A student hit by grade strikes says her visa will be revoked if her grades are not confirmed by the end of September.
Rei Takver, a student at Cardiff University in the US, has an offer to do a master’s degree in London.
But she needs her final results to confirm her place and extend her student visa.
Cardiff University said the majority of its students have their final results.
But a nationwide boycott of grades and assessments means some students who graduate still don’t know if they passed.
Ms Takver was told earlier this month that the grades for her dissertation and other results were not available and she would not be able to officially graduate without those grades.
- Boycott of grades delays grades and degrees
- How are students affected by the university grade boycott?
“I am caught in limbo and there is a possibility that I will be forced to return to my home country, the United States,” she said.
“[It’s] I didn’t owe anything for it despite working so hard and giving up absolutely everything because my grades just aren’t there.”
Ms Takver is a mature student who came to the UK to invest in a new career in journalism, taking out nearly US$40,000 (£30,555) in loans to do so.
She said it would be “devastating” to have to go home “at the last minute with no work and no plan”.
Her new university has received a letter from Cardiff University saying she is expected to graduate by the end of September.
But if her grades are not verified by then, she would have her visa and university place revoked, resulting in lost thousands in fees and a flight home, she said.
Fellow student Sophie Revell from Cardiff University is also still awaiting her final results.
She has just completed a three-year degree in Journalism, Media and English Literature, but has not yet received grades for two modules.
Based on the results already obtained, she knows that she passed, but does not yet know the class of the degree.
After deliberation, she has decided to attend her graduation on Friday rather than postpone it until next year. But she said it won’t be quite the same.
“It would be really nice to be able to stand up there and graduate and get my scroll knowing exactly what I’ve earned,” she said.
“But I figured I’d much rather graduate now and celebrate with my friends and celebrate the fact that I got through three years than wait a while longer.”
- Students can find out the grades after graduation
- Complaints from university students hit another record high
She added: “I really support the situation that the lecturers are in. I totally understand that it’s just hard not to hold a small grudge because you’re getting caught in the crossfire.”
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) in 145 institutions across the UK were involved in the action, which is part of a long dispute over pay and working conditions.
In addition to the boycott, UCU members in Cardiff are conducting strike action to mark the graduation ceremonies.
dr Andy Williams, from the Cardiff branch, said members felt “terrible” for the students affected by the dispute.
“We’ve been fighting for five years now and have exhausted all other avenues before taking the ‘nuclear option’ of a ratings boycott,” he said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that our employers are still cracking down.”
Cardiff University said it is “working with employers and other universities to ensure that as much as possible our students are able to start their careers or pursue further studies”.
A spokesman said he hoped all final year students “would feel able to celebrate the culmination of their undergraduate journey with us,” but said they would give affected students the opportunity to cancel the appointment to be postponed to 2024.
“We are painfully aware that the students affected are deeply disappointed, concerned and anxious,” the spokesman added.
While working to resolve local issues with Cardiff UCU, the spokesman said the situation was due to a national dispute which could not be resolved independently and vowed to flag the works as soon as possible.
Students at some other Welsh universities were also affected by the boycott of grades.
Ellis Matthews, 23, has not yet earned his final grades after studying electrical engineering and electronics at Swansea University for four years.
He is among a small group of students on his course who have yet to receive grades.
He wants to pursue a career in nuclear energy, but feels “held back” when he should really focus on applying for a job.
“I’ve been working on this opportunity since I was 16,” he said.
“I’ve worked on power plants, I’ve worked on laborers, everything I could to ensure that when I graduate, hopefully my experience is more unique than anyone else’s.”
He’s not sure what will happen next.
“Right now I’m in a boat that’s in the middle of the sea, so there’s nothing around me at the moment. That’s how it feels.”
Swansea University said it believes 10 of its students have been affected by the boycott.
A spokesman for the university previously said it was “working diligently to ensure that awards results are promptly confirmed for all students.”
It said there were dedicated teams available to provide support and encouraged students to reach out to their faculties.
Aberystwyth University announced that 99.8% of its students would graduate this week with their final grades.
The University of South Wales said it “sincerely regrets that a small proportion of the results have been delayed”. But the graduating class has now received their results and “anyone who should be graduating next week can do it”.
Cardiff Metropolitan University, Bangor University and the University of Wales Trinity St David said all their students would graduate with final grades as planned.
Add Comment