Students fear degrees may be ‘devalued’ in marking boycott

Students in the United Kingdom have voiced fear their degrees will be “devalued” amid a marking boycott by lecturers as part of an ongoing pay dispute, writes Rebecca McCurdy for the Evening Standard.

The University and College Union (UCU) and members of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-Fela) are taking action short of strike in a bid to secure higher wages. It means lecturers will mark work but will not enter it into recording systems, as they are no longer carrying out duties beyond their contract. The industrial action includes 145 UK institutions, including all Scottish universities and colleges.

Universities are considering a raft of measures in response, which could include basing final grades on work already submitted. Ollie Lewis, a politics student at the University of Edinburgh, said his dissertation took six months to complete but it may never be looked at. The student, from Cambridge, said his £9,250 (US$11,500) per year studies could essentially go to waste amid the uncertainty.
Full report on the Evening Standard site