Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with universities about the marking of students’ examination and assessment papers given the current industrial action by university staff; and whether they plan to require universities to reimburse students whose papers have not been marked.

It is hugely disappointing that students, many of whom have already suffered during the pandemic, are facing further disruption and uncertainty. It is imperative that higher education (HE) institutions continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of their students.

While the department plays no formal role in such disputes, we are concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are graduating and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.

The department understands that the vast majority of students will remain unaffected by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time and progress and/or graduate as normal.

My right hon. Friend, the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education has held discussions with the Russell Group, Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) to better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the actions institutions are taking to minimise disruption. He has also written to the Russell Group and Universities UK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action.

HE institutions are working on minimising the disruption to their students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking to other staff members and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress, and, once all papers have been marked, most institutions will award degree classifications that either remain as provisionally assigned or are uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.

On 12 June 2023, the Office for Students (OfS) wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms and have published guidance to students on their rights during industrial action. This guidance is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/.

Students who have complaints about their HE experience should contact their institution in the first instance. Students in England and Wales may also raise a complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), which was set up to provide an alternative to the courts and is free of charge to students. Depending on the complaint, the OIA may recommend that compensation be awarded. Whilst compensating students for disruption is the responsibility of HE institutions, the OIA expects institutions to comply with their recommendations. Further information is available at: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.

The department will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and we hope an agreement between UCEA and University and College Union can be reached that delivers good value for students, staff and universities.