Students at top UK universities face worrying wait to see if they graduate amid boycott

Students at high-profile British universities including Cambridge fear they may leave campus without getting their final exam results because of a boycott.

Members of the University and College Union are continuing a marking and assessment boycott over pay and working conditions.

Cambridge University’s politics and sociology students were warned in emails that unless a solution is found to the industrial dispute, it could mean no results until October.

Similar concerns have been aired at Russel Group universities after the problem was first reported by Cambridge’s Varsity newspaper.

Students who leave without a marked degree will be given a letter to show prospective employers.

The email stresses the risks to students if the industrial dispute is not resolved. Scholarships, jobs, visas and conditional offers for higher study could all be at risk.

Alex, a third year Politics undergrad who holds two offers to study for a master's degree, which are conditional on final grades, told Varsity that there was “no contact or assurances” from the placements.

The marking boycott by the UCU, representing academics and support staff, began on April 20 and will continue until lecturers receive an improved offer from employers.

Cambridge University has made a joint statement with the UCU calling for the “urgent” resumption of negotiations.

At the Russell Group, the University of Edinburgh has warned lecturer strikes mean some dissertations might not be marked before graduation day.

There are similar fears at Durham University, another Russel Group college.

Tony Fawcett, the acting pro vice chancellor for education, and Joe McGarry, the Durham University’s student union president, emailed students to say they “expect that some students will not get a final or interim classification straight away”.

“This is a national dispute and subject to negotiation between university employers and the UCU. While we do all we can to seek resolution at national level, this is not something we can resolve locally.”

At Edinburgh University one student said in May he was “outraged” over staff’s handling of a planned strike, which means his dissertation may go unmarked.

Ollie Lewis, who is in his final year of studies, said he was informed that his hard work may never be looked at by a lecturer.