The University marking boycott: How our students are being impacted - and why we have to help support them.
Universities and the Government are failing thousands of graduates who should be celebrating their achievements but have been left in limbo unsure if, or when, their degrees will be marked.
A-level exams cancelled, no fresher’s week and the first year of university wrecked; as a result of lockdown my son - and his peers – were shut away in tiny rooms, unable to leave their corridors, with no access to campus and suffering the impact of Covid. Hardly any online learning, limited to no socialisation, zero interaction with their course mates, no face to face studies and when lectures did take place, as soon as their tutors put them into break out rooms, cameras and mics were turned off.
And now NOT getting their degree results at the end of their studies. I’m not just talking about my son and his peers here though; I am talking about up to 1 in 3 graduates! We all heard the horrific stories of mental health rising on campus during lockdown - I wrote about it numerous times – and now their wellbeing is being challenged once again.
The social media feeds of universities are littered with comments from desperate students saying that all they want is their exams and coursework marked so that they can progress on to the next stage of their lives. Thousands of students are unable to graduate; job offers have been withdrawn and places on post-graduate courses are in jeopardy. My heart hurts for this year’s graduates, they have been through enough. The higher education system is a mess, the students are shouting about it but their voices are not being heard above the nonsense the government is spouting. Never mind the fact that this unfortunate cohort have paid out well over 9k a year on fees for the privilege!
There has been a bit of media coverage about this university marking scandal BUT it should be making the headlines. For this is the cohort of students that during the pandemic the Government spoke so worryingly about. Much research has since been done and published on how the Covid lockdown affected students in higher education causing the mental health of some to hit an all-time low. Yet too little is being reported currently about the hugely detrimental impact the current marking boycott is having on their mental wellbeing.
Since raising my voice in support of the students, in a bid to help their voices get heard, I have been contacted by media outlets but their programmes are not until two weeks’ time, at the earliest, and the students don’t deserve to wait any longer; their voices need to be heard now. The story is happening NOW, the impact is already being felt. So I’ve taken it upon myself to publish this now.
On the back of yesterday’s statement from the University and College Union - the UK trade union for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers & academic-related staff in further and higher education - that stated “UCEA must step back from their assault on our members or there can be no agreement, and the dispute will be escalated beyond this year”, there is currently no light at the end of the tunnel for these students (or, let us not forget, those that are striking).
My Instagram following had a scattering of students until last week – friends of my older two sons, aged 21 and 22.
Since I started to speak out for students, it has increased suddenly. Messages of thanks are all well and good but it breaks my heart that they are the victims in this debacle and, at the moment, I can’t see how or when they will get out of this predicament.
At the moment, it seems as though Rishi Sunak is only concerned with the content and number of degrees and his Government remains silent on resolving this pressing issue affecting so many young people.
Perhaps it is best summed up in the words of 21-year-old student Luca (below) who this week “graduated” from Leeds University. He told me:
“Without a degree, I was torn as to whether I would attend my ceremony. However, with encouragement from my family, who have supported me throughout my three years at university, I knew I owed them the opportunity to finally see me in a gown and celebrate my achievements. So what's the issue? I do not know what I have actually achieved due to ongoing industrial action preventing the marking of my work and the release of my results.
“UK students pay £9,250/year. Expecting to be educated to a high standard, treated equally, treated fairly and to receive an award for their work, with integrity. The action breaches this contract, denying so many who are 'graduating' this year what they are owed.
“This is not a sense of entitlement. This is not selfishness. This is what we are owed. Both sides, the unions and universities, claim to have the students’ best interests at heart - yet despite doing nothing wrong, we are suffering more than either party.
“Students go to university and work hard to receive degrees which are necessary for employment or further education. As it stands, there is no clarity as to when we will receive them and if our hard work will ever be marked.
“I am supposed to be starting a Masters in September - a necessary requirement in pursuit of my lifelong goal to work in defence. But, due to the industrial action, I am being denied my paid for right to know whether I can prepare to start
“In perspective, the uncertainty around the boycott suggests that I may be permanently hindered in achieving my dreams as a pawn in a dispute in which neither side appears willing to acknowledge the true victims: the students.
“I consider myself fortunate, however, so many students suffer personal hardship, whether this is financial, bereavement, illness etc. during their time at university. More than anybody - these people deserve to be awarded for the amazing work they have done to get this far.
“Universities, staff, the government and media preach about mental health. But none of the above seem to be concerned with the impact of this situation on helpless students, who simply want to be acknowledged. I do not wish to criticise any individual who has taught me over the past three years and want to extend my gratitude to those who have helped me achieve everything that I have as an undergraduate to date. So, thank you to everybody who has tutored me throughout my time at Leeds University.
“Due to the nature of the action, it is impossible to know who is and is not involved. Consequently, it is also impossible to tell whether my work is marked.”
Thousands of students like Luca are being told that their dissertations, exams and coursework may never be marked. Can you imagine spending months working on a dissertation, and then being told that it may never be marked? It’s beyond belief that anyone would think this is acceptable. Their degree results may, at some point, perhaps be given based on work that was marked before the boycott. If this happens, it would mean that all the work put into dissertations and critical final exams, on which results usually turn, would be for nothing.
Notwithstanding the impact it is having on them, many students sympathise with their striking teachers; the majority of students I have spoken to are conscious of the huge disparity in pay between the university management team, who sit at the top, and their lecturers and tutors.
Whatever anyone thinks of this dispute, not to be standing up and saying very loudly that what is happening to students right now is wrong, does not sit well with me. As a mother – and journalist – I have to use my voice. We have to stand in solidarity with our students who are currently being used as pawns in a very disruptive manner and demand that they now receive the results that they have worked so hard to achieve!
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