Contingency plans for exams

More universities confirmed this week that, if necessary, they were ready to award degrees to students who had not been able to sit their finals because of the exams and assessment boycott.

Others revealed that they were preparing to draft in students as well as part-time agency and retired academic staff to ensure that exams were set, invigilated and marked.

Aberystwyth University has confirmed that if the boycott continues it will consider awarding degrees on the basis of available marks, which may be enhanced to take account of the tendency of students' performance to improve in the final year.

Where students could not take exams required by professional bodies, arrangements would be made to sit them in August or in the next academic year, at the university's expense, it added.

Manchester University , which has "guaranteed" that students will graduate, was this week considering setting up faculty level boards that could award degrees on the basis of students' past performance where examinations and marking are disrupted by the dispute.

Manchester Metropolitan University has told staff and students that it is ready to make "academically robust and well-informed decisions" about whether a student should progress on a course or be awarded a degree. Such decisions could be based on information including past performance.

The University of Central Lancashire warned this week that the union action could result in some students not receiving their degrees. It said that a "significant number" of academics were taking part in the action. Alan Roff, UCLan's deputy vice-chancellor, said the university would take "whatever measures are necessary" to ensure that degrees are awarded.

Liverpool John Moores University said all examinations had gone ahead as planned, partly thanks to the help of students it has recruited through its "Work Bank" - an agency used to help students find part-time work.

Lampeter University said it was drafting in postgraduate students and part-time staff to help invigilate its exams and was also enlisting the help of retired academics to mark them.

Salford University said that if students did not have a full set of marks, it would provide a letter summarising performance so far and would process the full marks as soon as possible to allow later graduations.