Overview
- The QAA’s targeted peer review found a systemic risk to academic standards in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences and identified wider procedural weaknesses.
- Reviewers checked more than 700 records, confirming two mistaken outcomes and flagging five cases for further investigation, while noting no equivalent checks in the university’s other 23 schools.
- The report cited inconsistent application of assessment regulations, exam board maladministration, weak case management, and communications that students and staff described as sometimes lacking empathy.
- The university said it self-referred to the Scottish Funding Council, accepts the QAA’s recommendations, and is implementing a plan to address the failures identified.
- Regulators will oversee urgent changes as the SFC works with QAA Scotland, and the QAA launches a sector-wide review; Ethan Brown’s mother called for a fatal accident inquiry as the Crown Office re-examines his case.