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<p>The department understands that the vast majority of students will remain unaffected
by the industrial action and, in most cases, will receive their full results on time
and progress and/or graduate as normal.</p><p>The Universities and Colleges Employers
Association (UCEA) has published research findings which surveyed 49% of higher education
(HE) institutions in the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff.
These institutions provided updated feedback on the impact of the marking and assessment
boycott on students at their institutions:</p><ul><li>Over 70% of HE institutions
said that ‘less than 2% of students’ will be unable to graduate this summer due to
the boycott.</li><li>A further 20% were ‘unsure’ of the number.</li><li>4% of HE institutions
said ‘between 2% and 9% of students’ would be impacted.</li></ul><p>These research
findings can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.ucea.ac.uk/news-releases/23june23/"
target="_blank">https://www.ucea.ac.uk/news-releases/23june23/</a>.</p><p>On 22 June
2023, I met with Universities UK (UUK), the Russell Group, and UCEA to better understand
the impact that this boycott will have on students and the mitigating actions their
members are taking to protect students’ interests.</p><p>I have also written to the
Russell Group and UUK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their
powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action.
On 27 June 2023, I met with a number of HE representative groups to discuss the marking
and assessment boycott, including the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking
to protect their students’ interests.</p><p>HE institutions are working on minimising
the disruption to their students in a variety of ways, including reallocating marking
to other staff members, and hiring external markers. Many HE institutions can award
degrees when they have enough evidence of a student’s prior attainment to do so. Others
will be able to assign provisional grades to students to allow them to progress and,
once all papers have been marked, degree classifications will either remain as provisionally
assigned or be uplifted to reflect the student’s achievements.</p><p>The government
believes students should be at the heart of the HE system. This is why we set up the
Office for Students (OfS) to regulate the HE sector in England, protect student rights,
and ensure the sector is delivering real value for money. The OfS has published guidance
to students on their rights during industrial action at: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/"
target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-rights-and-welfare/student-guide-to-industrial-action/</a>.</p><p>On
12 June 2023, the OfS wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its
expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue
to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms.</p><p>Students
who have complaints about their HE experience should contact their provider in the
first instance. Students in England and Wales may also raise a complaint with the
Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which was set up to provide an alternative
to the courts and is free of charge to students. Further information is available
at: <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.oiahe.org.uk/</a>.</p><p>We
have a world class university sector, with four institutions in the world’s top 10,
and the government fully expects the UK to continue to be a major destination of choice
for international students.</p><p>We hope all parties can reach an agreement that
delivers good value for students, staff, and universities, so further industrial action
can be avoided. The Department will continue to engage with the HE sector over the
coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact on students and the mitigating
actions HE institutions are taking to protect their students’ interests.</p>
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