It’s over! UCU announce the official end of the marking and assessment boycott

The UCU have informed its members that the Marking and Assessment Boycott has officially ended on the 6^th September.

60 per cent of the Higher Education Committee voted in favour of suspending the action.

The Marking and Assessment Boycott had been ongoing since Thursday 20^th April.

It meant that staff involved in the strike ceased to mark students’ work, including dissertations and final exams. This affected at least 28 modules across departments at Lancaster University.

Some final year students were also provided with provisional results in order for them to graduate, despite promises from the university that all work would be marked.

Lancaster University students had been met with confusion on Results Day, after being assured via a spokesperson that “every student will have the opportunity to progress to the next year or to graduate, and no one will be prevented from doing so purely based on delayed marks”. Despite this, students whose marks amounted to less than 33% of the total assessment for the module, but were still passing marks, were informed that their progression would be deferred until later in the summer after the university’s results day.

Staff have been asked to follow the advice given to them previously, which states that they “should return to working normally on [their] marking and assessment.”

Strike action will resume again, however, with the first official dates of the strike confirmed for Monday 25^th to Friday 29^th September.

UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said:“We have exposed once and for all a sector which would rather try and starve out its staff, undermine the integrity of degrees, and disrupt students’ learning than give you the pay and conditions that you deserve.”

The UCU have also informed its members that they will launch another national ballot on this year’s pay offer, with hopes that this will “force [their] employers to make the type of pay and conditions offer that members deserve.”

Featured image via @UCU on X.

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• At least 28 modules across Lancaster University were affected by the marking boycott
• Lancaster University admits MAB could stop students progressing to next year of studies
• Lancaster University confirms students’ work will be marked amidst transcript confusion