UCLan postpones summer graduation ceremonies

The ceremonies have been rescheduled for December 2020 when winter graduation will be extended into a two-week celebration.

Additional high profile and popular community events, including the graduate fashion show and the Lancashire Science Festival, have been deferred for a year.

The University has pledged that, subject to the lifting of Government restrictions, both events will return in the summer of 2021.

Commenting on the decision Vice-Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin said: “These large-scale events represent the culmination of everything our students have achieved and in the case of the Lancashire Science Festival we also welcome many thousands of visitors from across our local community.

“Therefore, postponing these events was not an easy decision nor was it taken lightly. Any disappointment is entirely understandable, but we have done it to protect the safety and wellbeing of our graduates, guests, staff and indeed the whole of our stakeholder community.

“Our hope is that by announcing this news as early as possible, those who need to change travel or accommodation plans will still have time to do so.”

Final-year students will be informed of the revised December 2020 graduation dates once they have been confirmed in the near future.

The university is now focusing on the processes required to ensure all its students formally graduate on time in July and while this will not be at a ceremony, results will be published as normal.

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.