Pay $154 or graduation canned: Uni

Student shocked to be told he has an outstanding fee that must be paid in hours

AVictoria University of Wellington student has been left “stunned and upset” after an email from the university threatened to cancel his graduation if an $154 outstanding fee was not paid.

The university has since apologised to the student, saying the threat was an “isolated incident”. The student, weeks away from graduating with a bachelor of laws, received the email at 3pm yesterday. It demanded full payment within 24 hours.

“Your fee must be cleared by Wednesday 21 April for you to be eligible to graduate at the May ceremony,” the email read.

The email, seen by the Herald, did not detail how much the outstanding fee was, nor the reason for the charge. It came despite an email from Victoria University last month confirming his graduation in the May ceremony.

“It’s come out of the blue. I checked with the university when I confirmed my graduation and they said there were no outstanding charges,” the student said.

After receiving the email, the student subsequently rang the university finance office, which advised the fee was $154, due to a late StudyLink application dating to last year. In that phone call, the student says the finance office told him he must pay, initiate a dispute process, or wait and graduate in December.

“How on Earth am I supposed to dispute this fee when I receive an email telling me I have to pay the fee by tomorrow?” the student asked.

The 25-year-old said it was a shock, having already booked flights and accommodation for the graduation.

“I’ve spent five years studying towards this degree, and to be told my graduation could be taken away from me over $154 if not paid tomorrow is pretty tone-deaf.”

A university spokesperson said in a statement that the email to the student was an accident, and it had waived the charge: “The university regrets this error, has waived the fee for the impacted student and their graduation status has not been impacted.”

However despite being asked, the university did not confirm whether it was general practice to withhold from students the right to graduate over outstanding balances. It has been contacted for clarification.