GROUP EMAIL for European Security Co-operation since 1945 - PO599 - 1 - 2006 Principal Group
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Dear PO599 students,
As you may already know, the AUT (Association of University Teachers) and NATFHE (National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education) are striking on Tuesday 7 March. The reasons for the strike are explained in the following document:
http://www.aut.org.uk/media/pdf/b/c/...guardianad.pdf . Please read it as it is designed specifically as a message from the trade unions to students.
The industrial action will affect the PO599 course in the following way:
(1) On Tuesday 7 March, the lecture will be cancelled. The lecture notes are on Ward anyway, and you are encouraged to read through them and to do the reading for that week (which consists in communiqués that you can find on Ward).
(2) All seminars, however, will run as usual. This is because otherwise, only the seminar group that meets right after the lecture would be penalised, as the Wednesday seminars would not be affected by the strike. So because we want to treat all of you in the same way, all the seminars will be running as usual.
(3) Alex will hold his office hours as usual, Tuesday 2-4. This is because your essays will be due in on the following week, and several of you may want to see Alex to discuss issues related to these.
(4) But the industrial action will affect you in another important way. That is, your essays will be marked but the marks will NOT be released until the matter is resolved between the AUT/NATFHE and their employers. This is in accordance with one of the actions that are listed in the document the link of which is provided above.
(5) Please note that there is no change to the deadline for your essays. They are still due to be handed in by Monday 13 March, 3:30 pm, and the rules on extensions will be the same (ie strictly no extension unless documented evidence to justify it, and extension form signed by the course convenor).
We will let you know if any other action is planned that would further affect your studies. But you can assume that things run as normal unless we email you to inform you of the contrary.
For your information, the Student Union has issued the following notice: "Kent Union firmly believes in enhancing the student experience. Making sure that students are taught by valued and highly motivated staff is all part of ensuring a high quality education for our members. This is why Kent Union and the National Union of Students are standing by the AUT and NATFHE in their call for industrial action."
We hope that you will also sympathise with us on the reasons for this industrial action, and we hope that the matter will be resolved quickly enough so as not to further disrupt your studies.
Best wishes,
Gulnur and Alex