Just as it looked liked the lecturers pay dispute could not get much uglier, university vice-chancellors and senates across the country upped the ante.
As the weeks ticked by and the exam season loomed, students have, understandably, begun to lose their patience. They have been become increasingly frustrated by their lecturers' refusal to mark their work or set their exams. After all, if the exams are not set and therefore not sat, thousands of graduating students could be left high and dry.
So, surely it was not surprising that in the last couple of days universities, including Bradford, Newcastle and Luton, have taken the brave step of giving academics an ultimatum: set exams or their pay will be docked.
Lecturers face losing as much as 25% pay if they do not abandon the boycott, with universities using a "non-performance" clause as their justification.
As expected, the two lecturers' unions, the Association of University Teachers and Natfhe were outraged, accusing employers of playing dirty. Perhaps they are.
There is widespread support for lecturers to be given a significant pay rise, even from some of the most disgruntled students. Few would disagree that they are underpaid.
But could they really expect to refuse do such integral tasks as marking and exam setting without expecting some sort of retaliation from employers?
