Degree result affected by strike

[dozydoora]

Hi. Is anyone else out there in this position? DD has just missed a 1st on her degree by 0.4%. Her course was badly hit by the strikes before Easter but the uni say they have dealt with the effect of the strikes by re-writing the exams to remove content not taught. When it was pointed out that this did not take into effect the stress and uncertainty that had hit all the students, which is really likely to have reduced all marks by a few percent, they would only refer to claims for extenuating situations -ie where stress had actually resulted in medication by a GP. So for those kids who did not completely fall apart, the message seems to be 'tough'. Don't get me wrong, we are so proud of her result and a 2.1 is fantastic, but it doesn't seem fair that this whole cohort have been affected by the strikes and the unis are just ignoring it in the marks - this applies to those who have missed any grade boundaries by a couple of percent, not just the top ones. Anyone else in the same situation? Any thoughts?

I posted yesterday about how gutted I was with dd missing out on a first by 1%. She sent me her transcript today and marks broken down. The hubs did some number crunching and although 1% doesn't look like much. But in terms of marks on modules that she would have needed to push her over the first threshold, she would heve needed minimum around 23 marks ( 3rd year module worth twice as much as year 2) across the 11 modules took over 2 years. Honestly it would be a big ask. I'm really not gutted now. If you look at the transcript data details. The picture is clearer, you might find its actually not as close as you thought. I've always said to dd what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So it's onwards and upwards here.

OP don't let this minor detail get u down. Transcripts breakdown give you a better look at the profile and what your dd is capable of in real tangible terms rather than just a classification on a degree. Most uni and employers now recognise this.

You should be very proud of dd like I am with mine . Uni has improved her no end, opened up opportunities, shown her a career/ future she would like to be in. Most of all resilience, guts and determination. Need that more than anything sometimes. This time next year you'll be wondering why you wasted your time being bitter about it all.

I don't think it can hurt to challenge it though. My uni was on strike too and it was very annoying. Some tutors would not respond to emails during that period, meaning a project I was doing which required supervision was effectively handed in late and I suffer anxiety to start with, so that felt doubly shit. I had to run around every day trying to catch non-striking tutors on the off chance to help. And also confronted with requests (some a bit confrontative) not to cross the picket line.

I totally agreed with the strike in principle, however. They definitely had the right to do it. And I know some really agonised over whether they should join. But it did have a disruptive effect which it was aimed to do. 2 weeks after the strike was over, I met a third year in tears, because the lectures they were expecting had been cancelled and other topics still touched on them and they were concerned going into the exam that they would not be as well prepared.

And we're not getting refunded (unless your daughters uni agreed?) , so I would try and see if it makes a difference. But do try and remember that a 2:1 is still very good (I'll thank my lucky stars if I get one) and honestly it means less the more you study, and go on to a masters etc. Also remember a 2:1 despite a strike is partly reflective of the great teaching she received.

Blueskypink- why shouldn't I make a fuss? If DD decides to pursue an appeal and her grade goes up, that would be because it should have been there in the first place, not because she 'made a fuss'! If others miss out because they didn't appeal, that's their problem. We are extremely proud of her - she is the one who is upset and we are telling her at every opportunity how well she has done.
Nuttykins20 - completely agree with your last paragraph, except if DD doesn't check out every option now, it will be too late and she'll forever be wondering if she could have changed anything.

You shouldn't make a fuss op because your dd is one of thousands of students affected by the strikes. Some less so and many more so than your dd.

You might have more of a case if she'd got a first last year - particularly if it had been a solid one - but she didn't did she?

It would be kinder for you to put your efforts into encouraging her to celebrate her no small achievement rather than crawling over the minutiae of Mark schemes with her which must be feeding her misplaced sense of failure.

Yeah she has nothing to lose in trying. At my dd uni, they were very good to be fair with them with the strike actions. They asked everyone to fill put questionnaires and told them to tell them directly if the strikes were affecting them. Plus gave them extensions if deemed necessary. They actually did everything they could to help where they could. To be honest dd uni dept don't give out a lot of first comparative to the numbers of students on the course. The course requirement is high as well at A*AA. Is your DD going onto do a Masters or getting a graduate job?

No blueskypink she didn't get a first last year, but she was close enough to pull it up. As I said before, what other students do is up to them! And as you don't know my DD's personality, you have no idea what would be kinder and we have never said that we aren't celebrating!
No there's no refunds on offer.
DD is going to take a gap year and go from there.

I don't believe that the exam moderators would have carried out that detailed an analysis on every mark from this year and last year and compared the two - across the degrees as a whole - yes, across the project marks - yes, across the dissertation marks - yes, but across individual students who completed exactly the same modules

You might not believe t, but most universities which had strike action checked cohort marks.

We won't have looked at individual students' individual marks; that is unnecessary. If the strikes affected your DD, they affected all her peers. We are looking for evidence of the strike action affecting a cohort. Therefore, the overall run of marks for cohorts this year in all modules which were affected by strike action, were compared with the same modules from the 2017-18 academic year.

Indeed, a comparison, year on year, of cohort statistics - median, standard deviation, mean - is done every year at my institution. It's standard good practice, just to check that we're maintaining standards, year on year.

You've had several senior & expert academics on here explaining how we do it. Your contempt & ingratitude is rather dismaying ...

So she didn't get a first in year 2 and she didn't get a first in year 3. Yet still you think she deserves to be dragged over the boundary because of the strikes and because she was so close.... Quite frankly you're being ridiculous.

Finally, why is the exam board work unpaid overtime? Not the students problem but why?

Academics typically work 60 hours or so per week (on education) during the examination marking weeks. They are only paid for 35 hours per week. The amount of work actually involved in setting, marking and attending boards is far more than senior management credit in workloads.

I don't believe that the exam moderators would have carried out that detailed an analysis on every mark from this year and last year and compared the two - across the degrees as a whole - yes, across the project marks - yes, across the dissertation marks - yes, but across individual students who completed exactly the same modules - no.

Yes, we do. Do you want to see the hundreds upon hundreds of scatter plots, the analyses of cross correlations, calculations of t values, just so you'll believe us?

I don't believe that the exam moderators would have carried out that detailed an analysis on every mark from this year and last year and compared the two - across the degrees as a whole - yes, across the project marks - yes, across the dissertation marks - yes, but across individual students who completed exactly the same modules

Certainly they do. Have just sat through the exam board; it's exactly what they have done. Spreadsheet after spreadsheet.

Finally, why is the exam board work unpaid overtime? Not the students problem but why?

This is one of the things that the strike was about: academics have increasingly been expected to do more and more unpaid overtime, but have been told that there would be compensation in at least getting a good pension deal. When that is now being withdrawn, it feels a lot harder to go on doing all the goodwill things we do, without getting paid.

Things like Open Days, answering student emails in the evenings or at the weekend, organising or attending conferences, doing admissions, writing references, staying behind to support a student who is struggling- we don't actually get paid for any of that.

To give a personal example, I am employed on a 0.5 contract as a lecturer, with a gross annual salary of 18k. But I can't get the work done in 2.5 days a week without my students suffering and certainly not while producing the internationally competitive research my contract also requires me to do. During the rest of the year, I can get away with working a 5 day week, during the exam period it creeps up to 6 or 7 days/week.

My husband otoh works in the private sector. He rarely works weekends and when he does, he gets paid. Nobody ever asks him to come in and work a whole extra Saturday without paying him. Hasn't happened once in 30 years.

One reason there is so little money to pay academics is that Vice Chancellors have got it into their heads that students and their parents require shiny new buildings and immaculate decoration, and that you can't attract students if you don't spend your money there. The fact that the person who gives the Open Day lecture and takes you round on the tour and answers all your questions isn't being paid is something that, as far as VCs are concerned, doesn't matter, because students and parents aren't going to ask about that.

And indeed, students and parents will insist on their "consumer rights" even when the people who they demand those from are doing it out of goodwill.