University Strikes - 61 universities

[LittleLow]

More - What on earth is going on? - than AIBU

The planned strikes seem massive with four weeks of teaching time lost. Students in their final year or those writing dissertations could end up with lower marks potentially impacting on job offers.

What will happen with regard to tuition fees? How about special consideration for exams? There seems to be no help or advice for students & parents. Anyone have any information?

I'm planning to strike. I doubt I'll see a pension either way but the approach of USS is so outstandingly 'fuck you' that I feel if we roll over and take this, they will correctly conclude that we will take anything.

Every single student who is concerned about grades, or getting their money's worth from their education should immediately write to the VC of their university explaining their concerns and asking for compensation. They should explain just how angry they are that it has come to this. They should do this, because pressure from VC's on the USS could actually make a difference to getting USS to the negotiating table.

If enough students complain right now, we might not ever get to the strike action, which believe me, no one wants to actually happen.

The whole point of paying fees is to receive tuition and guidance! It is a commercial transaction.

Nope. Fees go towards the cost of libraries, sports centres, shiny labs and buildings, subsidised food, IT and Internet provision, and access to curricula and courses taught by research leaders (if a research intensive uni) or experts (if a teaching-focused uni).

Towards the cost. Those fees don't even cover staff salaries, let alone the other stuff.

On the teaching side, students already have access to the curriculum and courses. Reading lists and in many cases existing lecture slides will be available for everything. If a topic really can't be covered, it won't be assessed. Drop-in office hours will be available on non-strike days for questions. The only thing that's missing is the stand-up lecture/seminar time. University is about independent learning so students really should be capable of covering any necessary material independently. In case they're not, marks will be checked (and adjusted if necessary) to make sure student performance isn't unduly affected.

I sympathise with anxious students but I have no time for the "we pay you so we own you" ill-informed argument.

In our case, we teach international students who pay a lot more than home students. It will damage our reputation and probably cause loss of future income.

Yes DD16 is currently considering going to a UK university. If striking is going to be a regular occurrence (as it was at school when I was a teen) then I think we should cross the UK off our list.

Hmm. I don't think they want to 'own you'.

They just want the advertised lectures and seminars that universities put in the glossy brochures. Seems fair enough to me.

It's not a question of owning you geek, but students are really not paying 9k per year for the subsidised food (not that I've noticed much subsidising - campus food seems to priced like the high st to me) and the library. The point of going is for the academic teaching and you know it. If the students could obtain their degree without you, then you wouldn't be there in the first place.
University has become transactional, which is the fault of the universities (not the teaching staff, but the management).

They just want the advertised lectures and seminars that universities put in the glossy brochures. Seems fair enough to me.

That’s for university management to sort out. Maybe they shouldn’t treat their staff so poorly (while creaming off massive salaries for themselves).

What are they striking to achieve?

I know it’s about pension changes - but what do they want to happen?

It’s been known for year their scheme is in massive deficit. Where do they expect the money to come from?

Thousands and thousands of us , including me, have had our pension schemes shafted and in addition are paying tuition fees for our student children.

Why fontbtjry strike during the easter break ?

University has become transactional, which is the fault of the universities (not the teaching staff, but the management).

I'd suggest it's actually the fault of successive governments, both Labour, coalition and Conservative.

I don't think the scheme is in massive deficit, apparently they could pay out for 40 years on current projections and still be ok. That's at the heart of the dispute, that this is not a justified move. Plus I'm paying in more now, and I'd pay in even more to secure what I have. That option isn't even on the table.

The valuation is disputed, Eve.

And again, why the lowest common denominator approach? Don’t you want the best people entering academia? The payoff for the crap salaries (by international standards) has long been a decent pension.

As for a strike during Easter break - strikes are meant to cause disruption.

I think I read somewhere that the USS risk forecast (which is part of this whole cluster fuck) is predicated on the assumption that all 61 universities in the USS scheme would go bust simultaneously.

You are right Margaret, although I think there is plenty of blame to go around. I don't see university management turning down their vast salaries, so they are quite happy to go along with govt policies.

What geekaMaxima said, with bells on.

Ah, come on. You think it's bad losing 14 days of lecturers' work - imagine what it'd be like in the future if their pay (already meagre compared to work requiring equivalent training and hours) isn't protected and no one wants to be a lecturer at all. Who'll teach you/ your children then?

students are really not paying 9k per year for the subsidised food (not that I've noticed much subsidising - campus food seems to priced like the high st to me) and the library.

Unfortunately, that is where the money is going, not to paying academic staff salaries.

If students have a problem with how universities are choosing to spend their fees, then they should complain loudly to university management. Academics would be right behind them.

Yes, IWannaSee! If people want someone to blame, blame the managers who are making these cuts while drawing enormous salaries. And, while we're at it, let's ask THEM why, since students are paying more than ever before, where this deficit's coming from.

It is bad for them if they slip a degree classification and lose a job offer.

The UCU position is that the pension benefits should remain the same but that the contributions should go up (some from employee contributions and a bigger amount from the universities' contributions) to fix the defecit. The Universities don't want to pay anything extra and instead want the employees to take all the hit by reducing the benefits.

It’s really horrendous. Lectures are not going to be rescheduled and support will not be given to students regarding what they need to learn to catch up.

I’m mostly concerned about those on professional training courses (think allied healthcare courses). Their professional bodies require them to receive instruction in a huge range of topics before they can be deemed competent. Apparently it’s ok for them to miss three weeks of lectures??

I think it’s a disgrace.

It’s really horrendous. Lectures are not going to be rescheduled and support will not be given to students regarding what they need to learn to catch up.

It really surprises me that this surprises people/that they thought it might be otherwise. If staff strike and then make up the work they missed, essentially as unpaid overtime, then that isn't a strike. When the tube drivers strike they don't then run a late night service the next day, just to be nice.

I am a self funded MSc student - paying aprox £1200 per semester for online distance learning tuition.

I have huge sympathy with university staff, and would be supportive towards them taking action if this really is their last resort. Universities and their staff are something to be cherished.

However. If I effectively lose 4 weeks or more of tuition (from my 9 week semester), I will feel strongly that my contract with the university has been breached - whatever it says in the small print. I am a not particularly well paid health care professional, funding my own CPD. I'm sure many students will feel the same. I'm not sure yet what the personal impact to me will be, but had I known this was an imminent risk I would probably not have signed up for the course. And if the strike goes ahead I will certainly be voicing my upset to the university management. I guess this is the point, but it's a pretty crappy deal for students.

Many academics from the healthcare professions won't be striking as they'll be in RCN or RCM or BMA, not in UCU.

In which case, complain to the university management rather than blaming the staff who are only trying to prevent themselves being well and truly screwed over. Maybe the university might realise the value of what the academics do.

I just to reiterate, our pension has already been downgraded, this is now slash and burn with no negotiation. The pension scheme is not in trouble, the USS figures are a catastrophising fantasy. Academics pensions used to make up (slightly) for the terrible job security and the relatively low pay given the level of education needed for the job - it doesn't any more.

No one wants to disadvantage any students but academics have no other choice, it's that or bend over! Nothing else we do has any impact on our employers.

If you don't want this to happen, don't wait until it does to complain, do it now! If the vice chancellors are inconvenienced enough they might do something about it.

Unimaginative - I think this is what most of us are saying.

It's possible to be supportive of academic staff, and really really cross about the situation and it's potential personal impact at the same time.

If we don't voice this it helps nobody.