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, was repeatedly informed he had not achieved a required grade for a geography course, meaning he could not graduate in September 2024. He was found dead at his home in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, on 13 December, the day he would have graduated.
An internal inquiry, prompted by pressure from Brown's family, found systemic errors in how his degree was graded, 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 the university's internal review boards and an external review panel.
The investigation also revealed that Brown had alerted staff to his poor mental health, but they failed to offer counselling or support. The university acknowledged these failings on Tuesday. Brown's mother, Tracy Scott, said: 'Ethan left this world believing he had failed... The truth is, Ethan had successfully attained a 2:1 honours degree, despite the university repeatedly informing him he had been unsuccessful. They failed him, not only academically, but also to support him.'
The university issued a statement expressing profound sorrow and acknowledging the tragic error. It said: 'The report found that a tragic error had been made in calculating Ethan's degree outcome... A further shortcoming involved communications with Ethan, including the fact that he was not referred to student support services when he disclosed wellbeing concerns.' The university rejected suggestions that other students had been affected, calling the error an isolated incident, and said it had reviewed its academic and wellbeing policies.
The family's solicitor, Aamer Anwar, a former Glasgow University rector, said 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. Anwar questioned whether the systemic failure would have been identified had Brown not died and his family not fought for answers. The university offered a meeting with its new principal, Prof Andy Schofield, but requested that Anwar not attend. The university declined to comment on why it sought to block him.
