Dear Vice-Chancellor Paul O'Prey,

We are writing to you in relation to the UCU members' proposed boycott of the marking process that will go ahead from 28th April unless a resolution to the pay dispute can be reached.

At time of writing, the Roehampton Student Union have taken the decision not to endorse this proposed strike action. A number of us have communicated our concern and disappointment at the RSU's failure to support the teaching staff and so we are contacting you independently as students attending the University of Roehampton.

As a body of students we include third year students who are due to graduate this summer. A number of these third year students are extremely anxious as to where this planned action will leave their final assessments and the impact that the boycott may have going forward.

We are concerned and angry that this matter has come to this point, however, this anger is not directed at the teaching staff. It is clear that the proposed pay increase of 1 per cent does not reflect the excellent level of teaching and support that the staff at Roehampton deliver. It is also quite clear that the impact of this boycott will have a drastic impact on students' faith and trust in the University and the repercussions to students' wellbeing caused by anxiety and stress due to this matter is of a huge importance.

As you know, the lecturers at Roehampton are highly skilled professionals who have trained for many years to become experts in their chosen fields. The University of Roehampton's website acknowledges that Roehampton homes 'excellent teachers and researchers working at the cutting edge of their subject areas'. This level of expertise ultimately makes us better students, which, in turn, increases the reputation of the University. The proposed pay increase does not reflect this and it is widely acknowledged that University staff have actually seen their pay fall by 13% in real-terms since 2009.

Therefore we are writing to you in good faith to ask that you help put an end to this matter and its drastically damaging affects by asking you to enter into discussions with a view to agreeing a fair and sustainable settlement as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Students of University of Roehampton