Final year AUT students are holding off applying to graduate as academic staff go on strike.

Frustrated students of Auckland's AUT University are holding off applying for graduation because their lecturers are withholding their exam results.

Academic staff are on strike and are refusing to upload all grades to the university's online database until an agreement can be made with their employer.

The one-week strike action comes after the previous collective agreement expired and renegotiations for a new two-year agreement failed.

Irena Brorens, National Industrial officer of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) said, "It's not our intention to make life harder for the students".

"We are not taking this issue lightly, we wouldn't be doing this if it weren't absolutely necessary."

TEU is demanding a 2.5 per cent pay increase starting Janurary 1, 2016 and another 2.5 per cent increase in 2017.

Currently, AUT are offering a 1.3 per cent increase in 2016 and 1.5 per cent increase in 2017.

In a public post on the university's Facebook page, Jazmin Cullen condemned the staff's actions on behalf of the AUT student body.

"Students do not deserve to be punished because of a disagreement with your employer," she said.

"We have chosen to go to AUT to continue our education ... However, we did not chose to become pawns in your employment issues. Withholding students' grades that define our future is wrong. Please think about the other people you are involving in this situation. People that did not choose to be a part of this."

The union is having a meeting at midday on Tuesday and is also meeting with the student body to talk through the issue.

About 70 per cent of AUTs academic staff belongs to the union, which has more than 600 members in total.

Brorens said that if the issue is resolved and a collective agreement can be reached within the week the results will be uploaded as normal.