Nottingham University - final year students being told they won't graduate due to marking strike?

[Panicmode1]

Whilst I have every sympathy with the staff at risk of redundancy, in a jobs market as dire as it is, I also feel fairly sorry for the graduates who have now racked up shedloads of debt to get a degree they may not now be awarded. My understanding is that they are being told they won't be able to graduate because exams and dissertations are not going to be marked?

Anyone else have a child in the same boat? We were already considering doing something (potentially legally) to recover some fees after she had zero lectures for one term this year - and now she's being told her dissertation may not be marked and they may not be able to graduate?

Snap, though the uni should give them a provisional award which can only go up not down once the final marking /exam boards etc take place. DS v torn as his tutor is being made redundant and can see how poor the resources are

We are wondering how ds2 is going to be affected. I think his school is fairly healthy with respect to student numbers but even so I imagine some are striking in solidarity. I am not sure he has been given much information or at least not what he has relayed. For him its just 2 exams and dissertation marking that might be affected as he has marks for all the rest already.

He has enjoyed his course but I have not been overly impressed in terms of the contact hours he has had so really don't see where they can cut and not affect the quality of the course.

The University will not leave a whole year's worth of students without a degree. Eventually a settlement will be reached in which the tutors agree to deal with the marking backlog as a condition of whatever offer the University is eventually able to make. They are currently trying to outstare each other to see who blinks first. Feel free to put pressure on the University to insist that they must reach an acceptable solution with the staff which doesn't penalise innocent students like your DD.

Thanks everyone -I can see that from the lecturers/those on consultations for redundancy risk, refusing to mark is a fairly strong leverage....! I completely understand why they are doing it, but equally have a very stressed out DD - as they didn't have any lectures in the first term, a fairly hefty proportion of her marks sound as though they rest on a dissertation which now may not be marked.....and into which she poured her soul (young person hyperbole - sorry!).

Hopefully they will sort something out shortly - I do agree with @CoverLikelyZebra that they can't possibly leave a whole cohort without a degree...I suspect there would be more than one set of parents (us) who would be looking to legal redress to recoup the final year's fees at a very minimum, which they obviously can't afford to repay...!

This happened a few years ago at Edinburgh, I remember the issue around graduation being reported but not what happened later, googles response:

“During the major UK university marking and assessment boycotts (such as the widespread action that began in April 2023), many final-year students at the University of Edinburgh experienced delays lasting roughly one to five months.
The timeline for students to receive their actual degree outcomes and final classifications varied based on mitigation measures and specific subjects:
Interim/Provisional Awards (1–2 Months): By the time of the summer graduation ceremonies (typically late June), the university allowed around two-thirds of final-year students to graduate. Some of these students received either interim or provisional awards (sometimes classified "on aggregate") to walk across the stage, though their exact final marks and classifications were delayed.
Delayed Final Results (3–5 Months): For roughly a third of final-year students (over 1,600 students), no mark was available during the summer ceremonies. These students were given the option to attend ceremonies without their degree outcomes or defer to a later date. While the university aimed to clear the backlog by the end of October, students in some heavily impacted departments—such as the languages school—faced waits extending well into the autumn, and occasionally as late as November or January, before their degrees were formally finalised.
To avoid academic progression issues for non-graduating students (those moving into their next year of study), the university permitted affected students to advance while the marking strike was resolved.”

There is a huge issue with University funding - the whole sector has become over reliant on international fees and that market is drying up, so there will have to be shrinkage in the sector. Which will mean job losses. I think is is shameful that students should have to suffer and have no respect for staff taking part in the MAB. Yes, it is planned for maximum disruption but it is the students who suffer over an issue management cannot control. You can argue they could have anticipated the market shifts, but it would have led to downsizing in any case. This is not a fight that can be won and young people are once again the casualties.

We had this a couple of years ago (different uni, also RG). They had the graduation ceremony in July with their grade to date, they were told it could go up, but not down, depending on results of last couple of assessments. I don't recall the graduates being separated in any way by degree class at the ceremony (but assume this is normal?).
They got a final grade around November IIRC.

TBF most of Nottingham's issues stem from buying the old HMRC building in the city centre they are now lumbered with

Luckily (or unluckily) DD hasn't secured a grad job yet so at least there isn't stress around having to have a certain grade for a job (DS would be in this boat, but AFAIK he's not at risk of not graduating).

Why would you only ask the to be reimbursed for the final year, I'd want the entirety of the course fees returned 🤷‍♀️

I would too, but a lawyer friend of mine said they would likely only give the final year back because if nothing gets marked, they will give a grade based on their Part 1s (IE Y1 and Y2) which has been marked and which represents 40% (?) of their final grade....

DS1 only ever had the first half of all his second year work marked at UON three years ago due to strikes.

😱😱😱 that's so awful. The whole university funding model needs changing - making the students the "piggies in the middle" as it were, really isn't fair.

This happened to my son a few years ago at another uni - I can't remember when it finally did get marked. He did know that he was going to get either a 2:1 or above and didn't seem all that bothered. He graduated and had a grad job to go to and it didn't affect that. I can't remember anymore details.

How can lecturers refuse to mark work if they’re getting paid or are they on strike? (Genuine question hope it doesn’t come across as confrontational it’s not meant that way).

This is happening again at Edinburgh this year.

My DD will get the graduation ceremony next month but not the grade at that time. I’ve encouraged her to focus on the celebration/closure aspects of the day, but it does still feel a bit hollow.

My understanding is that they are on a marking strike because of the scale of redundancies that they are facing.....I have HUGE sympathy but my daughter just wants to get the degree she has paid for....!

The sad thing is that the strike is futile as it is the funding model that is the underlying issue, which no individual University can resolve.

Exactly....

This happened to DD also a few years ago. Eventually got the mark she was predicted a few months later (they all graduated in July as usual) but of more interest to her 🙄 financial compensation, (can't remember how much. I want to say a couple of thousand). (Edited to add that sounds quite high so I googled the uni and apparently it was 500 quid. Ha! Not so great. I thought it was more)

I think most uk grad employers would accept whatever evidence you could offer as would be aware of strikes.

It would be more concerning to international students who pay considerably more for their degrees too. And what better way to put off the potential students who pay most of your salary than letting it be known they might not get a degree at the end? Put this against the changing international HE market place where other countries are upping their game and it is no wonder international students don’t want to come to the uk any more.

Exactly. As horrible as the situation must be for staff at Nottingham the last thing they should do is put off prospective students as otherwise even more redundancies and course closures will be needed.

They will potentially miss job opportunities in a market which already isn't great.

If they miss the graduate intake this year, then they are at a much more disadvantaged position to get it next year too because employees will automatically question why they didn't do immediately after graduation.

This could have lifelong consequences to the career opportunities for some students.

It's appalling to read.

I fear this type of situation will increase as more students opt for apprenticeships and other routes, leaving some uni courses low on numbers. I have been horrified by how much some Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors are paid. I have also been surprised that lecturers I have met seem to have very little student contact time - a couple of seminars and two or three lectures a week for a full time salary ?? I guess the rest of the time is for marking and ‘research’ and other duties- but it makes me unsurprised that it is not sustainable. Very sorry for those who should be graduating and hope it is resolved soon.