According to a union, university employers are downplaying the impact of a boycott of grades on students.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents 144 institutions, has released a survey that suggests most students’ degrees are unaffected.
According to the University and College Union (UCU), the survey covers less than half of the affected universities.
The boycott is part of a longstanding dispute over wages and working conditions.
Some students graduated without final grades, while others experienced delays in graduating.
Jess Wilson, 23, graduated from the University of Glasgow on Wednesday but has yet to receive a final grade.
She has a conditional offer to start her Masters in Global Health in September but needs to show she’s scored at least 2-1 to confirm her place: “This is my future – my overall plan for what I do.” want to do.” “The future of life rests on this degree,” said the sociology student.
Ms Wilson, who is from near Edinburgh, told the BBC there had been a “catastrophic” lack of communication from the university: “I’m heartbroken but I’m also so, so angry that the university has come this far left.” .”
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The university says on its website that it is “doing everything in our power to minimize the impact on students” and apologizes for any concerns and worries students may have.
A spokesman added: “We are committed that no student will be prevented from graduating or continuing as a result of industrial action.”
Ms Wilson said the boycott came at the end of “a rather soul-wracking and frankly lackluster four years at the university” punctuated by industrial action and online learning during the pandemic.
The employer in the dispute, the UCEA, conducted its survey on Thursday. 70 of the 144 institutions it represents responded to a question about the impact of the grading and evaluation boycott on degrees.
Of those 70:
- 50 stated that less than 2% of the students could not graduate because of the grade boycott
- Three said 2-9% would not graduate
- One said 25-49% would not graduate
- One said more than 50% would not graduate
- 14 were unsure of the impact
- One said it was not affected at all by the boycott
UCEA chief Raj Jethwa told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the results of the survey showed the “majority of students” are not about to graduate without their final grades: “Obviously that’s no consolation when you have one is one of the few students affected.” way, and we are fully aware of it.
Jenny Sherrard, the head of UCU’s policy department, accused the UCEA of “trying to downplay the effects of the boycott”.
Union general secretary Jo Grady added that those numbers represented less than half of the universities affected by the industrial action and that so far more than 5,000 students have been told their degrees have been affected.
- How are students affected by the university grade boycott?
In addition to the tagging boycott, UCU members are striking at more than 20 universities because they say members are being paid cuts for participating in the boycott despite carrying out their normal duties.
dr Chloe Wallace, associate law professor and president of the UCU branch, said Leeds University had threatened to withhold her entire salary for weeks because she refused to do two days of proofreading work.
“Years of poor working conditions, low workloads and insecure contracts mean we cannot provide students with the education they deserve,” added Dr. Wallace added.
Leeds University declined to comment.
Despite rumors of stagnant wages and working conditions, UCEA has recommended that universities implement a 5% to 8% pay increase backdated to February for 2023-2024.
The UCU says the wage increase is still not an acceptable offer and is not in line with inflation.
UCEA has said it is “fully committed” to working with the union to resolve the dispute, but that further industrial action – such as the tagging boycott – could jeopardize negotiations.
More strike dates are expected to be announced as UCU members voted for more action.
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