UNIVERSITY claims that only 2.6 per cent of students have been affected by the marking boycott have been dismissed as “nonsense” by workers.

The data is from a survey by Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) on the boycott, which also claims that the “vast majority of staff” are working to negate it.

UCEA have been in a long-running dispute with the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) over pay, pensions, and increasing casualisation in the sector.

Since the marking boycott began in April, institutions have stood accused of “devaluing” degrees as they seek to circumvent it and faced further localised strike action as they dock the pay of workers taking part.

UCEA board member Professor George Boyne said: “I don’t think there’s a concern about quality, but I do think there is research that has been sacrificed to prioritise the marking.”

But University of Strathclyde UCU Branch secretary Ross Gibson told the Morning Star: “UCEA’s claims are complete nonsense. 

“If that were the case we would not be seeing ‘provisional degrees’ handed out like confetti with students left in the dark about their grades or even if they have achieved the required grades to be awarded a degree at all.

“To be clear: every student in the UK is impacted by this shambles, with grade inflation all across the country caused by partial marks, a removal of quality assurance mechanisms and assessments being undertaken by people with little expertise in the field. 

“Would the vice chancellors of the UK be happy to be examined by a doctor who had not had their work assessed?

“This can all be settled very easily, so we again ask UCEA to return to talks with our negotiators so that students can have the grades they deserve and universities can return to teaching and learning, rather than continued hostility and dispute.”