Family: QAA report shows systemic failings at Glasgow (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: This report coming out has basically confirmed the family's suspicions of the incompetence of the University of Glasgow.

[00:00:11] Speaker 2: Now in Ethan's case as I understand it, the mistake wasn't spotted by university staff nor by internal exam boards or even an external exam board, is that right? Correct. Now eventually obviously it was established that he should have been awarded a 2-1. The discovery now is that this is systemic, that there is a wider problem.

[00:00:42] Speaker 1: It is. The reason we are pursuing this is not only justice for Ethan but, you know, Ethan is one of thousands of students. We have to safeguard our students who are currently studying as well as future students.

[00:01:02] Speaker 2: The university say they fully accept the recommendations that have been made by the QAA and they say that since February last year we've worked to address the issues highlighted in the internal investigation and will implement the recommendations of the review through a comprehensive plan that builds on current change projects. Do you think that they do now understand it?

[00:01:28] Speaker 1: I believe they always have understood this since their own internal investigation, however now there have been 21 recommendations through the QAA that they're going to have to change their own systems in order to safeguard the students. They failed to inform myself or my family that they were currently being reviewed even though there was a press release with ourselves. They were already being inspected. This report was underway at that time so it's been quite an eye-opener but, as I said, to us it's confirming what we as a family believed. You know, there's failings. I mean, they denied, the university, they denied that there was a problem. They would try to say that this was an isolated incident, a misunderstanding which is very insulting. It's not, this is systemic. They denied it being systemic. This report has highlighted a serious systemic risk and problem for our students.

[00:02:48] Speaker 2: So what, the suggestion that there are other students who could be in Ethan's situation being told that they haven't?

[00:02:54] Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

[00:02:58] Speaker 2: Do you think it was the fact that he wasn't going to be awarded a degree that led him to kill himself?

[00:03:08] Speaker 1: Yes, Ethan, he put that on paper, that that was the reason. This could have been prevented, it could have been captured had they had proper systems in place for well-being, emotional health and well-being and if their academics knew how to correctly mark papers. So academically Ethan was failed and emotionally, and that is health and well-being, he was failed.

[00:03:40] Speaker 2: Right, because he had been told, he had been told that he wasn't going to pass this course.

[00:03:46] Speaker 1: Yes, but offered no support. You know, they didn't contact Ethan to say you're not graduating with an honours. They said he wasn't graduating at all, which is a big error given if you're an honours student, you should be offered a designated degree.

[00:04:06] Speaker 2: The Crown Office has said that the circumstances of a death, of his death, are being re-examined. What is your understanding of what that will, could mean?

[00:04:18] Speaker 1: This would allow us to have the information and for the public to have the information to allow us to know their proper systems or ensure that safeguarding will take place in the future. There's been failings, multiple failings. As I said, we have requested Ethan's emails, I've been told I'll get Ethan's emails, but I haven't at this moment got them. I don't really understand Ethan's journey.

[00:04:52] Speaker 2: What did Ethan want to do? What were his interests? What was he hoping to go on and do?

[00:04:59] Speaker 1: He never really, he just wanted to graduate. We just had family gatherings and we would laugh. He just wanted his degree from the University of Glasgow, the same as his Auntie Marilyn. And he was just such a joy. And we've been robbed. They robbed Ethan of his degree and they've robbed us of having Ethan.