Please note that this is a page from 2023, but has been left up after the boycott ended for information and transparency to students/supporters.
Marking and Assessment Boycott: What is it?
The University and College Union (UCU) has voted to begin a national Marking and Assessment boycott from Thursday 20th April 2023.
This is part of the ongoing industrial action about staff working conditions and students’ learning conditions in universities right across the UK.
A national Marking and Assessment Boycott is the only tool UCU has left to change the direction and priorities of higher education in the UK. This is a last resort.
Staff participating in the boycott will temporarily cease all marking and assessment related activities.
However, staff will continue to support students with everything that is not related to marking and assessment: this includes providing formative and informal feedback, advice on career plans and future studies, references for job applications and so on.
Please remember this is a marking boycott, not a learning boycott. It is aimed at disrupting university systems and processes, not students’ continued learning and growth.
Why are staff taking part?
Staff want nothing more than a good working environment where they can support students to learn and grow.
Where staff have resorted to action, it means that the conditions that they are placed under are unsustainable.
What this means for students:
As with all strike action, the most immediate negative impact is, sadly, felt by students.
There might be a delay with the marking of your assessments and with the release of your grades on Moodle and the Student Portal.
The marking and assessment boycott may delay graduation and progression.
How long will the marking and assessment boycott last?
There is no way of knowing how long the marking and assessment boycott will last.
The duration of this action will depend on the willingness of university management to settle the dispute locally by meeting staff’s demands, or the UCU resolving the dispute with UCEA at national level.
It is our hope that a resolution is reached quickly resulting in minimal impact on students.
Which members of staff are taking part?
Please remember to respect and support your teaching staff. There is no obligation for staff to disclose whether they are taking part in the marking and assessment boycott. Contact your school office or the university directly to find out what impact this will have on you.
Please consider that this action comes at personal and professional cost to staff, who are being threatened with 100% deductions from their wages.
How can I support teaching staff?
nce you have familiarised yourself with these issues, you can make an informed decision about whether to support the academic staff. Please consider exercising your stakeholder power and helping settle this dispute and end the disruptions by contacting:
- your student union (E: greenwichsu@gre.ac.uk)
- the Vice Chancellor’s office (E: vice-chancellor@greenwich.ac.uk)
- and your local Member of Parliament (Find your MP via https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons).
In solidarity,
UCU Greenwich branch coordinating committee
Links with further information: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-university-strikes-2023-guide-what-dispute-about
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucu-faces-ultimate-test-v-cs-seek-blunt-marking-boycott