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

Likewise and we always sent a generous estimate to the Events team in about March.

It's also possible , but i hope not, that she hasn't actually completed and isn't eligible, but hasn't told her mum. I've seen that happen.

Of nothing can be done about the ceremony, could your dd still go and hire the robes and hat for photos with her friends and get the official photo done if she wants it? Sometimes the ceremony is projected onto a big screen in an overflow auditorium and that way she could still see her friends walking and get a sense of the experience. Not the same but better than nothing.

UCL did this with me. I know they have a lot of students graduating each year, but I was getting a PhD!

They did a later “dress up in your Tudor hat and gown and have an official photo taken” session, which I did go to, and honestly the photo was what I really wanted.

Can you clarify - do you mean she personally cannot graduate with her cohort because there is no room for her.
Or do you mean she cannot book her place at the graduation along with (for example) her four family members to attend with her?

If you've seen the email that counts out my second para, good. Hopefully someone will drop out. But they still should have catered for the full graduating cohort.

That's shocking and never heard of this, I'd assume there was a place for every student! I don't remember having to "apply" for graduation apart from spectator tickets which were limited to 2 per graduate.

University students are usually adults so it's right that the university deals with them directly and not with parents

Yes, they're autonomous adults until, of course, it comes to finance and then they're lumped in with their parents household (even someone who may not be related to them) and told they earn too much, so tough (even though there's no legal requirement for said parent to actually help financially, even if they can afford to). 😉

I can totally understand her and you being upset - it's a rite of passage after all those years of slog and considerable expense. I'd be telling her to kick up a fuss and expect a 2nd/3rd relative to be bumped off the list in favour of a graduating student. And if that doesn't work I'd be telling them quite how vocal you'll be about it on social media and all the uni forums.

She can graduate but cannot attend the ceremony. Yes they do say that the places are on a 'first come and first served' but can anyone honestly say this is right.There should be enough spaces for everyone. Thank you for everyone who has given us suggestions for how to make the day special. She can still hire a gown and have photos with her friends. I just feel very strongly that the University is saving money at the expense of students who have paid a fortune.

Did she apply a day or two after her friends or a week or two later? Either way, it’s very poor that Lancaster university can’t have everyone graduating together. One of my DCs went to Newcastle and they have loads of short graduation ceremonies rather than a few longer sessions, so that everyone can be fitted in.

I was at Lancaster graduated 2017 and the Great Hall isn’t enormous. They often have overspill rooms with big screens but I thought that was usually for guests not graduates. It’s unfortunate but if it helps the ceremony was incredibly boring.

November is fine though. My dd recently had her graduation but she finished her degree a year ago. Her options were last November or this May, and her friends were mostly choosing this May so she went for that one but actually it wouldn’t have mattered much on the day, as it was so full and hectic. I really enjoyed it, so do book the November one rather than a postal certificate .

Can you share what the letter says?

Please push it with the uni OP, through complaints or even socials if you need to, this is an awful policy and if there isn't room for all the students perhaps there should be no guests allowed in the actual ceremony and it streamed somewhere else locally, then meet for photos etc, something like that- there HAS to be something they can do. A cohort should be able to graduate together

I just find this bizarre: I'd expect there to be space for all who have completed their degree.

I'm fairly ancient, so I'm used to the system whereby you're given your graduate date. We only had to book if we wished to participate in the formal dinner after the ceremony.

That’s rubbish! I’ve never heard of not getting in to your ceremony.

They are… but I would never have wanted to miss both mine and DH’s those of our DC. To watch them having a fab day and also to meet some of their friends we had not met was highly enjoyable.
And no @mildlyfried I have never heard of this before. I know they put limitations on family attending but never of there being a waiting list for those graduating.
That’s greedy universities taking in too many students.

Is there some process that she missed along the way?

We have spare capacity TVs set up around the university for family members who cannot attend the actual ceremony due to numbers but students are the absolute priority.

The letter is a bland statement of facts stating she was told it was 'first come first served' and she should have applied earlier. They say it is not their fault and due to 'health and safety'. No suggestion of putting on an extra day for those on the waiting list

OMG that is awful but LU do use such a small hall for the ceremonies.

This is completely unacceptable!!

She has paid 1000s in uni fees, put the hard work in and deserves to go to graduation.

I don’t understand how there isn’t enough space!
Why don’t they spread it out over more days.

Until the deadline you would expect all the student seats to be reserved. So I could understand that she could have a seat and go up on stage but not have an tickets for her supporters.

That's CRAZY. Completely unacceptable and I'd be kicking up a fuss. Maybe go to your MP?

Yes they could put their hand in their pocket and do an extra day for the students on the waiting list but no. Too expensive. And blame the students for being too slow just to rub salt into the wounds

Yes I'd like to kick up a fuss. Not sure how yet.