A “significant number” of students at Durham University will face delays in receiving their marks and final degree results due to a marking boycott.
Durham University has told students that any remaining work will be marked “as swiftly as possible” and final classifications will be provided “as soon as they are available”.
All final-year students have been invited to graduation ceremonies this summer, but students who cannot receive a final degree at this present time will be offered the opportunity to attend another ceremony later on in the year.
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It comes as university students across the country have voiced fears that their degrees will be “devalued” and their graduations will be delayed due to an ongoing marking and assessment boycott by academics.
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) began the boycott at 145 universities across the UK on April 20 in an ongoing dispute over staff pay and working conditions
The UCU has said it will continue until employers make an improved offer on pay and working conditions.
On Monday, Durham University began publishing exam and assessment results to students ahead of their graduation ceremonies which start on June 29 and run until July 6.
A Durham University spokesman said: “The majority of Durham’s undergraduate students will graduate with a classified degree or an interim award, while, unfortunately, a significant number of students will face delays in receiving all their marks and final classifications.
“We deeply sympathise with our students, already impacted by the pandemic, who now endure further uncertainty and anxiety.
“We are reassuring our students that any remaining work will be marked as swiftly as possible, and we will provide marks and final classifications as soon as they are available.”
He added: “All students are invited to ceremonies in Durham Cathedral this summer. We have offered further ceremonies at a later date to those who cannot receive a final degree at the present time.
“It is deeply disappointing that the UCU have implemented a national marking and assessment boycott, and that some of our staff have chosen to take part.”
