The University of Bristol’s vice-chancellor, Evelyn Welch, has defended her decision to mark art history essays during an assessment boycott – a move that has been criticised as “highly provocative and undignified”.
Professor Welch, a Renaissance history expert, told Times Higher Education that she will be marking the work of final-year students to mitigate the impact of the nationwide marking boycott that began on 16 April. Bristol has confirmed that it will dock 50 per cent of pay for those refusing to grade papers, a policy that has been criticised by hundreds of staff and students.
Confirming reports that she had recently started marking work in her discipline, Professor Welch said the university was “committed to prioritising the marking of final-year students’ work by subject experts, hence why I will be marking some history of art dissertations”.
“Having spoken to our students, I know they want to graduate with a degree classification, and therefore I’m joining with non-striking staff to make this happen,” added Professor Welch.
