For many students, there is no day more important than graduation.
But for most who finished their courses during the pandemic, the special occasion was postponed.
One cohort was left bitterly disappointed when the long-awaited celebration was not what they expected - as their university altered the ceremony from previous years.
Graduates from the University of Southampton have lashed out at the institution after previously-delayed celebrations went ahead - but with no speaker announcing the name of graduands during some ceremonies.
Instead, the students celebrated years of hard work by walking across a stage and then congratulating each other.
And one attendee branded the event a "slap in the face".
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Taking to TikTok to share her disappointment, nursing graduate Hannah posted a video of her ceremony captioned "Failed by UoS…. graduation let down."
In her clip, shared as @hanns_heaven, Hannah's course title is read out before she and her peers shuffle across the stage, pausing in front of a small branded banner, behind which sit rows of dignitaries.
A voiceover says: "No handshake. No name. Uni really said 'congratulate yourselves'".
Thankfully, Hannah appears to enjoy herself as her friends crowd around and hug her during her short moment in the spotlight.
But the graduate was left less than impressed by the day, adding "#slapintheface" and "#disappointment" to her video.
Her TikTok, which has been viewed over 400,000 times, was flooded with comments from fellow graduates sharing their own dismay.
One woman wrote: "Was so disappointed when I realised they weren’t calling names."
And another claimed: "I graduated thursday and they introduced handshakes, i feel so bad for you guys on the weds."
A University of Southampton spokesperson said: "We have been unable to hold graduation ceremonies for the last two years due to the pandemic. So, this year, we took the unprecedented decision to enable three years of graduating students to celebrate their remarkable achievements at one event.
"This was a unique occasion that brought together 11,000 graduates and their friends and family, in the iconic Southampton venue of St Mary’s Stadium, in order to make these ceremonies as special as possible for everyone involved.
"The atmosphere in the Stadium was very positive and celebratory, but we were aware of a number of comments online that reflected disappointment in elements of the proceedings.
"We responded to this feedback by making some changes to the flow of events, to increase the personalisation of the experience, with direct acknowledgment of each candidate on the stage by a senior person from their own School and a senior University leader."
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