An email has been issued this afternoon to all taught students regarding ongoing industrial action at the University. You can read the content of this email here:
To: All taught students
From: The University’s Senior Leadership Team
Subject: Industrial action marking boycott
Dear Students,
From Friday, 18 June, members of the University and College Union (UCU) are being asked to participate in a marking and assessment boycott as part of ongoing industrial action. We are writing to you today to offer some reassurance and dispel some of the myths which are circulating about how marking and assessment will be managed.
Marking boycott
Firstly, we want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact of the ongoing industrial action on your studies, particularly those of you who are waiting for your 2020/21 results and those of you expecting to graduate this summer.
Colleagues undertaking the marking boycott from Friday, 18 June have been asked to make assessment and marking their top priority in the period before the boycott begins, in order to support you through the assessment period and enable you either to complete your studies or progress to your next academic year.
Students will receive available results in line with published deadlines. For the majority of students this will be on Monday, 5 July. For more information please visit our results webpages.
We will communicate detailed information about accessing your results and how you will progress and/or graduate ahead of the main results release day on Monday, 5 July. Please keep an eye on your university email account for this information.
The value of your degree
We are aware of some confusion circulating about how missing credits as a result of the marking boycott may affect the value of your degree.
It is important that we address these inaccuracies today to avoid the unnecessary stress and upset which is being seeded in our community. We are absolutely confident in the value of our degrees and have provided solutions which balance the importance of your progression, graduation, further study or job opportunities with the essential integrity of your degree.
The ability to award your degree is a privilege to all of us at the University. It is a mark of your commitment, dedication to learning and above all, your hard work. There are no circumstances in which we would risk the integrity and value of that award, and our decision making over the last 18 months has had that point at the forefront throughout.
Contrary to what you may have read, there will be External Examiner scrutiny of all Board of Examiners decisions and you will have a final grade which reflects all of the work you have submitted.
We will not be ‘removing’ marks or making undue assumptions about your attainment.
What we will do, is make sure your progression and plans are not hindered by industrial action and we will do this by using a temporary calculation of your weighted average for the year based on the marks that we have available. For example, if you have marks for 90 out of your possible 120 credits for the year, your average for the purposes of progression or graduation will be based on those 90 credits for a short period of time. Any students with missing marks will have their remaining marks entered when they are available and, at that point, your average mark will automatically be recalculated.
If you are a final year student, your classification will not be changed until all marks have been received. At that point, if your classification has increased based on your marks and the criteria set out in the Code of Practice on Assessment you will be awarded the higher classification and will receive a new transcript to reflect that. It is important to note that if your classification has decreased once all marks are received and all modules have been passed, the higher classification will remain in place regardless. This means your classification can only increase.
There will, of course, be a small number of students who may not have enough available credits to accurately consider a weighted average (as a result of missed assessments or other extenuating circumstances, for example) and we will be working closely with those students who are most affected to agree a path which will transition them to the next stage of their learning journey with the least disruption.
We know that many of you, particularly those of you who are due to graduate this summer, will have questions, and we would ask you please to bear with us whilst we compile that very detailed information and make it available to you.
Support
We would like to close this email with a reminder that if you feel you need it, support is always available. Our student support services offer comprehensive advice, support and information on a wide-range of non-academic issues including counselling, mental health, and money, amongst others. The Alsop Building on campus is accessible by appointment. The team are also using Microsoft Teams to run virtual appointments. To book please contact via phone or email between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday or use the Online Booking System.
With best wishes,
The University’s Senior Leadership Team