Which unis have not given degree classifications this year?

[SmartHome]

Due to strike action.

I know about Edinburgh and Cardiff. Any others?

I think it's utterly disgusting the way students at the above have been treated and want to make sure my children avoid applying to these institutions in the next few years.

It's really dependent on the degree to which the department has been impacted by the MAB, and that will vary within universities. I don't think any uni has said, "we're not graduating students". Where they have the ratified marks which allow them to award the degrees, they will do so.

Actually, this dispute is pretty much a continuation of the dispute that was going on in 2019-2020. Things got largely put on hold when the pandemic hit.

What's it over? Pay and short term contracts I'm guessing?

Congratulations! A 2:1 is a fantastic result. To be honest, everyone should be so proud of these kids, getting through the covid years and making it to graduation has been a huge achievement for all of them

My DS has had his marks and graduated from Cambridge but some had a graduation without results- English was one subject.

To add to anecdata:
Liverpool Hope - primary ed with Qts, and geography both fully marked and grades awarded.
University of Sheffield engineering fully marked and grades awarded. Fairly sure grades have been awarded in other stem type subjects too.

@SmartHome Pay, working conditions and pension cuts.

Apparently the discussions on Friday were positive and it's generally thought that some progress has been made.

An FOI re Edinburgh University that my DS sent me shows over 1000 (including him) have had no degree awarded at all and a few hundred have an ungraded degree.

When my next DS applies (2025) I do plan to check the statistics from potential universities both about this and about by teaching lost to strikes. While some students have really had a far worse experience than they were promised, many (most?) courses seem to have operated OK. So Universities could probably keep toughing it out, whatever the merits of the lecturers’ case, and let some students fall by the wayside.

And if my older DS still has no degree by 2025, which feels horribly possible at the moment, I will strongly advise my younger DS he just shouldn’t go to any of these Universities, however prestigious, that seem to shrug and say sorry without doing anything to sort out this mess.

@kirova I wish I shared your optimism! I saw the joint UCEA/UCU announcement and I’m afraid that it didn’t give me much hope for a speedy resolution.

It certainly affects many universities including some at both Oxford and Cambridge.
The group legal action by students against UCL is progressing although the court has just decided (yesterday) to recommend everyone goes off and tries to settle it out of court now - see https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2023/1812

This case is primarily relating to Covid closures and delay in restarting in-person teaching though.

My DD too, at Brighton, English. Dreadful 3 years.

'Graduation' on 26th July.

Newcastle has been marking

I don’t think ‘disgusting’ is the right word. Disappointing yes, but these university staff are voicing their discontent in a way that previous methods which have been ignored, now get noticed.

It’s like the teacher strikes - annoying, yes. Isn’t that the whole point? Pressure isn’t brought to bear on government unless there is annoyance.

Personally, I think we need to support the strikes and see the bigger picture for these workers and not just the degree result of our individual child. Sorry if that sounds patronising or preachy, but there is a bigger picture here. For those choosing unis and considering choosing places where strikes haven’t happened or looking for places where work has been marked….is that really a sign of a quality university. The staff need manageabe workloads, decent pay and conditions…that’s what leads to good university experiences, amongst other things.

I think disgusting is the perfect way to describe how these young people have been treated.

I am also fine with disgusting. I don't support the strikes. There are other less disruptive ways for the lecturers to get their, entirely valid I'd say, point across that doesn't devastate 21 year olds that's have managed to get through university under uniquely challenging circumstances.

They could refuse to teach foreign students over the summer, they could refuse to translate for foreign students, they could refuse to publish, they could refuse to run summer classes, they could refuse to teach public seminars. This was cruel in my opinion.

Thanks for the anecdata on which unis were badly affected. As I thought, certain names have come up repeatedly. I will certainly advise my kids to avoid these unis if there is a choice as it clearly indicates that a lot of the staff are members of the same unions that encouraged striking and that a lot of the staff are pissed off and demoralised.

Indeed. They made their choice - to hurt those graduating or trying to graduate terribly badly and they will have to live with how we now view them. I hope their strike fails.

I don't hope the strikes fail TBH. I hope it puts pressure on the useless government to fund universities better and to do something about the fact that universities are forced to chase higher paying international students at the expense of UK students to balance the books. If it fails all those poor students who have been told you're so important to us we aren't even going to bother to mark your work will have gone through that for nothing.

Being told how insignificant you are at that age can have enormous effects on self worth and self image I think and I hope they all receive some sort of compensation. Is nobody starting some sort of legal action for return of fees?

Waves @Jng1 My DD still hasn't had all her modules marked for year 2 which is frustrating as 40% goes towards her classification. DD knows quite a few year 3's who have graduated at Exeter this week who don't know their classification. Thankfully the ones going on to do their masters are still able to so that is a blessing.

I hope the striking lecturers realize what affects they have had on completely innocent young people who have paid their fees (thus their salaries). So sad to read this :

That is so sad, but typical of the way Lancaster treat their students unfortunately.

My son just graduated this week at Lancaster, so at least that happened, but two of his final exams weren't marked, and now won't be, so although it's not affected his degree classification, he's pretty annoyed he sweated blood and tears to prepare and revise for the exams but will never know the results.

This, after the horrendous experiences during covid where Lancaster students were lied to about "blended learning" when staff had already been told not to attend campus for the entire academic year, over-zealous security staff, locked buildings all year, etc. Zero help when his flat were quarantined after 1 tested positive for covid - well I say zero, but at least the Uni provided them with a pack of loo-rolls as their idea of "covid support"! Then security staff reported some of them for leaving their flat to collect an online grocery delivery from the Asda van parked in the car park - what did they expect - teleportation or to lift the shopping bags by rope from the flat windows??

Son is pleased to have graduated, but also very pleased not to have to set food on the campus ever again - their "support" etc is all smoke and mirrors.

I'd be very cautious of relying on anecdata to make a decision about uni choices. The uni I work in has not been mentioned, but has been heavily impacted by the MAB - as have other London unis. On the other hand, I know that other faculties within my uni have barely been affected at all.

I interviewed for and accepted a new job this week, so I'm very happy that I'll be out of this situation in ca. 10 weeks. Although I'm moving to work in admissions, so it might be out of the frying pan and ...

I don’t support the strikes. The impact on these students is out of proportion. I have read the lecturers concerns and am a labour supporter who hates this Tory government. However I think this strike action is pointless until we have a general election. What this cohort of young people have been through us a national scandal.

Presumably this is going to result in lost job opportunities for those who are unable to graduate. I do think that junior lecturers are treated very badly but I would not feel good if my actions had potentially ruined a student's future career.

Or am I not understanding this correctly?

Most employers and universities are taking a pragmatic approach. Universities are issuing letters which explain the situation and marks where available. Most employers are accepting this and are far more concerned in reality with the skills & behaviours their new intake display than the difference between a confirmed 2:1 and a probable 2:1. They have induction programmes and study lines up for their grads and it's far too expensive to unpick that, given that most schemes have offers in place and most will graduate with a 2:1 or first regardless. The difference is immaterial & the probation period can be used to weed out any unexpected confirmed results.

(DD unconfirmed classification but allowed to graduate with most marks known)

DC at Cambridge has not had exams marked this year and is hoping they will have been marked by the time he has to apply for an M Phil in November. This year counts for half the degree.
DC's friend (same subject, year above) has a place on a post grad course at Cambridge, degree classification dependent. She is looking unlikely to be able to start as she doesn't have her results and is unlikely to get them in time.
I understand the need for strike action but it does seem an unfair way to do it. Although DC's experience has been otherwise unscathed so I suppose something had to happen eventually