An Edinburgh University student has been told to leave the UK to get a visa due to a marking boycott that has left him without a degree.
Will Scheffler, from Wisconsin, in the US, is part of a group of around 2,000 students that "graduated" recently but have no classified degree.
The 21-year-old currently holds a conditional offer at the London School of Economics (LSE) and is looking to continue his studies in the next academic year but is yet to get his results due to industrial action.
He was relieved LSE said they will accept a transcript of Will's four years of study as substitute but he has now been left in shock when he received an email from the university that stated that if he wanted to extend his student visa permission, he would have to do it from outside the UK as he been given a degree classification.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Will said: "I got the email sent to my university email on Monday afternoon.
"It's really frustrating because it's a direct contradiction to what Edinburgh University told us in the past.
"I would still likely be able to take my place at LSE next year, it would just mean that I would quite urgently have to get a flight home that would cost me several hundred pounds to apply for a student visa outside the UK, if what they're saying is the actual Home Office advice.
"I have also been in conversations with many people at some other universities and it seems that Edinburgh's information that they are giving out might be directly contradictory to what other universities are telling their students - this is really worrying."
Will took to Twitter after receiving the letter. He posted: "I received this email from @EdinburghUni yesterday. I hold a postgraduate offer at LSE, am a US citizen, and will be graduating from Edinburgh Uni this week without a degree, due to the marking and assessment boycott. My entire plan for the coming year has been thrown into chaos".
But comments from others on Twitter led to Will feeling even more confused about what he was originally told by the university as other parts of the country have given different guidelines.
Will said: "I thought I would be able to apply for a visa extension in the UK.
"I have a job here this summer and I pay rent for a flat in Edinburgh, I'm already sacrificing a lot on this end so it's such an inconvenience and will cost a great sum of money to do something very urgently that we didn't think we needed to do in the first place."
The marking and assessment boycott was initiated in April by the University and College Union at institutions across the UK due to a row over pay and working conditions for the staff.
Due to the boycott, some students have left university with no degree, including Will and he believes it's a ridiculous situation that the university has put the staff and students in.
Will would urgently have to get a flight home if University of Edinburgh's guidance is true, which would cost hundreds of pounds.
Will said: "It's an endlessly frustrating situation. I would say we heard about this marking and assessment boycott back in, I believe it was April, so several months ago now.
"They had to know these issues were coming and the fact that the university hasn't been able to sort out the boycott itself but also has not been able to provide information in a timely manner is incredibly frustrating."
Hundreds of students gathered at Potterrow on Tuesday afternoon to stand in solidarity with their teachers and to fight against being handed 'empty degrees'.
Responding to yesterday's protest, a spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said: "We are deeply sorry about the continued uncertainty students face over their futures.
"We welcome the confirmation of exploratory talks between the Universities and Colleges Employers Association and joint union representatives, due to take place this coming Friday (14 July), aimed at bringing an end to the marking and assessment boycott.
"We understand the strength of feeling on these issues of national dispute and we support the right of our students to demonstrate lawfully and peacefully."
The University of Edinburgh has been approached for comment on Will's situation directly.
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