Comments on: Students to graduate without degree class http://www.nouse.co.uk/2006/05/26/students-to-graduate-without-degree-class-as-boycott-continues/ Award-winning University of York Student Newspaper Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:52:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Gary http://www.nouse.co.uk/2006/05/26/students-to-graduate-without-degree-class-as-boycott-continues/#comment-6639 Gary Mon, 19 Jun 2006 18:35:02 +0000 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2006/05/26/students-to-graduate-without-degree-class-as-boycott-continues/#comment-6639 Me, Me, Me. http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/390 Dispute over, and higher education is undermined further still. I'm thoroughly ashamed of how SUs have behaved through out this. I hope the next time university fees are on the agenda, that the AUT will remember how they were repaid for supporting the NUS in the past. Furthermore, when the issue of pay arises again (and I’ve no doubt it will) I hope the SU doesn’t decide to repeat the run of posters asking lecturers if they are acting for the students or the pay. Second time round I think the question will have answered itself; money looks a whole lot better than students right now. A knife in the back is sure to be remembered, and I’d certainly not teach having watch this pan out. Me, Me, Me.

http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/390

Dispute over, and higher education is undermined further still. I’m thoroughly ashamed of how SUs have behaved through out this. I hope the next time university fees are on the agenda, that the AUT will remember how they were repaid for supporting the NUS in the past.

Furthermore, when the issue of pay arises again (and I’ve no doubt it will) I hope the SU doesn’t decide to repeat the run of posters asking lecturers if they are acting for the students or the pay. Second time round I think the question will have answered itself; money looks a whole lot better than students right now. A knife in the back is sure to be remembered, and I’d certainly not teach having watch this pan out.

]]> By: Margaret Crawford http://www.nouse.co.uk/2006/05/26/students-to-graduate-without-degree-class-as-boycott-continues/#comment-5000 Margaret Crawford Thu, 01 Jun 2006 01:40:55 +0000 http://www.nouse.co.uk/2006/05/26/students-to-graduate-without-degree-class-as-boycott-continues/#comment-5000 As someone with a relative who is supposed to be graduating in July I would like to offer an external perspective. Salaries for university teachers throughout the world seem disproportionately low compared with many professions who benefit greatly from the output of such teachers in the form of the contribution from their students and their research. As such I can certainly appreciate the concerns and demands of the teaching staff. I must question however whether the point of leverage that is being used here is either morally defensible or indeed in the long-term interests of the teaching staff themselves. The impact of a pay dispute no matter how acrimonious will be transitory. The non-award of a degree will almost certainly have repercussions for the potential graduate that may well last throughout that person's professional life. It is not reasonable to damage the lives of young people in this way, especially when they can have no impact on the outcome. As a university graduate myself I am indebted to my teaching staff. I am sure that this sentiment is echoed by many graduates. To the teaching staff of York I would say that we support you in your claim for better pay but please don't demean everything that we respect you for by harming directly the very people for whom you have chosen your vocation. The price to them will indeed be very great but the real price to you in terms of your self-respect, your reputation and the fundamental basis of your own careers may be even greater. Your claims are just but the weapon for achieving them is inappropriate and does you a disservice. As someone with a relative who is supposed to be graduating in July I would like to offer an external perspective. Salaries for university teachers throughout the world seem disproportionately low compared with many professions who benefit greatly from the output of such teachers in the form of the contribution from their students and their research. As such I can certainly appreciate the concerns and demands of the teaching staff.

I must question however whether the point of leverage that is being used here is either morally defensible or indeed in the long-term interests of the teaching staff themselves. The impact of a pay dispute no matter how acrimonious will be transitory. The non-award of a degree will almost certainly have repercussions for the potential graduate that may well last throughout that person’s professional life. It is not reasonable to damage the lives of young people in this way, especially when they can have no impact on the outcome.

As a university graduate myself I am indebted to my teaching staff. I am sure that this sentiment is echoed by many graduates. To the teaching staff of York I would say that we support you in your claim for better pay but please don’t demean everything that we respect you for by harming directly the very people for whom you have chosen your vocation. The price to them will indeed be very great but the real price to you in terms of your self-respect, your reputation and the fundamental basis of your own careers may be even greater. Your claims are just but the weapon for achieving them is inappropriate and does you a disservice.

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