STUDENTS in Scottish universities have been left feeling "angry" and “forgotten” after being forced to graduate without their final degree results – due to an ongoing union dispute.
Students at both Edinburgh and Glasgow University are being given a range of different degree outcomes in the midst of a marking boycott by UCU members in 145 universities across the UK.
These range from the best-case scenario, being awarded a full degree and final classification (such as a first-class degree or a 2:1), to the worst case, students’ results being deferred indefinitely without being given concrete confirmation of when they will be marked.
Lucie Graham, a Spanish and Politics student at Edinburgh University blasted the institution on Twitter after finding out languages students may not receive their results until January next year.
There is no confirmation that ANY of our work will EVER be marked. Spending many stressful and difficult weeks in the library…for what? (5/)
— LG 🌹 (@LucieGrahamx) June 20, 2023
She told The National: “Myself and many other students at the university feel angry, disappointed and let down by Edinburgh University.
“The situation is an absolute mess, which could have been avoided through contingency planning and a willingness to negotiate with striking workers.”
She was clear to state her support for striking lecturers, saying: “The administration and senior staff are completely to blame.
“It seems other universities had far better contingency and mitigation plans in place.”
She noted Nottingham University which made the decision to award all students with degrees prior to their graduation, with a mark derived from previous assessments.
Edinburgh University has confirmed to The National that some students, such as those in the languages department, will receive their full degree results at a later date due to a sufficient "threshold" of marks not being met amid the boycott.
It emphasised in an online statement that its “priority is to ensure that any outstanding assessments are marked in a timely manner".
Kvitka Perehinets, a Ukrainian student whose home-country was invaded half-way through her studies at Edinburgh University, has also criticised the university’s handling of the boycott and communication with students.
She told the National: “Any communication we’ve had from Edinburgh University has been purely to say ‘the strikes are happening, it’s impacting you, we’re very sorry, we’ve stopped paying them as much’.
“The last email we received said we’ll revisit this issue as soon as we can, which immediately felt to us like this has been put on the back-burner.”
As for @EdinburghUni, I wish I could say I will be a proud alumna, but I don’t feel that way right now. I don’t regret my decision to study in Edinburgh not because of my studies, but because of the people and the city I’ve grown to love along the way. (16/)
— Kvitka Perehinets 🇺🇦 (@kvitkanadiia) June 19, 2023
Perehinets added that “the mental toll it’s going to take on many is undeniable”.
She said: “I’m incredibly privileged because I’ve been here for all four years so I obviously have an intimate connection to what’s happening and to the war in the Ukraine, but I was already stationed here when it began.
“There are other Ukranians in Scottish universities who are refugees who have arrived here looking for stability and a continuation of their studies only to realise the hurdles and challenges don’t end there.
“For them – I can’t speak on their behalf – but I can imagine it’s all the more difficult to process all this because there’s no security in a place they were probably looking for one.”
Graduations at Glasgow University kicked off today, 12 days ahead of Edinburgh University’s first ceremony.
Sociology student Jess Wilson chose to use the opportunity to protest the university’s handling of the dispute with UCU members, walking up on stage wearing a sign over her gown reading “renegotiate NOW!”.
Wilson was among a number of students to have only received a “qualified” degree prior to graduating, meaning that she has no idea how well she has done.
She said: “It’s not fair. It completely undermines everything of an academic institution that holds itself in such high regard.
“It undermines the work that lecturers put into classes and assessments; it undermines the work that students put into assessments.
“I know for a fact that I have put my heart and my soul into this year, and right now I have nothing to my name.”
It comes as a petition launched by Glasgow University students encouraging the university with negotiate with the UCU nears 1000 signatories.
Paul Scheifl, a politics student from Austria who launched the petition, also emphasized the severe impact on international students.
He said: “Something the universities will actually care about … It will definitely have an impact on future generations, where if the word gets out that you do four years of work here – hard work during a pandemic – and you don’t even get a degree on time [it could deter people from studying in the UK].
“I came with the EU scheme, but some people are paying £10,000 or £20,000 for this.”
A Glasgow University spokesperson said: “We appreciate this will be a particularly stressful time for students.
“We have written to all students with the latest information, advice and support and the university is doing everything it can to mitigate against the impact of this industrial action.
“We have committed that no student will be prevented from graduating or onwards progression due to industrial action.”
