'I can't graduate because of the marking boycott'

Violet Allmark supports the lecturers even though she won't be able to graduate

Violet Allmark is one of 40 students at Bristol University unable to attend graduation ceremonies this summer.

The university is one of many in the UK at which academic staff are refusing to mark students' work as part of a pay dispute.

Some Bristol students have told the BBC they want refunds on their course fees as a result.

Bristol University is offering "goodwill payments" of up to £500 to those most affected.

Bristol University is among the institutions locked in a bitter dispute with academic staff who are members of the University and College Union (UCU). Many UCU members have refused to mark students' work since April.

It means some Bristol students have not received enough marks to graduate, while others will do so without knowing the classification of their degree.

Many academic staff have been refusing to mark students work since April, as part of a pay dispute

The 40 students unable to graduate represent 0.7% of the 5,460 final year undergraduates at the university.

'Sad not to graduate'

Theatre and English student Violet Allmark is one of those who can't graduate as planned from Bristol University this summer. She's been told she doesn't have enough marks to get a classification.

She says: "I feel upset. I feel sad that I can't graduate with my friends. I feel angry and bitter about that because I've done the exact same amount of work as them."

However, she says she still supports the lecturers in the dispute, saying: "I feel like their needs aren't being met and they really need to be."

'Feeling angry'

Alice Padgett has just finished her degree course in theatre and English Literature at Bristol University, and will graduate without knowing her mark.

Alice Padgett wants a refund over the marking boycott

She says: "It's really quite sad because I've worked for three years and now I'm in tens of thousands of pounds of debt. We are contractually owed. I think the university management has massively let the entire system down."

Alice has been offered a £500 goodwill payment but believes she should receive a larger refund.

She said: "This has left me feeling really angry because I've had a year of the effects of industrial action and no refund. My education is not what they promised us."

Bristol University charges tuition fees of £9,250 for a standard year of study.

'Turbulent'

Professor Tansy Jessop, Pro VC for Education and Students at Bristol University said: "I can't apologise enough for what's happened to students during the marking and assessment boycott and industrial action. They've been caught in the cross hairs of a dispute at the end of a turbulent three years.

Professor Tansy Jessop "can't apologise enough" to students caught up in the dispute

"We've been doing as much as we can to ensure our finalists graduate. But 40 out of 6,000 are not able to graduate and for each of those students I cannot apologise enough. It must feel terrible."

The university told the BBC it has introduced measures to improve staff conditions. They include putting more staff on contract and increasing overall staff numbers to tackle workload issues.

The university says it "participates in a national bargaining arrangement to agree the annual pay award" but that staff have been offered between 5% and 8% increases.

Other institutions affected

Other West Country universities are also affected by the marking boycott.

The University of Bath says 461 of its students - around 14% - are affected by the marking boycott. It says it has been able to award a degree classification to all undergraduate finalists, although some have interim grades.

The University of the West of England (UWE) says all of its final year students are able to attend graduation if they want to. 200 students out of 9,000 eligible to graduate will not know their final classification.

The University of Gloucestershire says none of its students are affected and all students can graduate as planned in November.