UCU is the University and College Union, the trade union for academic and academic-related staff in Further and Higher Education. UCU organises nationally, but has local branches. These include your lecturers, professors, and supervisors. The ballot to strike and take part in the Marking and Assessment Boycott was voted on nationally, and so every University will be taking part . For more information, head over to the Cambridge UCU website.

According to the UCU website: ‘A marking and assessment boycott covers all marking and assessment processes that contribute to summative assessment decisions for students/learners, whether final (i.e. graduation/completion) or interim (i.e. progression decisions). All summative marking and assessment, at all levels, are covered in the boycott--undergraduate, sub-degree, and postgraduate--so it will include all taught postgraduate summative assessment; PhD final vivas and MPhil to PhD progression/confirmation vivas/assessments. It applies to all forms of higher education and professional training: full-time, part-time, or distance learning.’

Most supervisors are employed on a college level and therefore are not part of this dispute which is University-employed staff only. Therefore, marking of supervision essays (such as for revision) would likely continue as normal. If your supervisor is faculty-employed, however, it is likely that they may be part of the MAB. It likely that all students will continue to sit their exams as normal. However, invigilation is part of the boycott so there is a chance that some exams may not take place or may be delayed due to lack of invigilators. You can ask you faculty directly about their expectations with regard to this. Academics who are UCU members and would usually mark exams will ‘boycott’ this, refusing to mark exams or act as an external examiner until a better offer is negotiated. If the MAB is brought to an end by productive negotiations, exams will likely be marked afterwards thus giving students their results (but delayed)

The University is allowing this disruption to continue, meaning graduations may be affected if they refuse to negotiate a better deal within this time. However, it’s important to remember that these MABs will happen in every university across the country. While it is stressful, you are not alone. All students nationally will be halted in their progression, meaning careers and other educational institutions will likely be understanding and put in place mitigations to allow progression (otherwise, final year students across the country won’t be able to take up any jobs!). While graduation is really important, it’s also important for your benefit that your exams are marked fairly – read under ‘What is the University doing’ for more information. There may be delays to graduation ceremonies.

Any student who has been here for a few years will know that UCU has been striking since 2018 and Universities have refused to engage or negotiate a proper deal. Academics and Academic-related staff are currently being treated without dignity or respect in their workplaces (with low pay, pensions, lack of workplace contracts, and unsustainable workloads). These issues directly affect us as students too. One of UCU’s demands is that Universities take action against casualisation: it isn’t in our interests to have many of our lecturers or support staff without a stable contract, unsure if they’ll still be here to teach next year. The Higher Education system as a whole is failing and drastic action is needed. The MAB is an ‘escalation’ of action and it is clear that the University is already very scared by this. It’s not action taken lightly and many academics feel very upset about the disruption this causes students, but they feel they have no other choice if they want the University to become a liveable place for them to work in. The MAB will cause disruption to the University, forcing them to take the concerns of their staff seriously. UCU members hope that, with the strength of feeling demonstrated by the reballot and the consultation of all members, the additional pressure will force the employers back into meaningful negotiations, making the MAB unnecessary or short-lived. In this year’s round of strikes, negotiations have seen huge wins on pensions, proving that industrial action works. However, staff pay has already declined on average by 25% between 2009 and 2021, and the current ‘offer’ from employers would lead to a further 15% pay cut. Negotiations can make progress, but the outside pressure of a MAB is needed to push employers to give a dignified pay offer. MABs occurred in around 20 Universities last year, (such as the University of Kent) and most ended relatively quickly. The threat of disruption is so large that hopefully the MAB will not last long. . 

The best thing the University could do right now is push for the national employers’ bodies (UCEA for pay and conditions and UUK for pensions) to make offers that UCU members can accept, thus bringing the MAB to an end. The University Council has proposed some changes to the examination system to mitigate the impact of the MAB. 

• Communicating clear information about the strikes to students to ensure you always know what’s happening and what it means for you.
• Lobbying the university for exam and assessment mitigations to adjust for content which is not taught because of strikes.
• Working with student groups and UCU over the coming weeks to support all students’ education throughout the boycott.
• Pushing the University and their national representatives to come to the negotiating table and bring the boycott to an end.
• Supporting you with individual issues and concerns relating to your education during the strikes via the Student Advice Service

If you have any concerns about the impact of the strikes on your studies or any other issues relating to your time at Cambridge University, the Student Advice Service are available for all students to access. The Service offers free, independent, impartial and confidential guidance and support. To ask a question or arrange an appointment to speak to an Advisor, please visit their contact page. You can also ask the international student office for more specific information on visas. 

Students have an amazing power to make a direct impact on strike action. The most successful strikes (and therefore the shortest strikes) are those which receive strong support. You can support the strikes in many different ways:

• Sending an email or speaking to staff showing your support. Nothing means more to many staff considering striking than knowing that students are behind them.
• Choosing not to cross picket lines on strike days, where you feel able to do so, is a powerful way to show your support for the strike. The SU will be organising alternative ways to access your education during strike action. (see above).
• Volunteering to help out with our breakfast runs to the picket lines. Even if you aren’t doing a breakfast run, you can still show up to teach-outs, picket lines, and rallies in solidarity.
• Book rooms in your college to study and share with fellow students, as studying in college does not pass a picket line.

It is quite likely, but nothing is guaranteed. UCU members will each be making an individual decision about whether or not to engage in the MAB. People will be deducted pay for taking part, so we cannot predict what the members will decide to take part in. People may make this decision on the day 

No. There are no strikes this term so there are no plans for any picket lines. You can enter all university property as normal. 

No one in UCU is obligated to inform staff that they are going to be taking part.Faculties will likely attempt to find out beforehand what is happening and take appropriate action. Some exams in Cambridge and elsewhere have been cancelled to avoid this situation happening. Students should assume all will go ahead as planned. 

UCU advises all members to be aware of students' needs. Processing student requests for additional support and extensions should not be affected. 

There has been no indication that exam grades would be judged on anything but the exams (e.g. not grades from previous years or earlier in the year). Contact your faculty directly for confirmation about this. 

The negotiation will bring this to an end eventually. It is a delay, not a cancellation. There may be some sorts of exams that may be time sensitive or need to take place in a certain way that get cancelled, but something else will be substituted to allow students to progress In broad terms, what is assessed will be assessed at a later date. The period of time UCU is allowed to take this action is a 6 month duration, but don’t expect that it will be active for that long. The latest possible date is September 30th as this is the end of the Industrial Action mandate, but it is not likely that the boycott would last this long.