The University and College Union (UCU) announced earlier this week that their industrial action will continue today (Friday 16 March) and may start again after the Easter break.
It is extremely important that we maintain academic standards in order that your degree represents a valid measure of your achievement on your programme. At the same time we are also prioritising and maintaining, as far as possible, your high quality experience and taking into consideration your wellbeing.
We have and will continue to put a number of arrangements in place to deal with potential issues that may arise as a result of the industrial action. Our aim is to ensure that any assessment you are asked to undertake this semester is a fair and reasonable test of your learning. Boards of Examiners, who make decisions regarding your performance, will be aware of any impact the industrial action may have had upon your programme delivery, assessment and feedback, and will be able to take this into account when considering your results. We are particularly aware that finalists may need a prompt notification of outcome in order to confirm employment offers.
We know this is a challenging time for some of our students and we are working hard to put in place effective contingency plans. We are keeping in mind as we do this that some groups of students may find the uncertainty especially stressful. Our support services are available to you via the Student Services Centre, your Faculty Student Office and the SUSU Advice Centre. Contact details are given via the links below.
Unless otherwise notified, please assume that lectures, seminars and classes are taking place as timetabled. You should continue with your studies and preparations for assessments, as well as submitting assignments to existing deadlines. We encourage you to utilise all the learning resources available, for example information on Blackboard, websites, and in the library.
As announced previously, you do not need to apply for special considerations in relation to the effects of the industrial action. You should, however, continue to submit applications for special considerations or deadline extensions based on illness or other reasons which lead to an unavoidable difficulty in completing assessed work.
If you have questions about what the University is doing to minimise disruption during this time, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions webpage which we are continually updating.
We will be in contact again early in the new term and hope that in the mean time you enjoy the Easter break.
Helpful links:
Student Frequently Asked Questions
All SUSSED posts about Industrial Action
List of all support services
Students’ Union independent advice centre