Leading universities urged to rethink growing graduation costs

Leading UK universities have been urged to rethink their graduation ceremony fees, as some institutions were warned that their high costs could price families from poorer backgrounds out of attending.

Of 23 Russell Group institutions that responded to Freedom of Information requests from Times Higher Education, the vast majority provided at least two free tickets per graduand for ceremonies this summer.

Twelve do not charge for additional tickets, but there are large discrepancies among those that do.

King’s College London and Imperial College London do not provide any free places for graduands’ guests, and charge £30 and £24.99, respectively, for tickets.

Another capital institution, Queen Mary University of London, offers two free guest tickets but charges £25 for additional seats in the ceremony hall or £5 in a live relay room. Cardiff University also offers two free guest tickets but charges £30 for extras.

Of the 23 universities, seven have increased ticket prices since 2018-19, and two have cut them.

Rebecca Montacute, head of research and policy at the Sutton Trust, said there were many ways in which students from low-income families were “priced out of enjoying the full university experience” – including being unable to afford equipment and supplies, missing out on societies and events, and struggling to afford their own graduation ceremonies.

Dr Montacute said ministers needed to increase the amount of maintenance support for students, but also argued that universities should help students by providing assistance with extra costs, such as those associated with graduation ceremonies.

“Often, students attending university from working-class backgrounds are the first in their family to do so,” she explained.

“Graduation ceremonies are, therefore, particularly important celebrations for them and their families, and they should not be prevented from taking part due to high costs of gowns and tickets.”

Although many Russell Group members were unable to provide data, the requests show that gown hire costs vary widely.

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It can cost up to £58 for PhD graduates at the University of Warwick, or £56 at the University of Manchester, but the highest costs were again in London.

It costs £59 for a PhD student at King’s to hire a gown on the day, and up to £59 at Imperial as well. This means that some Imperial and King’s students would have to pay between £110 and £120 to obtain two tickets and a gown for the day – although both institutions have support in place for students.

Imperial offers financial aid to those who need it to attend ceremonies, including assistance with tickets, gown hire, photography and travel to and from the ceremonies, which are held at the Royal Albert Hall. King’s, which also holds its ceremonies at external venues, provides discounted or free gowning and photography packages for students in need.

The National Union of Students (NUS) said that to make it to graduation, many students will have had to struggle financially for years.

“They simply do not have the extra cash to pay for a graduation gown, without which they cannot attend their graduation,” said Alex Stanley, NUS vice-president for higher education.

Queen’s University Belfast has waived graduation fees since 2022 as part of a £7.9 million package to support students during the cost-of-living crisis. Every eligible graduand at Queen’s receives three complimentary tickets and free gown hire.

Liz McLaughlin, director of student and campus life at Queen’s, said: “All of these measures have been recognised as making a positive difference to the student experience, and the joy of graduation day for students and their families has been greatly enhanced by the waiving of the fees.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com