Swansea Uni students have been told they will not graduate due to strikes

A number of Swansea University students have been told they will not be graduating later this month.

In an email from the university, students were told due to some modules not being marked because of the recent marking and assessment boycott (MAB), that they will not be able to attend their graduation ceremonies or receive their degree classifications.

The university has apologised for this and explained that it will only be 70 students that do not graduate.

The email sent out to students from Swansea Uni’s maths and computer science department, is as follows: “Because of the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) not all marking is complete, which means some of you do not have all your marks yet. We expect all missing marking to be done eventually, but we do not know when.”

One student who spoke to Wales Online said: “The university told us if you have two or more modules not marked the a decision on your degree is deferred and you can’t graduate. Four of my modules have not been marked and I wrote a whole dissertation no one has looked at. For the one module I had marked I got 86 per cent which is a first. But I don’t know what I might get for my other modules.”

She continued to explain that her parents had already spent around £400 on hotel bookings and that she feels her student debt has all been for nothing.

Other students added that they were not only upset about not being able to graduate with their friends but also about whether they would be able to get a job or a place on a postgraduate course in the upcoming months due to not having their final degree classification.

A Swansea University spokesperson, told Wales Online: “The total number of students who are unable to attend graduation is fewer than 70 out of a total of over 2,500. It’s worth bearing in mind that in any year there will be some students unable to graduate. In terms of delay, the final results were issued today, which is no different from any other year.

“We extend sincere congratulations to our students and commend each of them on their hard work and commitment this year. We do acknowledge, however, that a small group of these students will have been affected by the national marketing and assessment boycott.

“We remain committed to upholding our academic standards and have recently implemented a set of Exceptional Assessment Regulations to minimise the impact of the boycott.

“We are working diligently to ensure that award outcomes are promptly confirmed for all students. We also want to assure our students that our university has several dedicated teams who are on hand to provide support during this time. We encourage our students to reach out to their faculties should they have any queries or concerns.”

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Cardiff Uni staff to have pay withheld if they continue to strike

• Striking Cardiff Uni lecturers will picket at all graduations amidst ‘a summer of chaos’

• This is everything you could get done in Cardiff before your lecturers mark your work