UCU Raises Concerns about KCL Plans to ‘Mitigate’ Marking Boycott Impact

King’s College London (KCL) has announced its plans to mitigate the damage of the ongoing marking and assessments boycott announced on 18th April.

The marking and assessments boycott (MAB) was announced earlier this term as a facet of the ongoing ‘action short of a strike’ (ASOS). Although the university insist that “in most cases, students will receive their exam and assessment results on time”, many have seen delays in the delivery of their grades.

However, the UCU alleges that marking will now be reassigned to members of staff who are not on strike, which raises concerns around the validity of grading. They also raise concerns about the use of only partial assessments to award marks, meaning assessments initially worth as low as 15% of a module grade may now be used to award overall marks. Even more worryingly, they raised the possibility of delays to graduation. KCL UCU issued this infographic, informing students on the present situation:

The UCU hosted a staff-student meeting in tandem with Liberate KCL, and are encouraging students to attend if they are concerned about the impact of the boycott. The university have not yet confirmed or denied these plans, instead listing their resolutions for the MAB on their website. These plans include the Assessment Board making awards for missed grading based upon their other grades for the module, and a ban on downgrading degree classifications. Information in further detail can be sourced from the university here.

For more about the UCU Industrial Action, click here.