‘We’re collateral damage’: marking strikes hit students’ graduate careers

Ray, 21, recently missed out on a dream job at a charity after they were unable to present their degree classification. Due to the marking boycott, they have now been waiting for eight weeks for their dissertation result alongside another unmarked module.

“It’s been deeply upsetting. I’ve worked really hard, I’ve been in the library until 3am.

“Not knowing when I’m getting my grades back, while watching seemingly everyone I know get theirs, has reduced me to tears on a regular basis,” said Ray, who studied history and politics at the University of Chichester, where he said not all modules had been affected equally.

Ray is one of thousands of students who have been affected by the dispute over pay and conditions by staff at 145 UK universities, which the University and College Union has claimed could affect more than half a million graduations this summer.

When applying for the job, they said the charity tried to accommodate their situation. “They even said they could just take a dissertation grade instead as my dissertation was related, but I couldn’t provide this either so unfortunately they could not accept my application, so I’ve missed out on a very niche dream job.

“It’s been so upsetting to have been deeply impacted by Covid in my first year, which saw me spend more than six months at home, continuing my second year with isolating and testing, and now strike action decimating my chances of starting my graduate career as early as possible.”

Though Ray has been reassured by the student union that their graduation will go ahead, they are filled with uncertainty about exactly when their classification will be finalised. “I hold the vice-chancellor and senior management responsible,” they added, citing the pay of teaching staff.

Jay, 21, is concerned that he may not have his dissertation marked at all. Instead, his degree classification from the University of Westminster looks likely to be calculated by averaging his grades from the previous semester, as strike action has affected his course.

“I worked hard toward my degree and dissertation – it feels like a waste of time,” he said. “This fails to reflect our true potential and undermines our hard work.”

To Jay, it is the latest in a series of disappointments from the education system. “It feels like deja vu, reminiscent of how our final A-level and BTec grades were calculated,” he said. “During the pandemic our school years ended abruptly and our entire first year of university was spent confined within our rooms – we once again face disruption.”

Jay blames the university’s senior management for the uncertain situation students are in. “I think it’s the higher-ups in the university and the vice-chancellor’s fault – the way they devalue both staff and students is disappointing.”

The uncertainty is also creating stress for Emily, who recently finished studying philosophy at the University of Southampton. While the 22-year-old, who has a conditional offer for a masters’ course at the University of Edinburgh, has received marks for her work, the boycott means she is unsure when she will receive her official degree classification.

“It has caused me stress and frustration since everything is still ‘up in the air’ as to whether my classification will be delayed, which I worry may affect whether I can proceed on to my next course,” she said, though the University of Edinburgh has also been affected by the boycott. “I feel like I have to constantly be checking emails and advocating for myself.

“They’re sending me reminders on their applicant portal to give my degree classification and the deadline is in August – there’s a bit of pressure there. Students are the collateral damage of a dispute that is not at all their fault.”

Others feel trepidation at the possibility of having their final year’s work marked by someone other than their supervisor.

Daniel, 24, a history student at the University of Sheffield, is concerned that one of his modules and his dissertation could be graded by another academic who has not specialised in the field his work is on.

He says he was informed this could be the case by teaching staff who raised the possibility of non-specialist markers. “The idea that my dissertation on a very niche area of historical research may be marked by someone without expertise in that area angers me beyond belief. I have spent a full year researching and writing it under the guidance and advice of a specific tutor, who will now not be the one reading it.

“I definitely support the lecturers and what they are boycotting and striking for. It’s just really disappointing – the fact that strikes have been going on for years without resolution and I’m paying so much money and will be paying it off for decades.

“I have been left doubting whether the marks I will end up with actually reflect what I would have achieved had the work been marked by experts in the topic at hand. Whether I achieve a higher or lower mark than I hope for, I feel that there will always be a shadow over my degree classification, and that employers will think the same.”