlook Account?

New Outlook

To add another Outlook Mailbox to your main account through New Outlook, please follow the below steps. This will enable you to switch between accounts within Outlook and receive notifications from your University of Derby mailbox.

On the View tab, select View settings
Select Accounts > Email accounts. You can now add a new account
Under Email accounts, select Add Account, and select a suggested account from the dropdown menu or enter a different email address. Click Continue
If prompted, enter your password for the account and select Done

Note: Some non-Microsoft email providers, like Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud, require you to change some settings on their websites before you can add these accounts to Outlook.

Standard Outlook

To add another Outlook Mailbox to your main account through Standard Outlook, please follow the below steps. This will enable you to switch between accounts within Outlook and receive notifications from your University of Derby mailbox.

Open Outlook and select File > Add Account
Enter your email address and select Connect
If prompted, enter your password for the email address you are adding and select ok, and Finish to start using Outlook. You may need to close Outlook and open again for the mailbox to show.
The mailbox should appear on the left-hand side, underneath your main account’s mailbox.

How can I ensure accessing my UoD MENT email account will not interfere with my institution/work account/systems?

Some External Examiners have their work office 365 account that they may be automatically logged into.

Many institutions use Microsoft for authentication, this can cause conflicts in browsers if you have multiple Microsoft accounts being used in the same browser.

When accessing UoD services via a web browser, we would highly advise you either use a private browser session or create a profile within the browser.

Please see the below link to our guidance on using a private internet browser, to enable you to log into your University of Derby account without picking up your institution / place of work account.

How to open a private internet browser window – IT Services - University of Derby

If you create a UoD profile within the browser, and authenticate to UoD services using your Derby account, conflicts with other accounts should not occur because those sessions will be in different profiles. Just remember not to sign into a service with a different account in that profile.

Please see further guidance below on profiles in addition to the private browsers. These are Chrome specific, but the process is similar for other browsers.

Manage Chrome with multiple profiles - Computer - Google Chrome Help

Please see the below guidance if you are not using a private browser or creating a profile.

The following link will provide guidance on switching between your UoD account and institution / place of work account: Signing into another account in Microsoft 365 – IT Services - University of Derby.

Can I set automatic forwarding from my UoD Ment account to my institutional/place of work or personal email account?

Unfortunately, University policy is that the automatic forwarding of emails to another account is not permitted. Therefore, if auto forwarding is set up the emails will not be delivered to the account you have forwarded to or to your UoD mailbox.

We would recommend accessing the University of Derby mailbox regularly to ensure key notifications and messages are received. Your Ment account can be added to an existing Outlook email account, this will mean you will be able to switch between accounts within Outlook and receive notifications from your University of Derby mailbox.

How can I reduce the number of emails/notifications received from Blackboard Ultra?

There may be an increase in the level of notifications an External Examiner may receive from the Blackboard Ultra platform; however, this can differ across the board. Please see the below guidance to support you in managing and reducing these notifications.

You have the option to manage and customise the notifications you receive from activity in all modules and programmes you are attached to. Simply navigate to your proﬁle on the left-hand side and access the notiﬁcation settings to make adjustments. From there, you can tailor the notiﬁcations for your activity stream, email, and the app according to your preferences.