Daughter unable to attend her graduation ceremony as it is full. Advice please

[mildlyfried]

My daughter has just finished a three year Bsc (hons) at a major University. She has been advised that she cannot attend her graduation ceremony as it is full and she is on a waiting list. All the other ceremonies are at capacity too. She has been told that if a place does not become available then she can either try to graduate in November without her friends or have her certificate posted to her for a £10 fee.

To say we are upset and disappointed is an understatement. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I did not think a University would do this and would make sure they had enough graduation days/dates for all their students. The students have paid tens of thousands in fees and slogged for three years to be denied the chance to get their degree in a ceremony with their family watching.

Is there anyone out there with any advice? maybe someone who works at a University? I'm tempted to go to the local paper and tell the story so other students know what to expect at this University. Students should be told when they are choosing the University that they are not guaranteed a graduation.

Thanks for reading

I still don't understand how places at graduation ceremonies are being handed out when there is nor certainty the candidate will graduate. The results of my finals weren't announced until nearly the end of July, if I hadn't completed my individual project report and submitted by the end of June, i wouldn't have been in the Albert Hall looking like a prize pratt (actually i wasn't because I didn't go).

It depends on the course and the university- some are a collection of modules, so the final marks to come in will determine only the class, not the pass / fail for the degree.

Otherwise, I suppose what is really happening are ‘provisional bookings’, to aid logistics, in which the student indicates whether they intend to graduate should they be eligible to.

Aren't places offered to everyone? If you fail to register/respond by a certain date, then it's too bad. But you can graduate by a later date. This doesn't sound like it's the unversity's fault.

Exeter uni?

It sounds like you’ve had a narrow escape. My eldest graduated in 2015. We all attended her graduation. It was one of the most boring and over priced days of our lives.

I graduated in 2016 and her younger brother in 2018. None of us attended either ceremony. We took the money we might have spent on hiring overpriced gowns, paying for overpriced photos, eating in overpriced restaurants and staying in overpriced hotels and spent it on celebrations at home celebrating with all our nearest and dearest present. It was so much more personal than the impersonal production line of a graduation.

if your DD (reasonably) wants to celebrate with her cohort she can do that the night before or later in the day. I doubt in the queues and formalities of a typical graduation anyone will even notice she missed her 6 second walk across the stage.

Universities. Like all
other businesses are struggling to survive. I dont expect they can afford to run multiple ceremonies

So if the DD also thinks November isn’t good enough, begs the question why she ignored the explicit instructions and the reminder emails that followed.

My daughter said everyone knew it was limited!! So she and her mates responded immediately.

That is what one does when something is
important to them…. Respond promptly. Or at least to the second reminder.

😂😂😂

I don't know why she didn't respond in time but it seems fairly irrelevant as if it wasn't her it would be someone else and it wouldn't be fair on them either. November ceremonies are small with few undergraduate. It's not the same as a July ceremony with everyone else from your course or college. They should have enough space in July for undergraduates who want to attend (which will be most of them)

Was she late in corresponding that she would be attending?
I work at a Uni. Ceremonies are organised to ensure all graduands have a seat. There may be restrictions on guest tickets dependent on venue, but most are allocated 2 guest tickets.
If students do not respond to the invite it is assumed that they are not attending and their seat is allocated for guests.

Indeed.

It only goes to show how many fools there are on mumsnet.

Tbh I am hoping I can contact the disability team at the start of her final year and ask them if there is a way for me to be cc’d or even notified of the timeframe or for them to assist and add it to the things they support her with. Have not been terribly impressed with the Disability support team at her uni, though, so am not holding my breath. Tbh at this stage I am just hoping she makes it to the end of the course - graduating would be an amazing celebration of that feat, but the feat itself is what we’re working towards. I am so pleased it worked out for your DD - gives me a little ray of hope! 🥰

Apologies too busy laughing to respond properly.

If this event was so damn important she would have responded in a timely fashion to book her place.

She didn’t and now her mum is all over mumset and Facebook having a hissy fit and encouraging a pile on against the (highly rated) university from whom she has achieved a degree from because she CBA to book her place - unlike all her friends.

I admit I am getting crabby now but after many attempts to be polite and explain my
position (or rather the facts) I am at stage “boo fucking hoo”.

It’s worth emailing the uni (cc in your child) to ask for the protocol and ask your child to confirm in the email they are happy with your requesting that information.

My experience (albeit limited to 4 uni’s) is that they will share it if they have your child’s consent on record.

This will have to be a learning experience for your DD, OP. She didn't respond when asked to indicate intention to attend, now there is no room. She will have to attend her ceremony in November. Best she let them know in plenty of time.

I've graduated three times and never been to a ceremony for any of them. I have more children than guest tickets allocated and don't want to pick and chose which children get to attend. It feels like a forced decision but that's just how it is.

That is really helpful and will sort that out over the summer. I know she will be ambivalent about attending graduation so will likely ignore the correspondence so that the decision over whether to go is taken out of her hands, but I’d like to encourage her to apply and get a place at the ceremony so she can leave the option open. 🙏

As i keep saying the university should have enough ceremony places for all undergraduate in July. Whilst there will need to be a deadline it shouldn't be a first come first served scrum in April or even May. There should be capacity for everyone if they all respond by a certain deadline. I have never heard of another university that does what lancaster appear to do and I have worked in many.

Get your daughter to write a complaint . Make sure you mention you intend to take the complaint to the ombudsman with a view for compensation as you were under the impression you’d graduate with your class.

I had to complain against a university and I also found writing to my MP and also the minister for universities (I think it was something to do with business?) .

The key is to go on about how much it costs to go to university and graduating is an expectation. If you can get hold of a prospectus from the university that has images of graduating or mentioning it, that will help your case too. Graduating is assumed part of the contract of going to university. Universities forget they have a service.

It sounds like OP's daughter didn't respond to initial emails asking for intention to attend earlier in the year. They planned on the numbers who indicated they wanted to attend, then OP's DD tried to get in when students were asked to confirm. It sounds like she missed the first step to register. If that is true, then she'll have to accept her error, learn from it, and register for November.

I totally understand where you are coming from. It really sucks for your daughter. How can they not have enough places for all students. What is the selection process? It sounds discriminatory even if they didn’t mean. Yes, you should complain. It’s an important day for your dd. It does not matter if she does not care 20 years later, but at her age it is important.

How many more times. She can graduate, just not when she wants to, because she didn't reply to the emails. Go ahead complain to the ombudsman, your mp and the Pope, they could all do with a good laugh. You are getting compensation, you're not having to pay for the overpriced extravaganza. In your position I would be checking whether she could be bothered to reply to any job offers, if she could be arsed to apply in the first place.

My sons graduated from two different good universities and there were always 2 tickets allocated automatically for the graduation unless they didn’t want them/family couldn’t go. So then there was a waiting list for anyone wanting an extra one. You did have to pay at one university but they laid on a wonderful champagne buffet. I think it’s terrible to deny students their day after they’ve paid £40k in fees, loans, maybe more. Some people don’t care about graduations but loads do. For us as a family it was always fun and special.

Their website actually says "Graduand seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until the capacity in the Great Hall has been reached." To me that suggests they don't have enough spaces for everyone anyway.

Sorry, but this is complete and utter b*llocks. The only thing the university is contractually obliged is to award a degree upon completion of a course of study to a satisfactory standard as set out in each departments’ specification and assessment manual. Physically attending a ceremony is optional for the candidate, not compulsory, though obviously most chose to take part…

Maybe, but in any case, it seems like OP's daughter was given instructions she didn't follow, going by the word of those here who have been through the same institution recently.

Unless that means first come first served for specific dates? I'd expect they'd allow you to indicate preference for dates if there is more than one ceremony. It doesn't seem unreasonable that they asked for indication of who wanted to attend and planned the number of ceremonies accordingly.