Scottish assessment review called after death of Glasgow student

A sector-wide review into Scottish universities’ assessment policies and procedures has been announced after a student died by suicide, having been wrongly told he had not passed his degree.

The investigation called by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) follows “serious concerns” raised at the University of Glasgow, where student Ethan Brown died in December 2024. 

Brown was wrongly told he had not passed his geography course, when he should have been awarded a 2:1. He took his life on 13 December 2024 – the day he should have been graduating.

A report by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) found that Glasgow’s assessment procedures posed a “systemic risk to academic standards”, and said the university must review student awards across the institution and put mechanisms in place to ensure there is oversight of all awards as a “matter of urgency”.

It found that a further two students in the school of geography had been awarded “mistaken outcomes”, and the marks of another five students were being investigated to confirm whether errors had been made. The university said that the school was the only “high risk” department, and none of the institution’s other 23 schools had been checked for errors.

The university’s assessment process, which awards final degree classifications by aggregating individual course marks, was “complex and convoluted”, which “poses a systemic risk to academic standards”, the report says.

In particular, it highlights the “inherent complexity” in its code of assessment allowed for a culture of “varied approaches” in each school towards assessment; grades were collated in multiple, varied and locally owned spreadsheets; and there was a “lack of a process to monitor the outcomes of exam boards to ensure consistency across the university”.

The report makes 21 recommendations to the university, including implementing a “simplified” assessment programme by 2027-28; that it conducts a “rigorous review of all exam board spreadsheets currently in use”; and said there should be a harmonisation of mark aggregation and evaluation processes introduced in the 2025-26 academic year.

It further says that the university’s next regular external peer review should take place one year sooner than planned in 2027-28, and it will be required to submit an action plan within four weeks that covers all recommendations made in the report, which will be agreed by QAA.

Jacqui Brasted, director of access, learning and outcomes at the SFC, said the findings were “deeply concerning”, and it will be working with Glasgow to ensure the recommendations outlined “are implemented as a matter of urgency”.

“Given the serious nature of these findings, we are also commissioning QAA to conduct a national review of the assessment and associated policies and procedures across the sector to enhance the assurance we already receive regarding academic standards and the quality of the student experience,” Brasted added.

A Glasgow spokesperson said: "We are profoundly sorry that Ethan tragically took his own life and understand the deep distress it has caused his family. We offer a sincere apology as well as our deepest sympathy.

“Following an internal investigation into assessment regulations, the university self-referred to the Scottish Funding Council. 

“The university fully accepts the recommendations subsequently made by the QAA Peer Review and the risks it identifies. 

“Since February 2025, we have worked to address the issues highlighted in the internal investigation and will implement the recommendations of the QAA review through a comprehensive plan that builds on current change projects.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com

• If you’re having suicidal thoughts or feel you need to talk to someone, a free helpline is available around the clock in the UK on 116123, or you can email jo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.