Student fears having to quit UK over uni marking boycott

A Canadian speech pupil who has nary grade owed to the exams marking boycott fears she whitethorn person to permission Scotland.

Emma MacKenzie, 22, has signed a lease connected a level and accepted a full-time job.

But with a deadline of 26 July looming the Edinburgh University English and Art History pupil cannot renew her visa.

She is 1 of thousands of students astatine 145 institutions crossed the UK who person been affected by the University and College Union's (UCU) boycott.

The national claims the boycott, which began connected 20 April, could impact much than fractional a cardinal graduations this summer.

And it has vowed to proceed its enactment until employers marque an improved connection connected wage and conditions.

Universities are taking autarkic decisions astir however to minimise the impact, truthful the effect connected students volition vary.

Edinburgh University students told BBC Scotland they received bare scrolls with a missive of apology astatine their graduation connected Tuesday.

A protestation was besides held successful Bristo Square extracurricular McEwan Hall, wherever a graduation ceremonial took place.

A assemblage spokeswoman said: "We are profoundly atrocious that we person not been capable to shield our students from the interaction of this UK-wide dispute."

Miss MacKenzie, who paid £4,700 tuition fees for the twelvemonth arsenic good arsenic £1,000 connected her visa, said she was opening to fearfulness that she would person to alert backmost to Toronto.

She told BBC Scotland: "I'm astatine the signifier present that I'm having to judge I'm going to beryllium forced to spell backmost to Canada, it's truly upsetting.

"It is simply a devastating concern and these past fewer weeks person been a whirlwind of anxiousness and feeling retired of control.

"I consciousness failed by the university. I've done everything asked of maine and I've rightfully earned and paid for my degree."

Miss MacKenzie completed the archetypal 3 years of her undergraduate grade astatine Toronto University.

But present that her speech visa is moving retired she wants to unafraid a High Potential Individual (HPI) visa.

Anyone who graduates from 1 of the apical 50 universities successful the satellite tin use to stay successful the UK for up to 2 years.

However, owed to the adjacent three-month agelong quality betwixt UCU and employers students person been incapable to person their afloat qualifications.

Miss MacKenzie said Toronto University cannot springiness her the undergraduate grant she worked for, since she has been incapable to person her last grades from Edinburgh University.

She added Edinburgh had besides been unwilling to supply her with projected grades, oregon adjacent a "Pass/Fail" enactment - either of which would person allowed her to use for the HPI visa and stay.

The pupil said: "I've been successful interaction with the assemblage for weeks present trying to lick this.

"The past connection I had I was told the assemblage has been fixed ineligible proposal not to assistance maine and apologised for not being capable to springiness maine the accusation I was looking for.

"If thing changes successful the adjacent fewer weeks I'm going to beryllium forced to spell backmost to Canada and it's precise up successful the air."

Miss MacKenzie said students had not been fixed immoderate accusation that suggested erstwhile they could expect to person their people and is disquieted it could beryllium months earlier she tin use for a visa.

She added: "Do I request to sublet the flat? Am I going to suffer my level altogether? My job? I don't cognize what to archer them. It's very, precise disheartening."

Izzi Brannen, 22, received an bare scroll for her grade successful photography astatine Tuesday's graduation successful Edinburgh.

She told BBC Scotland: "I'm precise angry. It was down to the assemblage to settee this quality but they didn't truthful present I person an bare scroll.

"The information that I don't person a grade is going to impact my future. It's precise uncertain.

"I've paid £9,250 a twelvemonth positive maintenance.

"It's shameful. If you spell to assemblage and enactment hard, which I have, you should get a degree."

Francesca Lehrell, 22, who completed a Psychology and Sociology degree, said: "I americium conscionable going to spell person to spell location and hold for my grade due to the fact that I can't truly bash thing other astir it.

"I'm precise aggravated and I person truly tried to prioritise my grade by moving hard for it. And I person done good but present that counts for perfectly nothing.

"It feels similar what was it each for? Nothing."

Another graduand, Mariangela Alejandro-Cortez, said: "It's been a truly uphill conflict particularly during Covid and now, aft 4 years, I've conscionable received an email telling maine my grade grant has been delayed indefinitely.

"I americium incapable to use for a postgraduate visa astatine the infinitesimal due to the fact that I don''t person a grade grant and what that means is that I person to use for an hold to my pupil visa but that's an further outgo of £750 and that's much than my monthly rent."

"I've paid astir £79,000 to travel present and I'm severely successful indebtedness astatine the moment.

"It makes maine truly aggravated knowing that I person not lone spent a batch of wealth but I've spent 4 years of my beingness moving truly hard to get this grade and I conscionable don't person 1 and I don't cognize if I'll ever get one."

A University of Edinburgh spokeswoman said: "We recognise the important interaction this concern enactment is having connected our students' lives and aboriginal plans.

"The interaction of the boycott varies from pupil to pupil and we are supporting individuals connected a lawsuit by lawsuit basis, including arranging idiosyncratic meetings to counsel connected alternate visa options wherever determination are delays successful providing marks to a visiting student's location institution."