Update of Meeting with Laureate, UoR and Students Hello, colleagues, we thank you for your support on the online petition requesting laureate and the university to reduce the unusually long wait time between MRP submission and graduation. Following this, a meeting was held between some students and representatives of Laureate and the University of Roehampton on Friday 16th June 2017. The meeting had in attendance Dr Susan Ivacovou, Academic Director Laureate programs and Dr Michelle Lamb Director of Global Programmes University of Roehampton and the student attendees were made up of students from the following modules; Olatunde Duroshola ( M4), Vivian Obioma (M7), Tosin Abike Oyewole (M7), Osasumwen Uwagboe (Awaiting result), Kennedy Obohwemu (Awaiting result), Isaac Bankole (UoR graduate). The aim of the meeting was for the school to understand the “concerns” that prompted this action and be able to discuss proposed solutions. The student attendees presented the below problems and solutions to the school representatives. Problems: The wait time between submission of MRP and graduation is too long and is unacceptable. According to the information newly updated into the school website (on 8th June 2017) it takes about 7 Months after MRP for the degree to be awarded by the awards board and another 2 months for the certificates to be printed and ready to ship, which is in total 9 months and some extra more time to graduate. 9 months is too long, and many students have really spent longer. A huge number of students need this certificate for career advancement, and during the petition some have expressed they are advanced in age and unnecessary time wasting in-limbo is a waste of their lives and productive time and money too given that a promotion might come with benefits. Others have expressed that their certificate will be needed for immigration, work permit and visa extensions, accreditation and promotions where they are and had previously considered in their planning the time it would take to finish a degree and get these extensions, only to learn now surprisingly they will have to wait much much longer, over a year which in fact jeopardizes their livelihood. It is sad that many students were not aware of this significant wait time between completion of studies and graduation which is evident by the shock and anxiety expressed by a majority of the students on learning of this problem. Prospective students are not well informed before enrolling and at present students only get to learn of this extended wait time only after they have completed Module 8. We feel this is ethically and morally wrong as many students have expressed that had they been previously aware of this, they would have sought admission elsewhere as this extended wait time affects their lives and careers negatively. Proposed Solutions; Graduation waiting time The University should within 3 months of MRP submission as done in other schools, have carried out whatever processes and approvals are necessary, including awarding of the degree and printing of the certificates. Since the university can have multiple admissions board meetings to process and grant admissions many times a year, scheduling examinations and award board meetings to reward students for their hard work and money spent should not be a problem. Following the award of the degree, the student should be eligible to attend the graduation ceremony at the immediately next available graduation date. Full disclosure With immediate effect, enrollment advisers, student recruitment materials and events should CLEARLY state to prospective students the significantly long wait time for graduation, in the spirit of full disclosure, to enable them to make a well-informed decision about deciding to study with the University of Roehampton or not and for proper career and personal planning. Every student has his/her reason for deciding to get a Masters degree and Roehampton should respect that by providing full disclosure, so if the school’s set-up and policy is detrimental to the individual’s career and life goals, they should be able to seek admission elsewhere. This is the honorable thing to do as making money should not supersede moral considerations of the impact of your actions on people’s lives. The university should also immediately provide an unreserved apology to students who were enrolled without being informed of this significant waiting time, only to be in the future shocked with the news after submission of the research project. This is to regain our trust in the school and foster a spirit of forgiveness in light of what some students feel has been a misrepresentation by omission which has negatively impacted their lives and careers. RESPONSE FROM SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVES The school representatives expressed appreciation for the meeting and stated they were previously not aware of these concerns or how strongly students felt about these issues. The further mentioned that online programmes are a partnership between Laureate and the University of Roehampton and the specific terms of the partnership and the university's own policies are responsible for the present system in place now. Laureate and the University of Roehampton are going to have a series of meetings, the first being this coming Wednesday to try and discuss ways in which the processes involved can be significantly shortened for better student experience. They requested trust and partnership with all students and expressed a commitment to seeking solutions to our problems. Further updates on progress would be communicated to us following this Wednesday’s meeting and other subsequent meetings. N/B the recording and/or transcript of the Friday 16th June 2016 meeting with students will be made available by the school on inspirenet soon, so students can get to view it for themselves. Thank you all for your continued support and we hope Laureate and UoR come up with reasonable solutions.