The University of York has announced today that they will hold Summer 2021 graduation ceremonies online.
Vice-chancellor Charlie Jeffery broke the news today via email, arguing that it is “unlikely that it will be safe to bring large crowds together by summer 2021”.
Jeffery made it clear that any form of physical gathering involving potentially hundreds of students and families coming to York from across the world would not be possible.
The move comes even as the AstraZeneca vaccine is being rolled out across the UK over the coming months.
This will make the graduations class of 2021 the third cohort of students at the University who have had to make do with virtual graduation ceremonies.
Despite this, Jeffery has reassured students that the decision does not affect the University of York’s pledge to scale up in-person teaching as soon as possible.
He also reiterated the University’s promise to the January 2021 graduating class that students will be invited back to campus to participate in a graduation ceremony in Spring 2022.
Jeffrey apologised for the decision, saying: “I am truly sorry that the rite of passage of graduation has been affected in this way by the pandemic.”