With graduation likely delayed by the marking and assessment boycott, the university has offered all students eligible to graduate an ‘end of studies’ ceremony.

The ceremonies, which will be taking place on the dates previously scheduled for General Admission, will not include the conferral of any degrees.

In an email sent to the student body on Friday (26/05), the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, Bhaskar Vira, explained that the University’s aim is to “provide a ceremony and experience that is as close as possible to usual arrangements.” Students can invite guests and are expected to wear the same academical dress, including hoods, as they would at a normal graduation. The usual photography arrangements will also be in place, including access to photographs taken inside Senate House.

Students who attend will not be permitted to take part in any future in-person graduation ceremonies. Those who receive their marks before the ceremony will graduate in absentia prior to the ceremony, and will be handed their certificates as they leave Senate House – while those still waiting for their marks will be sent certificates in the post once their results have been released.

Students told Varsity that the prospect of not experiencing a usual graduation ceremony was “disappointing”. A number of finalists have pointed out that their cohort has already faced major disruption to their education as a result of the pandemic. “We didn’t even get a matriculation photo until the beginning of second year, and now graduation will have the same empty feeling,” said one student.

Another finalist highlighted the uneven impact of the boycott across different faculties: “Graduating with some people getting real marks at the same time as getting nothing myself will probably make the ceremony feel quite hollow.”

Students also think that the university is making a “sensible compromise” in allowing students to celebrate the end of their exams together without any delays. However, the general sentiment remains one of frustration: “This attempt at a ‘graduation’ is little more than a photo-op,” commented one student.

Those who choose not to participate in the ceremonies may either graduate in absentia or attend an in-person graduation ceremony at a later date. One fourth-year told Varsity that they were unlikely to opt out of the celebrations in favour of a later graduation ceremony: “Having faced so much disruption due to Covid and industrial action means that I do just want to graduate at the earliest date possible,” they explained.

Although a number of students expressed their support for union members participating in the boycott, one third-year also noted that “the timing is extremely unfortunate”. “The failure to resolve the situation before it got this far makes me very angry,” they added.

The announcement comes after Regent House voted against proposals to introduce emergency powers that would have allowed some students to graduate despite the boycott. The boycott began in late April and is currently set to continue until September.

In a joint statement released on 22/05, the University and UCU Cambridge called for the “urgent” resumption of negotiations: “We jointly want this dispute to be resolved as quickly as possible…We therefore call for negotiations between UCEA and UCU to restart to reach an agreed settlement.” The statement came after over 1,400 students signed an open letter urging the University to release a public request of this nature.