Uni of Edinburgh not marking dissertations/final pieces of work - anyone else's DC affected?

[Iliketulips]

DD heard this afternoon that her dissertation and final pieces of work are not to be marked by Uni of Edinburgh. She is absolutely devastated right now as she wanted her true degree result and feedback on hours of work. She feels her most recent work is the best, so will never know if she could have got her grade up. Moving forward she was seriously considering studying a masters abroad abroad and also working abroad, but now uncertain if that's possible as she thinks they'll wanted an athenticated degree.

Absolutely furious about this. My dc has slogged her guts out doing her dissertation , still has to be handed in at the required date but won't be marked. There has also been picketing during graduations outside.

It sounds like the people who will suffer most are those who hoped the brilliant dissertation better than their previous work would have tipped them over from 2/2 to 2/1 or from a 2/1 to a first.

It sounds like finding emergency markers even if you go abroad to seek them is not possible for all subjects. It may be possible for some.

I paid £55,500 on university fees (9250 x 3 years x 2 twins) alone for the twins from my own income already taxed at at least 40% (as they don't have student loans) so around £100k for before tax income)./ They did both get a 2/1 and enjoyed university so I am not saying there was a total failure of consideration.

However they had to suffer strikes in years 1 and 2 and then in early 2020 the Government under lockdown laws I opposed from day 1 (although I accept most of the UK was happy with the lockdown laws) sent them all home. They did not get their last term at university and will never have that back. They had to try to dp dissertations from home. (I didn't get my last term of their being away either,m lovely though they are I was looking forward to one last term alone).

They had loads of rent paid to private landlords that was not recoverable which again I had paid for. If the universities had litigated in 2020 to force the state to allow students to stay at university that aspect may have been better.

The lecturers did try of course to help in the early pandemic with finalists but for one of my sons most of the material was in the library back at the university. He did do fine and had such a lovely time at Bristol he says no way would he or his twin ever join the group/class action. However it has not been great for students really back to since my sons started in 2017 . I cannot remember when the strikes started but it was affecting them in the first 2 academic years and then the 3rd year was covid. To see still strikes going on is a pity.

This is horrendous. I'd be enraged if I'd spent months on my diss for it not even to be marked!

My undergrad dissertation grade is what pulled me up to a first!!

It must be devastating in many cases

There seems to be so little regard for the university experience these students have had for last few years

Exact same situation as ds..

That is truly appalling. I went to Edinburgh in the nineties and, tbh, it wasn't great them. I'm appalled to see how much further it's fallen - what with ridiculously late offers, ideological capture by a subset of students who are preventing women from speaking and making acdemics fear for their jobs and now this - I'm surprised anyone still wants to go to this university now and I certainly will be continuing to advise my secondary school age children to avoid it.

Another academic here, at the University of Edinburgh. As others have said, University management absolutely have the power and resources to end the marking boycott. Over the last 15 years the University's income from student fees increased by some 170% in real terms (from £92 to 435 million). Edinburgh is sitting on a surplus of £112.85million.

As others have also said, this is not just Edinburgh but a UK-wide crisis. While salaries of VCs and principals have increased (the Principal of Edinburgh is on £407,000 plus a shed load of benefits such as a free house in the New Town), staff have seen their pay decrease 25% since 2009. I started work in 2009, have worked incredibly long hours for 15 years, teaching increasing numbers of students each year, and earn 25% less now than when I started.

So I would say definitely encourage DCs to complain by emailing the VC/Principal of their institution, and contact media, parliamentarians, etc.

DD is at Cardiff and said yesterday there is a marking strike arm they won’t get their degree classification for ages though can still graduate. If this is right I am extremely cross (understatement ).

Dd at Durham will graduate on time but without a classification being determined until october

Is the 25% less really = the same pay but no inflation increases or did say £40k pay get reduced to £30k (which would be unlawful)?

Pay has not kept up with CoL, @Xenia, as I would imagine you are aware. The same as with other public sector jobs.

Meanwhile the current fees structure correlates with the beginning of a large amount of extra work, only some of which is in students’ best interests. Many RG universities are sitting on large cash reserves and pay for the top admin who have directed the shit show that has been pandemic university studies has increased enormously.

Sorry - I should have been clearer: "25% less in real terms" *yes, as a result of pay not rising in line with inflation for last 15 years. )

I'm a masters student affected by the marking boycott and I 100% support the striking academics.

However, it's relatively simplistic to say that it's big boss fat cats to blame. HE, like all public services, have been chronically underfunded for decades. It's the system, not the individuals, at fault.

It's definitely a systemic problem: setting universities up as a market, and withdrawing the block grant, such that they have to compete for income by increasing income (students) and squeeze expenditure (staff pay), except on the things university management think will attract more students (marketing, fancy buildings). I couldn't agree more!
I was trying to restrain myself from writing a LONG rant (because the above is just part of the story) and I just wanted to make the point that university bosses have the power and resources to bring this marking and assessment boycott to an end in time for exam boards. That's the solution for this current cohort of students. The systemic changes that are required will take longer... but many of us are working on it!
The key immediate point is that the HE sector is sitting on a sector of £2.1bn, according to the most recent Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data. If parents and students are angry, as I am (as a parent as well as an academic), they should write to VCs/Principals and ask them to return to negotiations and agree to pay their staff fairly, at least in line with inflation.

Staff hate striking and boycotting. We have often done all the hard work in preparing the courses; the teaching and seeing students graduate is the rewarding bit. Not doing it, and not receiving any pay (pay is docked for every day of the marking boycott, including weekends, anywhere between 50 and 100%, depending on the university) is stressful, financially and emotionally. But we are really at breaking point. We often work 70 hour weeks. We've tried talking. We want to a good job for the students we love, but we can't do that if we're exhausted and stressed.

Of course the big problems are structural. My stint as an admissions tutor was an eye opener in this respect. But the acute one could be ameliorated with good will from admin that is sadly missing.

@maltravers to answer your question, my dd had 100% face to face teaching this year.

Thank you @sworntofun . My DS has now firmed Bristol and insured Edinburgh. Very glad to hear the teaching will be face to face if he goes there.

Potentially good news, DD has had one of her final two essays marked and received the mark today. She finalised it just after the marking boycott was announced. It was marked by the same person who is her dissertation supervisor and is meant to be marking her dissertation. She's doing a slightly niche degree under humanities.

Anyone else heard anything further?

My DS is in final year at Stirling. Just this week he has received the mark for his dissertation but not the final mark. Stirling have said they will prioritise final year students so they can graduate at the end of June.

But his whole uni experience has been affected over the last 4 years, and my pocket by paying private landlords rent. The uni said lectures would resume, rental contracts signed, and then sent home again. Absolute disgrace.

On the HE thread ‘Graduating Students….’
@Iworkformeanies had posted a link to a Zoom event at 10.00 on June 15. It is organised by the Office for Students and concerns the consumer rights of students and their families. One presumes it concerns the MAB.

The sticking point is the refusal of the employers, many of whom are sitting on large cash reserves and all of whom now behave as if institutional finances are the bottom line, to come to the table. (I agree we are in a moderate, manageable crisis now, but the universities brought much of this on themselves. They behaved as pigs at the trough when higher fees came in.)

Nothing will motivate them like the threat of large scale consumer action on the part of students.

I've heard one of the departments at Edinburgh is claiming results will be delayed until after the MAB has finished. Does this sound plausible? Presumably if the dispute is ongoing, staff will not happily pick up the marking backlog once the industrial action mandate has expired.

Frankly that’s unlikely to happen unless something resolved soon. The current MAB is due to finish 1Octover but they have already said that they will ballot for another 6 months . Starting to worry that my ds will never have a piece of work marked again

Surely most academics will have run out of funds by then?

My assumption has always been this requires government level intervention to resolve. Simplistically salaries haven't increased much in over a decade, but neither have student fees . I worry about the consequences of increased fees, but there seems a natural linkage to income available to pay staff.

I’ve just read that the Vice Chancellor at Edinburgh takes a salary of £406,000 having had a hefty pay rise https://thetab.com/uk/edinburgh/2023/05/22/edinburghs-sir-peter-mathieson-receives-43000-pay-rise-83886#:~:text=The%20Vice%2DChancellor%20of%20the,annual%20salary%20of%20£406%2C000.

43K wouldn't go far spread amongst the staff, but shockingly bad optics. I wonder who approved this and why.