On Monday 17 February the University and Colleges Union (UCU) announced that its members across the UK may boycott the marking of students’ assessments from 28 April 2014. This is very disappointing as the threatened action is aimed directly at our students. We realise that the announcement has caused some concern and anxiety among students, especially those graduating this year.
This is a national dispute which, in recent weeks, has caused only minimal disruption to teaching/education activities at our University. At Southampton, approximately a quarter of academic staff are members of UCU. Based on the information provided by members taking industrial action, less than 7 per cent of our academic staff are participating in the current industrial action.
Although this is a relatively small proportion of staff, we recognise that the impact on individual students will vary. The University is taking the threat of future action extremely seriously and will continue our dialogue with the local representatives of the UCU to achieve the best outcomes for our students and staff locally. The University will be working closely with your representatives on the Southampton University Students’ Union (SUSU) and other colleagues to put in place arrangements to ensure that you are not disadvantaged by any industrial action, continue to receive a world class education at Southampton, and can successfully complete your studies this academic year.