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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. 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>A link to these
research findings can be found here: <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, my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and
Higher Education, 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>The Minister also wrote
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, the Minister 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. Moreover,
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 the Office for Students (OfS) has been set up, 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, available 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>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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