Durham University estimates as many as 20 per cent of their undergraduate finalist students face delays in graduating this year – though the University and College Union has said the real impact of the marking boycott and ongoing industrial dispute could be much bigger.

In the culmination of a years-long industrial dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions, many academics have refused to mark students’ work.

Many students’ end-of-year exams, projects, and dissertations have not been graded – putting the degree classifications for final-year students in jeopardy.

Durham University leadership, UCU, students and vocal alumni are in agreement that “finalists urgently need to receive their final marks and conclude their degree to be able to move onto the next chapter in their lives” – though they are at loggerheads on how this is achieved.

Read more: Some Durham University students face delays in getting degree results

A Durham University spokesperson said: “Our finalists urgently need to receive their final marks and conclude their degree to be able to move onto the next chapter in their lives.

“We have asked staff who are members of the UCU and who have chosen to take part in the marking and assessment boycott to prioritise our students and get all final marks in by Friday 14 July.

“The vast majority of Durham’s undergraduate students (around 80 per cent) will at this point graduate with a classified degree or will receive an interim award. A significant minority of students (around 20 per cent) will, at the moment, face delays in receiving all their marks and final classifications.

The Northern Echo:

“The University is working round-the-clock to ensure all undergraduate students, once all marks are in and assessed, receive their degree. Durham undergraduate degrees are heavily weighted towards final examinations and projects, so we are particularly affected by the timing of the boycott.

“Throughout this period of industrial action, University senior leaders have engaged intensively, repeatedly and energetically with the UCEA Executive and Board, as well as with fellow universities, as we search for a way forward at the present time and seek longer-term solutions for the pay and conditions of our staff.  

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“We nevertheless acknowledge that we are part of national collective pay bargaining. Our UCU branch very recently affirmed to us their ongoing commitment to this national approach.

The UCU Northern branch disagrees with the statistics fielded by Durham University.

Jon Bryan, the UCU Regional Support Officer, said: “We are aware that Durham University has put out a statement on the impact of the MAB which says ‘the vast majority of Durham’s undergraduate students (around 80 per cent) will at this point graduate with a classified degree or will receive an interim award.’

“Our view is that the word ‘interim’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting. We have figures to show that ‘only 31 per cent of Durham final year students will graduate as normal, while around half will receive an interim award’ which were printed in the Guardian.

“Our members at Durham University are having their wages cut in half by an employer seemingly intent on dealing with industrial action as harshly as they can.

“There is a way out of this, which is for the employers and their representatives to come back to the negotiating table so that this dispute can be resolved, and all students can receive the qualifications and marks that they deserve.”

Alumnus, Durham resident and University donor Richard Roberts has written the Vice Chancellor an open letter, urging her to go back to the negotiation table.

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Richard explained: “My concern is for the student experience; clearly they can’t have the best student experience if staff are not considered.

“A significant number of students will not graduate, but it could’ve been prevented, and still can be prevented. The ongoing dispute is harming the financial and mental health of students and staff and is hurting the University’s reputation.

“If I were a parent of a student who is not graduating, I would be seeking the Vice Chancellor out and asking why you are not insisting negotiations resume. I am not happy at all with the University’s stance, and management needs to examine their consciences.