Scottish student 'outraged' after university tells him dissertation may never be marked

Marking boycott is the latest action taken by striking lecturers at universities across the UK

Students at Edinburgh University have been told their dissertations may not be marked amid a strike by lecturers. PA

A politics student at Edinburgh University has said he is “outraged” over staff’s handling of a planned strike, which means his dissertation may go unmarked.

Ollie Lewis, who is in his final year of studies, said he was informed that his hard work may never be looked at by a lecturer.

The university plans to continue awarding degrees to students without "necessary expertise" due to walkouts, which are taking place across the UK.

Mr Lewis said this policy means his work may have been a waste of time.

“This week I was told that due to industrial action, my 10k word dissertation will probably not be marked ... ever,” he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Lewis said the document took him six months to complete and he is “pretty proud” of it.

But because it may never be graded, the chances of it counting towards the mark he gets on his degree are slim.

“I know people revising for exams and writing essays right now, and they have no clue if they will be marked,” he said.

Mr Lewis, who works as a freelance journalist, told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme he was outraged by the way in which his university dealt with the strike, saying staff were guilty of a “betrayal of trust”.

He said he and his peers received an email from senior leaders on April 18 telling them to continue to work as normal and submit assessments on time.

“If that email was sent with the knowledge that some students’ work might not be marked, I think that is outrageous,” he told the radio programme.

The marking boycott is the latest stage of strike action by members of the University and College Union (UCU) at 145 institutions across the UK.

Walkouts began on April 20 and will continue until lecturers receive an improved offer from employers.

Mr Lewis, from Cambridge, said his £9,250 a year studies could essentially go to waste amid the uncertainty.

“After four years of studying and committing to pay over £37,000 to this university, not marking our final work is the ultimate slap in the face,” he told the PA agency.

“If students graduate without all our work being marked, it could run the risk of our degrees being devalued. The university has miscalculated here.”

Meanwhile, more than 500 Edinburgh University staff have written an open letter to the institution over concerns about the policy of awarding students without “necessary expertise”.

They stressed that they are “dismayed and alarmed” at the university's handling of the marking boycott.

“We are especially troubled by the impact on final year undergraduates, who may find a large proportion of their honours assignments do not contribute to their final degree classification," they wrote.

"For some, this includes their dissertation, which ought to be the capstone of their degree."

David Farrier, one of the signatories, tweeted that the proposals "threaten to undermine the integrity of our degrees" and added: "Our students deserve better."

A university representative said: “The university has robust measures in place to reduce the impact of industrial action and we are making every effort to provide results, degree award outcomes and progression decisions to students by the published timelines.”

They added that “temporary variations” are in place to “ensure academic standards are not compromised”.