Further industrial action by members of the University and College Union (UCU) in the form of action short of a strike (ASOS) is taking place in more than 40 universities, including the University of Nottingham, during the summer term.
Action short of a strike is where staff work to contract and, for example, do not undertake voluntary activity, cover for absent colleagues, share materials or reschedule lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike action.
In addition, some staff may undertake a boycott of marking and assessment at 21 universities including Nottingham and five Russell Group peers. The union also has a mandate for 10 days of strike action but has advised that individual branches can determine whether or when to take this action.
The FAQs below have been published to help staff understand the university’s position on what is a national dispute affecting many universities. Please refer students to this information as appropriate.
Q. What is the difference between these emergency regulations and the Covid emergency regulations
A. During the summer of 19/20 we were operating in a situation where student capacity to study and complete assessment was severely compromised, where it was possible at all. In the current situation, students have not been impacted to the same extent.
A key difference this time is that, in almost all cases, assessment will have been completed but not marked. As such, we have looked to develop regulations, informed by those that operated during the worst of Covid-19, and which are proportionate and appropriate to the student experience, whilst also maintaining the standards of our degrees.
Q. Why are we introducing Exceptional Regulations for 2021-2022?
A. The University and College Union (UCU) has confirmed that industrial action will continue over the summer term in the form of action short of a strike. This begins on Monday 23 May and coincides with the University’s exam period. While many of our students will be unaffected by this action, some may be, and so we are introducing exceptional regulations.
Q. Who do the Regulations apply to?
A. The Exceptional Regulations apply to all UG students who are being assessed or considered for progression or award on their programme of study in the summer of 2022.
Q. How long will the Exceptional Regulations be applicable for?
A. Initially the regulations will apply until the end of the summer assessment, progression and award period 2022. They will be kept under review and the period for which they apply may be extended further depending future circumstances.
Q. What Exceptional Regulations are being introduced?
A. At this point, Exceptional Regulations are being introduced covering:
More Exceptional Regulations will be introduced in due course outlining how we intend to support foundation students, taught postgraduate students, and students on other degrees of study.
Q. Who has approved these regulations?
A. The regulations were considered and recommended for approval by the University’s Quality and Standards Committee and signed off by the Chair of the Senate Education and Student Experience sub-committee.
Q. Has the Office for Students given any guidance?
A. At the current time the Office for Students has not issued guidance. However, in the current environment it would not be appropriate for us to continue to operate the regulatory system as we would in normal times. The University has considered our context and has produced a set of Exceptional Regulations which will allow our students demonstrate their learning whilst compensating, where possible, for missing marks when considering progression and award.
Maintaining the integrity of our awards and supporting students to achieve the assessment outcome they have worked for continue to be our priorities.
Q. How will schools/depts be supported to apply the regulations?
A. Colleagues in Registry and Academic Affairs (RAA) and Planning, Performance and Strategic Change (PPSC) are working to generate a derived mark for all UG students using the algorithm agreed in the exceptional regulations and the marks students already have in the record for this academic year and, where necessary, previous academic periods. Application of the exceptional regulations will inevitably create extra work, but the regulations have been designed to keep this to a minimum.
RAA colleagues are meeting with Faculties / Schools to agree the approach and meetings about this have already commenced. Faculty Operations Directors have also been asked to identify local APM resource that can assist with the gathering and processing of marks in preparation for exam boards.
Mitigating the impact of the industrial action will require a team effort. It is important that the regulations for classification and progression are applied consistently across the university, but we must also recognise that the workload and approach to this will differ between Schools as the impact of industrial action differs.
Q. Will students have enough information to make an informed decision about accepting part-for-whole derived marks, or waiting for a first sit?
A. Students will know their provisional classification and their marks for each modules, before they are offered the option of a first sit. They will also know whether those are actual marks, part-for-whole marks, or derived marks.
We will provide students with an online calculator to help them understand how changes in marks following a first sit opportunity might affect their classification average or their stage average.
Q. What are the main revisions to regulations?
A. The main revisions relate to the treatment of marks for modules where not all of the assessment for a module has been marked, or the marks have not been submitted for processing, owing to a boycott of marking and assessment processes.
If marking for a module is completed, we will use the completed module mark in progression or award calculations.
If a student has marks for a module that are worth at least 40% of the module, then we will use those marks as the mark for the module on a part-for whole basis.
If a student has marks for a module that are worth less than 40% of the module, or no marks for a module (but the assessment was completed), then we will provide the student with a derived mark for each missing element of assessment.
Q. Do I have to mark all of the work that has been submitted?
A. In due course progressing students will need actual marks for the work that they have submitted for assessment so that these are reflected, where relevant in future award classification. For finalists, work will be marked where the student has decided not to accept their provisional classification and to opt for a first sit in circumstances where part-for-whole or a derived mark has been used owing to a marking boycott. We do have a commitment to provide feedback on all work students have submitted, even if the mark will no longer be factored into mark calculation.
Q. If I complete marking for an assessment, will those marks count towards the '40% or more' that we need to generate a Part-for-While mark?
A. Yes, students should complete all assessment for modules even if part-for-whole may later be used. Students who fail to submit should be given a mark of zero for the relevant element of assessment. Unless affected by a marking boycott, all work should be marked.
Q. My students have been working on substantive pieces of work for a period of time and the deadline for submission is in the future. Can this work still be submitted?
A. Yes, the expectation is that students should take all examinations and assessments as planned.
Q. Where students have already been set and begun working towards assessments, and it is reasonable to think that students on the module can complete the assessments and submit them online. Should we let students complete the assessment?
A. Yes, students should complete the assessment.
Q. Students have marks for a module that are worth less than 40% of the module, or no marks at all for the module, but they have completed all their assessments. What overall mark are they given?
A. If, because of the marking boycott we have not been able to mark assessments worth at least 40% of the student’s overall module mark, then we will use a derived mark based on past performance if we are able to. We will give that mark for any elements of assessment that are unmarked.
Q. How is a derived mark calculated?
A. Full information on how a derived mark is calculated is available on the Quality Manual web pages. The derived mark will be based on actual achievement from the current academic stage and level, as far as reasonable. If students have 60 credits of completed modules from before semester 2, we will use a weighted average of those marks as the derived mark.
Where students have fewer than 60 credits of completed modules in this stage from before semester 2, we will include a weighted average of those marks in combination with your work at their previous stage.
Q. What happens if students have fewer than 60 credits of completed modules in this stage and this is their first stage?
A. We will not have a fully robust sample of performance and will be unable to use a derived mark. Regulations on Qualifying Year and Foundation Year students, and students on taught postgraduate programmes will be published shortly.
Q. Do students have to complete all of their assessments this semester for a ‘part-for-whole’ mark to be used?
A. To qualify for use of a ‘part-for-whole’ mark in an assessment that has not been marked because of the marking boycott, students must have completed that assessment. If they don’t complete it, they will be given a mark of zero for that assessment.
Q. Do students have to complete all of their assessments this semester for a derived mark to be used?
A. To qualify for a derived mark in an assessment that has not been marked because of the marking boycott, students must have completed that assessment. If they don’t complete it, they will be given a mark of zero for that assessment.
Q. What happens if a student fails a module?
A. Where a student fails a module because of the application of exceptional regulations and they are either a non-qualifying year student, or a qualifying year undergraduate who would not progress given their grade profile, they will be offered a first-sit in that module at the first opportunity.
Q. A student on my level 2/3 module has completed 40% of the assessment for that module, but scored a mark of 41%. They would have been expecting the opportunity to improve their mark. How should I advise them?
A. The student will be awarded a mark of 41% for the module. All cases of modules that are treated part for whole should be noted. When marking is completed actual marks should be returned where these are higher than any part-for-whole or derived marks (progressing students). For finalists who opt for first sits, marks should be returned when available.
Q. What if the course has a PSRB requirement?
A. Courses with PSRB requirements may need to make more stringent arrangements after receiving guidance which is currently being sought through UUK. PSRB requirements will, in all cases, be in addition to the exceptional regulations. The exceptional regulations should be applied unless they are in tension with PSRB requirements.
Q. What if a student hasn't satisfied all of the Programme Learning Outcomes?
A. In those cases, the student will need to wait for their work to be marked.
Q. Will marking still need to be completed once the boycott is over even where derived or part-for-whole marks have been used?
A. Yes, staff originally assigned to mark work that was submitted to them will eventually need to assess work submitted and return feedback to students, even if the mark associated with that work will not be factored into their transcript.
Q. Can students progress to the next year of their programmes for the 2022-2023 academic year?
A. Progression status will be considered and an adjustment may need to be made using part-for-whole or derived marks. If students successfully pass everything or progress following the use of part-for-whole or derived marks and there is no PSRB requirement which needs to be met, they will progress to the next year of their programme.
Q. What happens if a derived mark is used and students progress, but when actual marks are available they have failed progression?
A. If students progress under the Exceptional Regulations in summer 2022 their status will not change if they are later shown to have failed progression.
Q. Can students progress to the next year of my programme if they have failed any modules?
A. Students may compensate and progress in the usual way.
University regulations allow students to proceed to the next year of their programme carrying up to 20 credits of fail in some circumstances. In those circumstances they would proceed to the next year of their programme of study and their progression status would be considered when actual marks became available or when they have undertaken any required reassessment.
Q. What happens if after applying the exceptional regulations a student cannot progress?
A. If we have used part-for-whole or derived marks for them, then provided that they have completed the original assessment they will automatically be offered a first sit opportunity for any unmarked assessment.
Q. If students have a first sit opportunity under the exceptional regulations does that mean they have to do more assessment?
A. If students have completed the original assessment, and do not satisfy the progression regulations when we have used part-for-whole or derived marks, they will have a choice on whether to accept the progression decision (without progressing and therefore taking reassessments) or to take the first sit opportunity(s). If they choose to take the first sit opportunity they can either
i) wait until the marking of the original assessment is completed, at which point the mark for the original assessment will be used as their first sit mark if it is higher than part-for-whole or derived mark
ii) take a fresh assessment at the first opportunity
If students choose to take a first sit opportunity, we are not able to guarantee when they will receive their marks or final progression decision.
Q. What happens if students have failed modules in the Autumn Semester and this means they have not progressed to the next year of their programme of study?
A. Students will be offered resits at the first opportunity in the normal way.
Q. What happens if after applying the exceptional regulations a student fails to progress?
A. Depending on the circumstances a student will be offered a first sit or a reassessment at the first available opportunity.
Q. What happens if the course has a PSRB requirement?
A. Courses with PSRB requirements may need to make more stringent arrangements, after receiving guidance from the relevant Body. PSRB requirements will, in all cases, be in addition to the exceptional regulations.
Q. Why are the classification and progression regulations different in that classification marks can go down, but for progression, the student will get the highest mark – whether that is actual, or derived/part-for-whole?
A. It is important that we use students' actual marks where it's possible to do so in a reasonable and timely fashion. If we complete and verify marks, as would be the case with a first sit, we should make use of their actual marks wherever possible do so as this is the best reflection of student achievement.
However, doing so requires manual intervention in the student record. It is logistically possible for us to deliver this for students in their final year. Completing this for all students in all years is not possible and the system will automatically take the higher of the two marks. With non-final years contributing less to the final degree, the impact of the higher marks on final degree class (when it is determined at the end of the programme of study) will not be too significant and will be to the student's benefit.
Q. Will students get their Awards this year?
A. Students who successfully meet either the existing regulations or the exceptional regulations for classification will receive their awards in summer 2022.
Q. Will Awards be valid and recognised by employers?
A. Awards will be made by the University of Nottingham under either our existing or exceptional regulations and will be a valid award from the university.
Q. If students haven’t received marks for all of their assessments how can they get an Award?
A. The exceptional regulations for classification allow the use of part-for-whole or derived marks.
Q. What happens if students don’t want to accept part-for-whole or derived marks?
A. If they have completed original assessments, they will be offered a first sit opportunity for any unmarked assessment. It is a student’s choice whether to accept the classification offered or to take this first sit opportunity. A deadline will be provided following exam boards for students to let us know what they want to do. If they choose the first sit opportunity they will have a further choice:
i) wait until the marking of the original assessment is completed, at which point the mark for the original assessment will be used as the first sit mark
ii) take a fresh assessment at the first opportunity
Q. What happens if students take a first sit opportunity and their actual mark is lower than their part-for-whole or derived mark?
A. If students take the first sit opportunity, the mark they receive will be used instead of their part-for-whole or derived mark. This means that a mark could go down as well as up, and this may affect the classification of an award. Because of the relative weighting of the final stage of their programme, if students choose a first sit opportunity, and the classification is lower based on actual marks, we will award the lower classification.
Q. If students take a first sit opportunity, when will they get marks or classification?
A. At the current time we are not able to guarantee when students will receive marks or classification.
Q. Will students be allowed to graduate in the summer and take a first sit opportunity?
A. Yes. However, if they take the first sit opportunity, if their classification changes when actual marks are known they will receive new award certification if their classification changes.
Q. What happens if a part-for-whole mark is lower than the average for the stage?
A. A school may discount up to 20 credits where the marks have been achieved by the application of part-for-whole. This is in additional to the 20 credits which may be discounted under regulation 26(b).
Q. What happens if students had ECs this year?
A. If students had ECs this year they may be offered first sits in the usual way. Alternatively, a School Exam Board may apply Regulation 26(b) if this is applicable in the individual circumstances.
Q. What marks will appear on transcripts?
A. Actual marks will appear on transcripts. Where we have used part-for-whole or derived marks these will also appear on a transcript unless the student has opted for the first sit opportunity.
Q. What happens if a student is in a borderline?
A. The university’s award borderline criteria will be applied in the normal way using all marks whether derived or actual marks achieved.
Q. How will I know which finalists have opted for the first sit opportunity?
A. Schools will be advised which finalist students have opted for the first sit opportunity under the Exceptional Regulations. Students who have first sit opportunities owing to ECs should be reported in the usual way.
Q. What happens if a student has failed other modules in their final year?
A. Depending on the circumstances a student will be offered a first sit or (if the module failure is not related to the marking boycott or other ECs) a consideration of reassessment opportunities which may be available to allow them to leave with an award in the usual way.
Q. What happens if the course has a PSRB requirement?
A. Courses with PSRB requirements may need to make more stringent arrangements, after receiving guidance from the relevant Body. PSRB requirements will, in all cases, be in addition to the exceptional regulations.