Student Reports MMS Grading Errors

On 30 September 2025, the BBC reported that Ethan Brown, a University of Glasgow student, died by suicide on the day he was due to graduate after being incorrectly informed he had failed his degree. In reality, Brown had achieved a 2:1 in Geography. The University of Glasgow described the mistake as a “tragic error” and an “isolated incident.” 

While the case occurred in Glasgow, a St Andrews student, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Saint that she experienced a similar grading error on MMS during her first year in the Economics Department. She explained that she was initially informed she had failed a major project, which she had, in fact, passed.

The student told The Saint: “In first year, we had a dataset project for microeconomics. We were given data and were asked to analyse it and generate the necessary calculations on Excel. Our dataset was [determined by] the last number of our student ID [...] mine ends in one, so I was [assigned] Year One. There was already a set of answers ready, so [the] module coordinator compared my project against the answer sheet, but for the wrong year. Because of this, I [...] failed my project.”

The student added that the project was worth 50% of her final grade and that she “did not receive any support” during the process: “Once the answers were published, I emailed [the module coordinator] as he mentioned that a few students received the wrong mark, but my student ID wasn't included on the list. So I replied to the email to ask.” She continued, saying that her “module coordinator was unhelpful and hostile and did not want to provide me with help in addressing the situation. Instead, he was rude when I was seeking clarification on what he meant in his email.”

The student described the experience as highly stressful, saying she felt “very anxious and uneasy as I was not sure how to explain to my parents that I had failed my first-year economics project. My module coordinator’s responses to my email added to my stress and anxiety as I felt so hopeless.” 

According to the University of St Andrews appeals policy, “The University will not pursue an appeal that does nothing more than question the academic judgment exercised. For example, a student cannot appeal using these procedures simply because they are unhappy or disagree with a mark given to assessed work.” 

When asked what she thought about this policy, the student responded, “I don’t think it’s fair, as sometimes there may be a mistake on their part that should be corrected.”

Commenting on the matter of grading errors, Professor Clare Peddie, Vice-Principal Education (Proctor) told The Saint: “The Academic Alert system through MMS is in place to ensure, as far as it is possible, that students are aware during the semester that their studies are on a trajectory that if no remedial action is taken then a fail grade is a possible outcome.” 

Peddie continued: “Student Services and the Adviser of Studies are informed of the Academic Alerts. In addition, we ensure that students who are at risk of failure to progress or termination of studies do not receive this type of serious news on a Friday when support might be harder to access over the weekend. This widely followed practice has recently been embedded into a University wide policy. At all times, including when grades are released, students know that they can reach out to Student Services for personal support and for support from their School if they are concerned about their academic progress.”

The Saint also reached out to Nightline for a comment regarding the significant impact grades can have on student mental health and well-being. However, they declined to comment due to confidentiality issues.

Photo provided by the University of St Andrews