Marking and Assessment boycott: information for students

Dear students,

I am very sorry to inform you that this term will also see continued turbulence due to ongoing industrial action.

This is far from the message I hoped to share with you at the start of this new term, given the extent of progress at the national level on resolving the disputes.

Yesterday, we learned that UCU members wish to continue joint working on pensions resolution, which is very good news indeed. However, members rejected proposals to resolve the pay and working conditions dispute. As part of this, UCU calls on members to participate in a marking and assessment boycott from Thursday 20 April.

The timing of this escalation is very disappointing given the recent progress and constructive atmosphere in national negotiations.

Marking and assessment boycott

We haven't been subject to a marking and assessment boycott here at York before.

But we've certainly planned for it.

We are committed to doing absolutely everything we can so that this boycott:

• does not delay your progression, or the completion of your degree program or receiving your transcript
• does not delay graduation ceremonies

Above all, we are determined that it does not compromise the quality of your education, your progression through your programme, or the quality of a degree from the University of York.

You can read below the actions we will be taking to try and mitigate the impact of this particular form of action.

I know this is a difficult and worrying time for all, no matter what your personal views are of industrial action. We have created some dedicated frequently asked questions on our industrial action web pages, and we will continue to update these, but I'm afraid there will be some uncertainty ahead.

What you need to do

Firstly, most students will either be unaffected or see minimal impact from the marking and assessment boycott.

Some of the uncertainty is because we don't know how many staff will be taking part, or to what extent, or for how long. And just because some staff in the past have taken part in other forms of industrial action, like strike days, it doesn't mean they will refuse to mark or assess your work.

My main message to you is to continue as normal to complete your scheduled teaching, labs, assessments and exams. We will be assigning alternative, well-qualified markers if necessary.

We have put in place additional measures to follow up with each and every piece of assessment to reduce delays in releasing results. This will apply across all forms of work, from assessed seminars through to exams.

The different forms of industrial action - and how we are responding

Until now, we have been subject to strike days, where staff do not make themselves available for teaching, as well as what's called 'action short of a strike' (ASOS).

ASOS has previously included things like working to contractual duties, not undertaking any voluntary activities, or removing supplementary academic materials from the VLE. It now also includes this marking and assessment boycott.

A marking and assessment boycott has the potential to cause more concern, impact and disruption to students than any other form of industrial action. With this in mind, we have made the decision to withhold pay for those taking part in the boycott.

Fighting for an end to this boycott

I will not stop fighting for an overall resolution, and for an early end to the marking and assessment boycott.

This situation is a matter of immense regret to me, and I have set out publicly how important it is for the sector to move beyond this current and long period of industrial dispute.

For now, we will continue to do all we can to support you through this period of disruption. Keep checking the industrial action support pages for our advice and guidance.

Yours,

Charlie
Vice-Chancellor and President