Bristol Uni confirm exams will go ahead and is threatening to cut lecturers pay by 50 per cent

Bristol University emailed studentsto provide some reassurance on the UCU strikes. Yesterday (April 20th) was the first day of the six-month marking and assessment boycott which has understandably left many final-year students feeling uncertain about when they will receive grades.

The university emailed students today to try and assuage some of these worries, by encouraging students to carry on with their work and assessments as normal. They have reassured students that not all lecturers are members of the UCU and therefore the strikes may not affect students universally.

They also said that exams will operate normally according to the exam timetable so students should continue as usual. They have also encouraged students to submit any coursework according to the deadlines that have been published.

The news of these additional strikes comes amid threats from many major universities that there could be pay cuts up to 100 per cent for lecturers who participate in the marking boycott despite them continuing to teach.

Bristol is threatening to take 50 per cent of pay away from lecturers who do not mark papers, even though marking takes up far less than half of their time spent working.

Support services will still be running and should be unaffected by the strikes. If you are struggling with your mental health please reach out to Student Support or Bristol Nightline.

For this cohort in particular, it is an all too familiar feeling as this was the generation which lost out on their A-Level grades due to the pandemic.

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