The immediate threat comes from members of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, representing staff in the post-1992 universities and higher education colleges, who have already backed industrial action to allow the first strike to take place on May 21.
Other sanctions being discussed include withholding students' exam and coursework marks and refusing to deal with exam boards.
The latest round of pay talks which began in the autumn has secured an offer from employers of 3.3% for 2000-01 - more than 1% below average pay rises and below the average for public sector workers and teachers.
Natfhe has rejected this and is recommending members take action unless the offer is improved. Talks are due to resume on May 10 and sanctions could begin seven days later.
Lecturers are also considering action over threatened job cuts, which they blame on government underinvestment and fluctuations in student demand for some courses.
The Association of University Teachers, which represents teachers in longer established universities, is also unhappy about the low pay offer, and made it clear yesterday that if a better deal is not presented on May 10 its annual conference shortly afterwards will consider a call for a ballot on industrial action. The threats of action come as the Easter classroom teacher conference season looks set to be dominated by debates about better working conditions, with a historic joint motion calling for a 35 hour week supported by the main unions.
Tom Wilson, head of Natfhe's higher education department, said a "summer of discontent" was looking likely. "We are certainly gearing ourselves up for industrial action," he said. "The pay offer on the table is plainly inadequate. Lecturers have been very patient but that patience is now running out. University lecturers have to cope with a double whammy - low pay and job insecurity. What kind of an incentive is that for young graduates considering a career in university teaching?"
David Triesman, general secretary of the Association of University Teachers, said: "Higher education staff have shown the patience of saints waiting for a serious pay offer from university employers.
"After many months of exhausting negotiation the employers have one more opportunity in early May to solve this dispute. Increasing demands on higher education and the expansion of university places will not again be funded out of the pocket of lecturers and staff."
New "Harvard-style" PhD courses will be on offer at 10 leading universities from this September, it was announced yesterday, allowing students to learn new skills through coursework alongside specialist research.
The so-called "new route" PhDs, which were welcomed by the prime minister, are modelled on the courses offered by top American universities, but will not replace existing PhDs at English universities.
