DUNDEE UNIVERSITY Principal Sir Alan Langlands opened his address to around 2500 graduands at the Caird Hall yesterday with a public apology for any disruption caused by a pay dispute between lecturers and their employers.

Sir Alan said he realised that some students had experienced extra pressures as a result of threats of strike action in UK higher education.

“I apologise to those of you who were affected in this way. However, you should be assured that all examinations in Dundee were set as normal and that all assessments and examinations were marked and reviewed to our normal rigorous standards.”

The lecturers’ national pay dispute had threatened to affect marking and grading of students’ work. It was feared some students might have to be issued with provisional degrees, potentially harming their chances of finding employment, if a resolution was not found.

A deal agreed earlier this month between employers and the University and College Union (UCU) to increase salaries by 10% over two years prompted union representatives to suspend any action until after graduation ceremonies.

The university principal also acknowledged the difficulties many students have in making ends meet.

“The utilitarian view of universities as engines of economic growth is all very well, but universities are more than that: they prepare minds to deal with the unexpected and they have special social and cultural significance in every part of the world.

“The financial pressures on students at university are already very significant and the question of how to fund Scotland’s universities for the long term requires careful thought and discussion over the next year or two.

“Scotland has a proud tradition in higher education and we have a duty to sustain universities of international standing.”

Sir Alan praised students for another record year. “Every year for the past five years we have referred to “the biggest ever graduation” at the University of Dundee...Graduation 2006 continues the upward trend.

“Over five ceremonies we will confer degrees, certificates and diplomas on well over 3000 talented students.”

He also welcomed the university’s new Chancellor, Lord Patel of Dunkeld.

Sir Alan paid tribute to Dundee College and its principal Iain Ovens, who was conferred with an honorary degree, for the work in raising standards in further education and for its “growing articulation arrangements” with the university.

He invited graduands to return next year for the university’s 40th anniversary.