Yes – the University and the Queen’s branch of the UCU have reached an agreement to end the Marking and Assessment Boycott – the first settlement of its kind across the UK. This local outcomes is the result of several weeks of intensive work between the two sides and means that those students affected will receive their classification as a matter of urgency.  Marking will be completed as soon as possible and by 7 August 2023.  After this Boards of Examiners will meet to ratify the marks so that they can be published to you by the end of the summer. 

Yes – a commitment has been made that work will be marked by 7 August 2023 for all students impacted by MAB including graduating students, pre-final year students and postgraduate students.  Once the work has been marked it will then have to go to a Board of Examiners so that the marks can be ratified.  The dates for the Boards of Examiners will vary between Schools depending on how many modules have been impacted and therefore how many results have to be processed.  Schools are working on arranging Board of Examiners during August and it is our aim that students will have their confirmed marks published by the end of the summer. 

We know that for some of you, you are hoping to progress to further study or graduate jobs and need your classification as soon as possible – we are working as hard as we can to get marks ratified as soon as possible. But in the meantime, the information in the section below in relation to Employment, placements and Further Study is still relevant.  

For information on how Boards of Examiners work and why we still need to have them please see below. 

Once work is marked the marks then need to go through a range of quality checks before they can be published.  The quality checks are undertaken by a Board of Examiners.  Schools are currently arranging additional Boards in August following the conclusion of marking.  The ease with which a Board can be organised will depend on how many modules have been impacted in a School and across how many subject areas.  Professional regulations for some subject areas also have additional criteria for the Boards depending on the accrediting body – but we know you want your results and are working hard to get the Boards organised as soon as is reasonably possible. 

For more information on the work of Boards of Examiners please see below. 

Each Subject has a Board of Examiners, which is drawn from the academic staff teaching the subject, and also includes an external examiner. The external examiner is normally a senior academic from another University or, where relevant, a senior practitioner. 

The University uses a conceptual equivalents scale for the assessment of student work and the marking of all summative assessments should be in alignment with the relevant descriptors and criteria.  The use of this scale promotes accuracy, reliability and transparency in marking and fairness in the way all students are assessed which is crucial to maintaining academic standards and ensuring a high-quality degree. Work normally has a first and second marker. Once marks are agreed they are submitted to the Board of Examiners for approval. 

Boards of Examiners agree final marks for all modules in their subject by ensuring that appropriate moderation procedures have been applied. Normally, these procedures include: 

• The production of assessment criteria for each module. 
• Internal procedures for marking and checking of marks. 
• Internal procedures for ensuring consistency and equity of marking, both within a cohort and over time. 

During this period, Boards of Examiners are encouraged to take additional measures to ensure the normal moderation procedures take account of the general impact of industrial action.  These measures include: 

• Recalibration of the assessment criteria, where necessary, so that academic standards are maintained at the appropriate level while taking account of the degree of impact of the industrial action. 
• Increased scrutiny of the average result of each assessment taken to ensure they are comparable with previous cohorts. 

External examiners play an important role in assuring the Board that its assessment standards are comparable with those of other institutions. External examiners provide formal feedback to the University via annual reports which are made available to students.   

If you have specific questions regarding your School’s Board of Examiners, please contact your School Office.

Under the Academic Appeals Regulations (Taught Programmes), you may appeal a decision of the Board of Examiners about progression, assessment or awards.   

However, you cannot challenge academic judgement.  Therefore, you cannot appeal a mark you have been assigned, the decision not to assign a mark, or the decision not to apply the concession relating to progression requirements.  Additional marks will not be awarded as a result of an appeal. 

If you have marks on your transcript noted as PAS or MNA or if you have been completed with Classification Pending or with Title Provisional Classification Pending: your marks/degree classification/degree title are currently unconfirmed and cannot be appealed at this time. Once confirmed, you will be advised of your right to submit an appeal under the Academic Appeals Regulations (Taught Programmes). You will also be advised of the deadline for appeal.  

 Further information on the appeals process is available on the Academic Affairs website. 

It has been agreed that work will be marked by 7th August to allow marks to be processed by Exam Boards and published later in the summer.  Results will be published no later than 29 August 2023. You will then be issued with your degree title and classification.   

As a final year undergraduate student in 2022-23 who was impacted by the marking and assessment boycott, there are a number of possible outcomes in relation to the award of your degree:

• Where marks were available for all of your modules (either final or assigned marks) and you met the relevant programme requirements, you have been awarded your Degree with Classification for the programme on which you were registered.   If assigned marks were used to calculate your classification, this classification was provisional until final marks were confirmed.  However, we made a commitment that your classification would not be lowered. Where an assigned module mark is replaced by an improved final module mark now that marks are available and where this impacts on the degree classification awarded to you, this will be referred to the Programme Board of Examiners for ratification. 
• Where some of your marks were unavailable because of the boycott, your degree outcome was dependant on the number of credits that you were awarded overall (either by final or assigned marks). Each module you have taken on your programme is worth a specific amount of credit points (typically 10, 20 or 40 credits).
• Where marks were not available for up to 40 credits, and you met the relevant programme requirements, you will have been awarded your Degree with Classification Pending for the programme on which you were registered. This confirmed that you had met the minimum requirements to be awarded your degree but that we were unable to calculate your classification as all results are not available at the time. Now that final marks are available, your classification will be determined and awarded where all modules have been passed.  If you have failed modules that were initially returned as MNA as boycott related missing marks, you will be provided an opportunity to resit these modules.  Your School will be in touch with you to confirm details of these. If you opt not to undertake the resit opportunity provided, the failed module mark(s) will be used to calculate your degree classification.  You should discuss the impact undertaking the resit assessment will have on your degree classification (if any) with your School. For example, you may not need the credit to complete your programme and raising the module mark to a capped mark may not improve your final classification. 
• Where marks were not available for up to 80 credits, you will have been awarded a Degree with Title Provisional Classification Pending.  Now that final marks are available,  we will confirm your degree title and classification where all modules have been passed. 
• If you have failed modules that were initially returned as MNA as boycott related missing marks, you will be provided with an opportunity to resit these modules. Your School will be in touch with you to confirm details of these. If you opt not to undertake the resit opportunity provided, your degree will be awarded in line with the below you may be eligible to be awarded your degree for the programme on which you were registered, depending on the number of modules you have passed and your programme requirements, or you will awarded an Ordinary Degree. You should discuss the implications of not undertaking your resit assessment with your School.  When your current classification is updated, a new parchment will be issued.  You will receive an email from etranscripts@qub.ac.uk no later than 31 August 2023 with your updated electronic transcript. Please ensure that you check your Queen’s email account.

Yes – we will issue you with a full parchment which will include your degree title and classification once your full marks have been ratified.   Your degree parchment will be posted to you from week commencing 4 September 2023. Please refer to email from etranscripts@qub.ac.uk when you receive your updated electronic transcript for instructions regarding postage/collection.

If you need to retake any assessments that were disrupted by the marking and assessment boycott, these will be scheduled as early as possible. You must take all resits by the end of the 2023-24 academic year.  Resit assessments will be completed under the standard Study Regulations and will be capped at the pass mark for degree classification purposes.  Your resit assessments may be in an alternative format to the original assessment method, but rest assured that the same learning outcomes will be assessed.   

Resit assessments may be offered outside of the normal assessment periods. However, we recognise that some students may require additional flexibility to complete these in the supplementary assessment period.   

We recognise, in particular, that final year students from 2022-23 may require additional flexibility on when you attend the resit assessment within the opportunities offered in 2023-24, given that you may now be in full-time work or further study.  

If you are marked as successfully complete on Qsis, the Immigration Support Service (ISS) will report your eligibility for the Graduate Route Visa to UKVI and confirm this by emailing you directly. If you are not marked as complete on Qsis please email isscompliance@qub.ac.uk for advice. 

There will be no impact to your student visa due to cancelled activities. If you are required to engage with your studies during the summer months, the normal engagement monitoring arrangements will be in place. If you require further guidance, please email isscompliance@qub.ac.uk