Supporting our students during the current industrial action

15 Feb 2023

An update on what we are doing to minimise the impact of the current industrial action on our students

We have now had several days of industrial action, and more dates are scheduled for February and March. Most academic and support staff are not taking part and most teaching and assessment continues as normal across the University. However, we appreciate that industrial action will be affecting some of our students and that some departments and programmes will be more impacted than others.

What we are doing  

Throughout this period, we are working hard to make sure that our students should not be disadvantaged in terms of their progression or degree classification by the strikes, that they will be treated fairly and consistently, and that Exam Boards will take into account any effects of industrial action on their learning. Each Faculty has a list of mitigations that can be applied where necessary – these will be different across different programmes, reflecting our wide range of teaching and assessments. While it may not be possible to replace or reschedule all cancelled teaching activities, our focus will remain on protecting the quality of our programmes and ensuring that our students are able to progress and graduate successfully.

Each Faculty also has options in place to support students in their assessments. Schools will keep students clearly informed of what will happen around assessments that are intended to cover topics which have not been taught. To maintain the integrity of our awards so that anything we put in place does not undermine the value of our degrees to employers or others, we cannot simply ‘ignore’ units that may be affected by the strikes. However, Faculties can draw on a range of mitigations to ensure that students are not disadvantaged, while still protecting the quality of their award. This includes adherence to the standards expected for our accredited awards with professional and/or regulatory bodies.

We are urgently considering what further specific measures we may be able to introduce to support students and limit any disruption to their experience here at Manchester. We will continue to keep our strikes information webpage updated with any further information, as it becomes available. Students should continue to take part in teaching, complete and submit assessments on time, and study as normal during strike days and action short of strike.

Continued support

If students have any queries or concerns that they would usually raise with their Programme Director or Academic Advisor and they are on strike, they are being advised to reach out to their School support team.

Our wider student support services, including 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support are also here for both our students and you, our staff, at any time.

We recognise this is a challenging time for everyone and want to thank you for your continued hard work and patience. 

Kind regards, 

Professor April McMahon

Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students