Officer MAB Update

Hi everyone!

As many of you know, since Thursday 20 April, a marking and assessment boycott (MAB) has been in place at approximately 145 universities (including Royal Holloway). This means that across the country some UCU members have refused to undertake marking or assessment duties, including setting, marking, and providing feedback on exams, coursework, and dissertations. You can find out more about why the MAB is taking place in our Breaking Down MAB and the Emergency Regulations blog.

In our UCU Preferendum back in May, the student body mandated the Students’ Union to support UCU’s current industrial action and its stance in its entirety, up to and including any further strike action. 

The boycott is planned to continue until either the disputes are settled, UCU decides to call off the boycott, or the current industrial action ballot mandate ends (this is at the end of September, six months after the industrial action ballot closed).

We understand that MAB may be a concerning and stressful situation for you and other students. We are dedicated to making sure you feel fully supported during this time.

What support is available to you?

• If you have questions about the emergency regulations that the University has released, you can email student-administration@rhul.ac.uk.
• If you are concerned that the industrial action will impact your studies, get in touch with your School as they can provide more specific information on how the regulations may impact your work.
• If you have further concerns about the industrial action, you can also email industrialaction@royalholloway.ac.uk.
• If your wellbeing has been affected as a result of this difficult time, then please reach out to the University’s Wellbeing department at wellbeing@rhul.ac.uk.
• There is a difference between making an academic appeal and a complaint and if you are not sure which procedure applies in your circumstances please reach out to our Advice Centre for any support in navigating this. To book an appointment or for any further enquiries, please email advice@su.rhul.ac.uk.

What have we been doing?

We are in frequent communication with the University who have assured us that they are working to ensure students are supported and can receive their degree classifications as soon as possible. We have also met with representatives from the Royal Holloway UCU branch to ensure ongoing dialogue and keep up to date as the situation develops. Alongside this, we have signed an open letter from the National Union of Students encouraging the UCU and UCEA to continue negotiations and resolve the dispute in the best available way for students.

We remain hopeful that an agreement can soon be reached to end the MAB and will keep you updated on any developments.

Your Sabbatical Officers:

Hannah Hockin (President)

Sharanya Sivarajah (Vice President Education)

Nisha Bundhun (Vice President Wellbeing & Diversity)

Alastair Copland (Vice President Societies & Sport)