Fears over students’ degrees in wages row
THOUSANDS of university students fear a marking boycott by lecturers could leave them saddled with second-rate degrees.
They have been warned their final dissertations might not be assessed because of an industrial dispute.
Instead they could be given a final grading based on exams and other coursework.
But Ollie Lewis, studying politics at Edinburgh University, said his dissertation counts for a sixth of his degree and took him six months to complete.
He said: “To not mark stuff that we’ve spent months and months and tens of thousands of words on is appalling.
“The point is students put more into their dissertation than anything else and it is a real advantage when it comes to assessment.
Devalued
“All this risks our degrees being devalued. The university has miscalculated.”
The two-year dispute is between 145 teaching institutions and the University and College Union and EIS-Further Education Lecturers’ Association.
Both unions want pay rises of up to 12 per cent for members – including lecturers, librarians and technicians – and an end to zero-hours contracts.
The marking boycott began last month.
Ollie has heard from other worried students in Bristol and Glasgow.
He added: “On the whole the students blame the university rather than the lecturers. We have teachers who can’t afford to live on what they’re being paid.”
Edinburgh University said it has “robust measures in place to reduce the impact of industrial action” and is “making every effort to provide results...by the published timelines”.