Professor Zainab Khan sent the below message to final (3, 4 or 5) year students and those who are retaking the year on Wednesday 6 December.
Ahead of the winter break, I wanted to update you following the end of the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) on Wednesday 6 September, which took place as part of the University and College Union’s (UCU) industrial action.
Throughout this period the University has taken a ‘no detriment’ approach when confirming grades and degree outcomes. This means that when there is an unavoidable disruption to studies, we act to protect the quality of your degree by following a set of ‘emergency’ regulations. This includes looking at your whole academic profile at the time of awarding your final degree/outcomes.
I know that a number of you will have been impacted by the industrial action, and the MAB was disruptive to many. I am very pleased to confirm that, the MAB didn’t impact on undergraduate degree outcomes at Royal Holloway. In fact, students demonstrated improvements in their final degree outcomes which were more in line with the results of undergraduate students’ pre-pandemic (Covid-19) in 2019.
Ahead of the spring term assessment period in January, you can be reassured that as the marking and assessment boycott has now finished, and the University will be using our standard regulations that were in place before to ensure that your exams and assessments are marked on time and the quality and integrity of your course is maintained.
If you have any questions about the University’s ‘no detriment’ approach, you should, in the first instance, speak to your Personal Tutor, or your School Office. If your questions aren’t answered, please email industrialaction@royalholloway.ac.uk.
Wishing you a peaceful winter break.
Zainab
Professor Zainab Khan
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience