A “significant number” of students at Durham University will face delays in receiving their marks and final degree results due to a marking boycott. The 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. 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 next week (June 29) and run until July 6.
