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Original poster

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

359 replies

Iliketulips · 28/04/2023 19:16

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.

OP posts:
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SandyIrvin · 16/06/2023 14:57

DDs college has one desk staffed by non academics and student helpers covering all degrees so not sure how useful. I suspect the desk is no where near the department buildings where the picket are?

Have any of the unis given a date when they expect to give proper degree classifications?

SOWK · 17/06/2023 22:25

SandyIrvin · 16/06/2023 14:57

DDs college has one desk staffed by non academics and student helpers covering all degrees so not sure how useful. I suspect the desk is no where near the department buildings where the picket are?

Have any of the unis given a date when they expect to give proper degree classifications?

I don’t think any uni can say for certain when degree classifications will be available - the MAB is in place until 30 Sept, but if UCU gets a mandate to extend it then who knows …
In theory, if the MAB ends on 30 Sept, marking will then take place, then exam boards. The challenge is that unis are usually busy with other things during the Autumn so something will have to give.

Calcite · 18/06/2023 22:29

Every mark is in in my department at a RG university. Our students will all have properly marked and classified degrees because we know our students as people and wouldn't spoil any more for them. We ran our open day yesterday and it was staffed by real live academic staff, admin staff and some of our wonderful students.

Some universities and some departments are much more politicised than others so it is impossible to send a blanket statement to all students because circumstances vary so much.

My department went back to face-to-face teaching as soon as it was allowed. The students said they wanted it but oddly did not attend as well as we would have hoped, many preferring to listen to recordings.

The situation is awful. There is money to pay people properly but the powers that be won't do it.

SandyIrvin · 19/06/2023 13:55

Not the case at Edi. I see this morning students reporting they've been awarded unclassified honours degrees and some have have no formal degree decisions (as insufficient marked work even for the unclassified degree).

Original poster
Iliketulips · 19/06/2023 14:42

SandyIlrvin. DD has just heard and understands she'll be graduating with 'a letter of completion of studies'. If we didn't have to go up and get her things out of store, I suspect she wouldn't go to the graduation.

OP posts:
SandyIrvin · 19/06/2023 15:07

@Iliketulips did your DD do a year abroad? DD saying that year abroad students in her school the worst affected. Plus there seems to be no time frame for a final decision. Has your DD applied for a masters?

Gettingthroughtheweek · 19/06/2023 15:17

Same for my DS - no marking so no degree awarded, despite him having had coursework marked in the year so he had hoped he would get at least a provisional degree. He doesn’t want to go to a pretend ‘graduation’ - quite understandably - so now we have wasted hotel and travel costs on top of everything else.

What a shambles it all is - none of his four years have been anyway near normal. He started at Edinburgh keen and eager to learn about his subject, and now more study is the last thing he wants to do, due to the last four years of poor organisation and, to be honest, a massive lack of care for students from staff. There’s no timescale on when/if they will ever get their results … and no-one is even saying ‘sorry’, presumably because that would imply they were responsible for the mess.

MatureStudentToBeMaybe · 19/06/2023 15:20

OP I hope that any future arrangements she has (further study/employment) are understanding.

It's all such a mess, and hard to see a resolution even short term for the 'kind of graduating" students (when will their work get marked now?). I've tried to follow the arguments the UCU are putting across and it sounds like they want the universities to pool funds across the sector. This doesn't sound like a trivial change.

Teawaster · 19/06/2023 15:33

My DS who was due to graduate on 30th June with a pending classification has deferred his graduation as he has no interest in attending it at the moment. He had a year abroad as he did Spanish but his school is a different one as history was his other subject , so the students he should have graduated with started their course a year later, apart from a small few who did history and Spanish. So he doesn't feel he is missing out on anything .

Motheranddaughter · 19/06/2023 21:05

My niece has been told today her dissertation will not be marked at present so graduation will be a sham
Hide your heads in shame lecturers at University of Edinburgh
She was sobbing on the phone to my brother

EwwSprouts · 19/06/2023 21:33

@Calcite Our students will all have properly marked and classified degrees because we know our students as people and wouldn't spoil any more for them.

This is the response that should be given across the sector giving the respect that lecturers expect themselves. Depriving the students of their degrees in a timely fashion is a basic breach of trust. They are being used as pawns. I'm not saying don't exercise the right to strike but the route chosen is low.

hanahsaunt · 19/06/2023 22:16

@EwwSprouts I agree - absolutely support striking but to deny students their degree classification is appalling. Ds1 will be given a blank parchment on Wednesday when he 'graduates' from Glasgow. It's a rubbish end to a very hard four years.

Original poster
Iliketulips · 20/06/2023 15:53

SandyIrvin Yes, she did do a year abroad, so everything is on this year. She's taking a year out, to earn some money and hopefully get some relevant or office based experience. Potentially wants to do a masters next year, has found two perfect courses, one of which is in the country she did her year abroad - they will require full transcript results, so good job it's not this year, but application will soon come around.

Motheranddaughter DD was absolutely devastated when this was announced and messaged in tears (can't remember last time she cried) - and she had to go on and finish tweaking an essay before submission later in the day. I can't imagine what many of them are going through, even if they're not showing it.

OP posts:
lieselotte · 20/06/2023 17:57

If Masters degrees are overseas, then it's going to be an issue but surely UK universities are well aware of the issues so should be accepting students on the strength of their 1st and 2nd year results (which I realise may not be as good as what they would have got in their final year). It is even more vindictive to refuse to accept students when their colleagues aren't marking exams and dissertations.

While strikes are necessary, refusing to mark final year work is unacceptable.

Also tuition fees should be refunded. Universities (and the government) can't hide behind force majeure and say "but it's not our fault they went on strike" - it's their own workforce and so they have control.

EwwSprouts · 20/06/2023 19:47

Friend's daughter is supposed to be starting a master's in Sept. The university has said if degree certification with grade is not forwarded by end of July then they won't be accepted on to the course. Farcical given both universities are impacted by the marking ban. I don't believe this will happen because it would lead to a loss of fees but they haven't said so yet.

Xenia · 20/06/2023 21:51

Students should litigate - there will be group action like this one already started for other earlier cases.https://studentgroupclaim.co.uk/ https://www.legalcheek.com/2023/01/number-of-law-students-joining-lost-learning-group-action-more-than-doubles-in-two-months/

Secondly we will never ever forget what these strikers have done. Even though they may be within the law they are morally bankrupt.

Home - Student Group Claim

We are helping thousands of students claim fair financial compensation for the disruption through no win, no fee group court claims.

https://studentgroupclaim.co.uk

TaylorSwiftFan · 20/06/2023 22:26

This is shocking

MatureStudentToBeMaybe · 20/06/2023 22:51

UCU Cambridge are claiming 50% undergraduates and 90% taught masters students won't graduate
https://twitter.com/CambridgeUCU/status/1669822353805541376
I'm surprised we haven't heard more about this.

https://twitter.com/CambridgeUCU/status/1669822353805541376

JocelynBurnell · 20/06/2023 23:15

Cambridge's academic year ends later so students have yet to encounter these difficulties. Cambridge students have just barely finished their exams at this stage so the issue of marking and issuing results has not yet arisen and will come to the fore in the coming weeks.

In Scotland, the academic year starts and ends earlier. Students sat exams over a month ago and the conferring ceremonies are now. This is why the issue is more noticeable in Scotland.

Motheranddaughter · 21/06/2023 00:00

Interesting point about it will take a few weeks before we see this happening in England
That will probably lead to some action , probably too llate

tennissquare · 21/06/2023 07:45

The Oxford/Cambridge 2022 thread just below this is all over the lack of marking situation.

SandyIrvin · 21/06/2023 09:42

I see Edi students are planning peaceful protests at graduate ceremonies.

Checked the info on marking published by my DDs school (social and political science) - 15 out of 70 honours modules marked and results published. Spread over disciplines (although social work and health policy looked to be better than politics and IR etc). So I doubt anyone would have all modules marked.

cyclamenqueen · 21/06/2023 09:49

Matt Chorley on times radio has been covering this but you can tell its an uphill battle to get people interested, i understand he has a second or third year out of four in the family. There is a really moving twitter thread by an english student that just sums up the situation from their pov , points 10,11 and 12 really pulled at the heartstrings, young people shouldn't be being put through this whatever the rights and wrongs of the strike action.

twitter.com/cambtweeteng/status/1670908284071542789?t=Ia-bkry_r15U4eG-tOCU6w&s=19

https://twitter.com/cambtweeteng/status/1670908284071542789?t=Ia-bkry_r15U4eG-tOCU6w&s=19

cyclamenqueen · 21/06/2023 10:10

Just heard that he is covering it again and speaking to a student at about 10.20am