Industrial action 2023

What is the impact on students now that the industrial action is continuing into the new academic year?

The industrial dispute has not yet been resolved and marks for some modules and units taken in 22/23 remain missing. The temporary regulations have allowed students to progress on to their next year of study, even where marks are missing from their record. There are some students for whom we are still unable to issue an award at this time as there are too many missing marks on their record. We have made arrangements to hld additional exam boards as soon as marks are made available, and students awaiting an award will be dealt with as a matter of priority at these boards.

Will I be able to progress into my next year of study?

Academic council, the highest UHI academic committee, recently approved changes to university regulations to allow students to progress on to the next year of study where they have marks missing due to industrial action. This will allow most students who wish to progress to do so. There are some programmes where professional body requirements preclude students from progressing under these circumstances. Your programme leader will be able to advise if this applies to your programme.

Where you are progressing from an HNC or HND into year two or three of a degree programme with us, the degree programme leader will use your academic record to determine whether progression is permitted at this time. We will strive to allow all students to progress unless their academic record suggests that they are unlikely to successfully complete their HN award. However, you may have to re-sit failed assessments at a later date where these are a requirement for your programme.

I am in my final year of study. How will my qualification be awarded?

We will strive to issue students with final awards wherever this is possible.

Academic Council, the highest UHI academic committee, recently approved changes to university regulations to allow as many students as possible to achieve their qualification. Students on degree, taught postgraduate or PDA programmes may exit with a final award where they have up to 20 credits of missing marks due to industrial action and they have achieved pass marks for all other required credits. In these cases, Honours degree classifications will be based on grades achieved for those 100 credits. When missing marks are received, classifications will be recalculated using the full marks profile, and where this calculation indicates a higher classification, then this will be awarded.

There are some programmes where professional body requirements prevent students from receiving an award under these circumstances. Your programme leader will be able to advise if this applies to your programme.

Students with missing marks for a number of modules (over 20 credits) will not be able to receive their awards at this time.

Will I be able to graduate?

The university is pleased to be able to include all final year students in this year’s graduation ceremonies as a celebration of success and achievement that includes those who are being awarded and those who will be awarded later. Eligible students will automatically receive an invite to attend the ceremony at their enrolling Academic Partner, but can choose to attend a ceremony at another UHI location, or defer attendance until 2024.

In inviting all final year students to attend graduation, we are ensuring that each student experiences this traditional milestone opportunity to celebrate their achievements with their peer group and families, celebrating the completion or expected completion of their studies.

As in any year, students who have failed, or not completed due to lack of academic progress not directly related to the industrial action, will not be invited to attend the graduation ceremonies.

How will HNC and HND awards be affected?

HNC and HND qualifications are not awarded by us, they are awarded the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The SQA has not made any announcements regarding how awards will be processed in the absence of missing marks, but it is likely that HNC and HND certificates will not be provided by the SQA until results for all units are recorded.

Where you are progressing from an HNC or HND into year two or three of a degree programme with us, the degree programme leader will use your academic record to determine whether progression is permitted at this time. We will strive to allow all students to progress unless their academic record suggests that they are unlikely to successfully complete their HN award. However, you may have to re-sit failed assessments at a later date where these are a requirement for your programme.

I am on an accredited/professional degree - how will I be affected?

Most professional or accredited degrees have additional requirements for progression or award set by external accrediting bodies. This means that students on these degree programmes may be required to pass specific modules, and face tighter restrictions on whether they can progress or be awarded when marks are missing.

Your programme leader can provide you with information about the requirements set by any accrediting body for your programme.

I’m applying to UHI from another college/university and think I’ll have missing grades; will I be accepted onto my course?

We aim to accept as many students onto their course as possible, even if their results aren’t available yet due to the impact of the industrial action.

Have a conditional offer for an HNC or HND? – even if you have missing grades or qualifications due to the industrial action, we will accept you onto your course

Have a conditional offer for a degree or postgraduate course? – even if you have missing grades or qualifications due to the industrial action, we will accept you onto your course based on your predicted grades. There are a small number of exceptions where, due to regulatory or professional standards requirements, this may not be possible. These include for teaching and health professions courses. Where this is the case we are working on solutions and will be in touch with you directly to provide an update 

Applying through Clearing? – if you have missing grades due to the industrial action, we will use your predicted grades to make an offer of a place on our courses available through Clearing

We will review actual grades once the industrial action is over. If you find at this point that you did not pass all necessary qualifications, or did not achieve the necessary grades, we will work with you to identify any additional support you may need to continue your studies with us.

I’m due to be graduating from UHI this summer and have a place confirmed at another university to study a postgraduate course. If I have missing marks and my qualification can’t be awarded, will I not be able to start the new course?

In the vast majority of cases, we will be able to award your qualification, using the temporary change to our academic regulations. In the small minority of cases where this hasn’t been possible, we have produced a letter which you can provide to your future university to explain our situation and offer help to reassure their admissions team of your ability. The letter will be posted out to all affected students during July.

I’m progressing from a degree to a postgraduate course at UHI; will my progression be affected?

In the vast majority of cases, we will be able to award your qualification, using our temporary change to our academic regulations. In the small minority of cases, where this hasn’t been possible, we have agreed that we will allow all UHI students to progress to their UHI postgraduate course, even where you have missing modules. If you find that you did not pass all of your modules at a later date and therefore do not have enough credits to graduate, we are looking to provide opportunities for you to resit modules during your postgraduate studies.

There are a small number of exceptions where, due to regulatory or professional standards requirements, this may not be possible. These include for teaching and health professions courses. Where this is the case we are working on solutions and will be in touch with you directly to provide an update.

Will this affect my prospects of employment?

We know students will be planning internships this summer, have job offers for after graduation or be starting to plan their graduate careers.

The Institute of Student Employers and UHI Careers and Employability Centre have made many employers aware of the industrial action and that the impact may vary from student to student.

If you have any concerns about the impact of the action short of a strike on your own employment or internships, it's worth contacting your employer to let them know and speaking to our careers service for support.

The careers service supports all our students for life after graduation and has support specifically for those graduating. For further information, please visit the UHI Careers and Employability Centre section on our website.

This is having an effect on my wellbeing. Where can I get help?

We realise this situation is upsetting and frustrating for you. Where you are concerned that this is having an impact on your health and wellbeing, or that of someone you know, please do reach out – we have a range of support available.

Will my assessments be marked?

All students’ assessments and work – including dissertations – will be read and marked. Staff involved in action short of a strike are not entering these marks into student records systems so your marks may not be available via student records as they normally are at this time of year.

We use student records to make decisions about whether students can progress on to the next year of study or leave with an award. This year, as student records may be missing marks, we may be unable to take these decisions in the usual way.