Students' blast for uni over late exam results; Midnight deadline missed

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), June 24, 2009

Byline: NICK LAVIGUEUR

FASHION students faced a weekend of anxiety after Huddersfield University failed to publish their results on time.

The angry students have also blasted the university's policy of making fashion students wait until midnight on the final day of term for their results, three days later than most other degree courses.

BA (hons) Fashion and Design with Marketing student Samantha Doyle, 22, said the results were due last Friday, but they failed to appear.

Ms Doyls e, said about 50 students from all the university's undergraduate fashion courses had been frantically checking the university's computer systems until 1.30 in the morning on Saturday. s are going to give us our results if they know they can't.

"The teachers found out at 12.30am that the results wouldn't be available, but they didn't ring us.

"We were constantly checking it, it's ruined my weekend, I was in tears at one point.

"Huddersfield University has let the students down again.

"We were all sitting round with glasses of wine ready to celebrate and then we found out they weren't going to be ready until Monday.

"Some of us are going back home to our families so we've lost the opportunity to celebrate together.

"They've let us down all year and this absolutely sums it up." John Ramsdin, the university's spokesman, apologised for missing the deadline, but said fashion students always received their results later than other courses.

He said: "The fashion students have their final show on the Friday and the department wants the students to be focused on the show.

"To give the results early may lead to them becoming less-focused.

"But we need to apologise for missing the deadline.

"There was a computer glitch, these things happen unfortunately.

"But the results are available now.

"14,000 results were given out on Tuesday and 9,000 students have accessed them via the university's computer system..

"Fashion students will be able to access them this way too." But Miss Doyle claimed the Friday midnight deadline was because the tutors were scared the final week's fashion show could be sabotaged by students who were given lower grades..

She added: "It isn't to keep us focused. The fashion show is as important as the results. It's ridiculous that they do it on a Friday at midnight." Miss Doyle finally discovered she had achieved a 2:1 on Monday morning..

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LEFT IN LIMBO: Huddersfield University fashion students (from left) Samantha Doyle, Adele Conroy, Karen Garlick and Louise Garlick PC200609Bstudents-01.jpg