 Lecturers are boycotting the setting and marking of exams |
Lecturers' unions and employers have held talks in their ongoing pay dispute, with a further meeting to take place next week. No new pay offer was made, and the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and other main lecturers' union, Natfhe, have not suspended action.
Lecturers have been refusing to mark work or take part in appraisals.
They have rejected as "derisory" the employers' offer of 3% from August this year and an extra 3% from August 2007.
The latest meeting was facilitated by conciliation service Acas, with the unions and University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) due to meet again on Tuesday.
Resolution sought
AUT general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Our position remains unchanged. Throughout this dispute we have been seeking to resolve matters as swiftly as possible with minimum disruption.
"We hope Tuesday will be the start of serious negotiations and the employers will finally make an offer that represents what their staff are worth and addresses the demands in our pay claim."
UCEA chief executive Jocelyn Prudence said: "The initial talks with Acas were helpful, and we look forward to continuing them next Tuesday."
She added: "We are extremely concerned about the effects of the unions' action, and in particular the AUT approach of a total boycott of examinations and assessment, which could create irretrievable problems.
"We are seeking to resolve the situation as speedily as possible."
The AUT is boycotting the setting and marking of exams, while Natfhe is boycotting just the marking of exam papers.
With the exam season fast approaching, the prospect of final-year students not being able to graduate this summer is becoming more and more likely.
Threat to graduations
Twenty-one student unions across England have condemned the National Union of Students' (NUS) support for the industrial action as being "unrepresentative" of students' views.
However, this then prompted more than 30 other students' associations to express their support for the NUS and for the academics' industrial action.
The NUS said that while it shared concerns about the impact of the action, it was supported by the majority of student unions.
"Whilst we can't stop the action of the teaching unions, who are following a course of action voted for by their members, we will continue to extensively lobby the teaching unions on a variety of issues and concerns," said NUS President Kat Fletcher.
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