Harrogate student complains after university dispute leaves her with ungraded degree

A Harrogate student has complained to one of the UK’s most prestigious universities after discovering her degree cannot be given a classification.

After studying for four years at Edinburgh University, Issy Murray found out that she would have to graduate with an ungraded degree.

This was due to an ongoing marking boycott by the University and College Union (UCU), which led to most of her work being left unmarked.

The boycott, which started in April, is part of a long-running standoff between the UCU and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) over staff pay and working conditions.

Across 145 UK universities, students like Issy have been caught in the crossfire, with around a third having their grades delayed. As a result, thousands are facing complications with applications to jobs and postgraduate courses.

Issy hopes to become a doctor and has applied to a competitive postgraduate medicine course, but thinks her chances of getting a place could be slim with an ungraded degree.

She told the Stray Ferret that the university has provided her with very little support. The most she has received was a letter confirming her attendance and, what she considered a somewhat insincere, late apology.

Issy’s mother, Sue Murray commented:

“The letter they’ve been supplied with isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. It is very vague and Edinburgh Uni takes no responsibility for anything”

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The former Harrogate Grammar student has been particularly unlucky. As well as the ongoing boycott, her time at university has been badly disrupted by multiple UCU strikes and covid.

Issy feels she has been continually let down by university management and strongly believes students should be compensated for their “huge investments”.

Her mother added:

“As it stands these poor (many young) people have nothing to show for their best part of the £40k debt they’ve incurred.

“They don’t know when; how or if their work is ever going to be marked as the university cannot confirm by when it will be assessed or by whom”

The Harrogate family have appealed to the university’s management team and Vice-Chancellor but with little success. They have also reached out to the Department of Education and their local MP, Andrew Jones, for help.

Issy said:

“We had a blind trust that we would get our degrees. No one expected this to happen”

“It’s not right and not fair so we are making a fuss, not just sitting back and taking it”

She still plans to attend her graduation ceremony this month to celebrate her time at university with friends and family.

However, without a classification for her degree, Issy said the event would be “bittersweet”.