An update on graduation awards

04 Jul 2023

The ongoing marking and assessment boycott has caused unavoidable delays in awarding a small number of students

As you will be aware, earlier this year, the University and College Union (UCU) secured an extension of its mandate for industrial action in relation to an ongoing, national dispute about pay, working conditions and the USS pension. As part of this continued action, UCU members at the University of Manchester have been participating in Action Short of Strike (ASOS) over the last 3 months in the form of a marking and assessment boycott (MAB).

Whilst we appreciate only a small number of colleagues have chosen to exercise their legal right to take action, and many of our colleagues have continued to work as normal in the interest of our student community, the MAB participation and in some cases, lack of reporting has led to unavoidable delays for some students in receiving marks for their assessments.

Of more than 11,400 students due to graduate this summer, less than 3% have been identified as having insufficient marks for an exam board to consider an award.

Before the end of tomorrow (Wednesday 5 July), we will have emailed every student due to graduate to confirm the status of their award. With the exception of those identified as having insufficient marks, all students due to graduate will receive confirmation of their award by the end of the week.

Support 

We are putting in place as much support as possible for those impacted by the boycott and will continue to do all we can to award degree classifications as quickly as possible.

Any student who experiences a delay in receiving their degree award beyond the date of their graduation ceremony will be paid £500. If the delay is resolved before ceremonies begin on 11 July, students will receive a payment of £150.

If a student is unsure of how to explain the situation to a prospective employer, the Careers Service is available now and for up to two years after they finish their course. We will also be providing students with a letter which they can share with prospective employers or further education institutions, to explain the context and assure them of the quality and standards of our awards, and help explain the situation. They will receive this during their Graduation ceremony, or by contacting studentnews@manchester.ac.uk.

As ever, if any student is struggling and needs more support, you can point them to our student support website which outlines a range of mental health and wellbeing support we have at the university.  If a student has an existing care plan with our Counselling Service, they will continue to have access to our services until they receive their final award.  

FAQs and next steps

We are holding additional exam boards to minimise the delay in students’ awards as far as possible and will continue to update both students and staff as necessary. You can also find further information on the Strike action: information for students page, which is reviewed daily. If students have questions beyond what is covered here, they can email us on studentnews@manchester.ac.uk.

A message of thanks

While this is certainly not the outcome we would have hoped for, we are continually grateful for the hard work of our colleagues who have gone above and beyond over the last few months to minimise the impact on our students and wider community. We appreciate and thank you for your sustained dedication and commitment to our students.

Professor April McMahon

Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students