Students face another day of disruption tomorrow as university staff prepare to stage a second national strike of the term.
Academic and support staff at the University of Exeter are among those planning to join the one-day of action across the country in the on-going row over pay and pensions.
City staff will join early morning picket lines at entrances to the university's Streatham and St Luke's campuses before a number of rallies are held elsewhere in the country.
The Students' Guild warned its 18,500 student members to expect disruption, adding that it was seeking assurances over the impact from the university "as a matter of urgency".
Fewer than 2% of staff supported the industrial action in October, and yet unions hailed the strike as a "tremendous success".
Some students saw their lectures cancelled, but many were on an official reading week without scheduled lectures or seminars.
The latest strike comes during the penultimate week of term as many students face coursework deadlines ahead of January exams.
University deputy vice chancellor Janice Kay told students in an email: "We will seek to ensure that minimum disruption is caused."
Unions rejected a pay offer of 1% which they say represents a 13% pay cut in real terms since 2009.
In a statement ahead of the strike, the Guild told students: "We are aware that this action could cause more disruption than the last strike and the Students' Guild has raised this with the University as a matter of urgency to ensure that assessments and contact time is not significantly affected.
"Whilst our immediate focus is on the current issues, we know that it would be remiss of us not to keep an eye on the offering to future generations of students. Happy and properly paid staff are a vital part of Exeter's continued growth and improvement and therefore we urge all parties to meet at the earliest opportunity to end this impasse."
Any staff taking part in the strike will be docked one days' pay, with the money being donated to the student hardship fund.
Dr Martin Pitts, from the Classics and Ancient History department, told the student publication Exeter Tab: "The strike is on behalf of all university workers from porters and cleaners on little more than £7 per hour up to the grade of Associate Professor, but not including the highest paid workers. We strike not because our case is exceptional but because it is part of greatly increasing inequality across the UK.
"There may be future strikes if the employers are not able to reach a compromise with the Unions."
It will be the second coordinated strike action involving members of the University and College Union (UCU), UNISON and Unite.
UCU regional official, Nick Varney, said: "Staff in universities and colleges are taking strike action to say enough is enough. They have seen their pay slashed in real terms since 2009 and this year's miserly pay offer, at a time of rising bills, was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"Staff love their jobs, but their goodwill cannot continue to be taken for granted. Nobody wants to take strike action and lose a day's pay, but we feel we have been left with no alternative."
