Students received their degree certificates and grades more than a month after their supposed graduation
A university paid students £500 after they were unable to give them their degree certificates or grades at their graduation ceremony.
Graduates at the Queen Mary, University of London were handed a piece of paper while walking across the stage - which said they wouldn't be receiving their degree certificates.
Their marks had been delayed due to the marking boycott last summer, student news site
The Tab reports.
One student told the publication that the delay caused complications for students on visas and those applying for Master’s and jobs.
According to an
internal Queen Mary report, the uni gave £500 to 20 final year film studies students as compensation for not knowing their grades by graduation. It was over a month later when these students finally received their degree classification.
In an email seen by The London Tab, the Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary wrote to students: “While you were able to graduate with all your fellow finalists, it is clearly unsatisfactory that you had to wait five weeks for confirmation of your marks and degree classification.
“In compensation for the distress and disappointment you must have felt as a result of this delay, we are offering a partial refund of £500 from your tuition fee.”
The London Tab spoke to one of the graduates affected by the delay, who said: “Despite not receiving a grade, the university required us to pay for a graduation ceremony in which we were provided with a piece of paper, instead of a degree, stating that we could not be awarded official marks.''
A spokesperson for Queen Mary, University of London, said: “From the outset of the five-year sector-wide industrial action, our overriding priority has been to protect our students’ education.
''With only two per cent of our staff taking strike action, the impact at Queen Mary has been limited to a few degree programmes.
“In the summer of 2022, over 5,600 finalists were eligible to graduate with their full degree classifications and marks on time.
''In Film Studies, 20 students received enough grades to graduate but, due to industrial action, were missing some marks to allow their final classification to be specified at the graduation ceremony.
''The 20 students received their final classification after the graduation ceremony and the film department apologised to the students.”
