Glasgow University has been accused of failing a student who took his own life on graduation day after being wrongly told he had not earned his degree. Ethan Scott Brown, 23, a geography student, was repeatedly informed he had failed to achieve a necessary grade for one course and would not be awarded his degree in September 2024.
His family said he died by suicide at his home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, on 13 December, the day he would have graduated. He was found dead in his bedroom by his mother, Tracy Scott. An internal inquiry, prompted by pressure from the family, found 'systemic' errors in the grading of his degree, largely due to confusion over assessment rules.
A retired senior professor who conducted the investigation discovered Brown had enough marks for a 2:1 honours degree. The errors were missed by both internal review boards and an external review panel. The inquiry also found that staff failed to offer counselling and support after Brown alerted them to his poor mental health.
'Ethan left this world believing he had failed, and [that] the University of Glasgow were correct,' Tracy Scott said. 'The truth is, Ethan had successfully attained a 2:1 honours degree, despite the university repeatedly informing him he had been unsuccessful.' The university admitted the failings, saying it was 'profoundly sorry' and that a 'tragic error' had been made in calculating his degree outcome.
The university rejected suggestions other students were affected, stating it was 'confident that the error in relation to Ethan's marks was an isolated one'. However, it has undertaken a thorough review of its academic and wellbeing policies. The family's solicitor, Aamer Anwar, noted that the internal review also revealed failures by staff to respond to Brown's requests for updates and to follow up on his warnings of deteriorating health.
