King’s College London (KCL) faces a backlash from students after administrative errors allegedly cost one student a first-class degree and left another unable to complete exams, exposing systemic issues within the University’s support and administrative processes.
In a series of viral LinkedIn posts, former Business Management undergraduate Ceana Agabro accused King’s of mishandling her final grade, costing her a first-class degree. Although she achieved 70 in her module Managing Extreme Situations – the exact mark needed – her grade was lowered to 68 just three days before graduation in 2024 due to peer review.
However, Agabro says she was never given access to complete this peer review, nor shown any evidence of the feedback used to mark her down. King’s later admitted it had failed to send the relevant peer review form but upheld the reduced grade regardless.
Agabro exhausted KCL’s formal complaints and appeals processes and escalated the matter to her MP, who wrote directly to the Executive Dean of the King’s Business School.
Despite Agabro’s attempts at resolution, her appeals and a formal complaint were all denied, as her degree classification had already been ratified. Her final appeal response arrived 112 days after submission – well past the University’s own 30-working-day deadline.
Agabro stated in her post on LinkedIn:
“This isn’t just about grades. It’s about being failed by a system that’s meant to protect students – and watching it refuse to act, even when the evidence is undeniable.”
Despite Agabro’s department, the King’s Business School, reportedly holding a complaint-free record, students have widely criticised the University’s administrative system for being inefficient and unsupportive.
A King’s College London spokesperson told Roar:
“We have been engaging with this student since July 2024 to discuss their concerns, address all aspects of their case through our established procedures, and have sincerely apologised for the error in email correspondence that occurred last July.
“We have a robust and comprehensive appeals process in place to review individual circumstances and ensure that all decisions are made justly and in line with University regulations. Every appeal is carefully considered, and we work closely with students to support them through these processes.”
Agabro’s experience coincides with that of another student, Eric Jimenez, a second-year Maths and Philosophy student who posted a widely-shared video on TikTok in which he described how a university admin error left him without his usual Personalised Assessment Arrangements (PAA) during exams.
As a result, Eric was forced to start his first exam late and could not complete the rest, meaning he must now resit all his assessments over the summer.
Jimenez told The King’s Tab that the situation cost him more than £850 in travel and cancellation fees and significantly impacted his mental and physical health.
According to The King’s Tab, Jimenez said he was told the university might pursue non-academic misconduct action against him, which made him feel pressured not to challenge their decision further. The investigation has since been dropped.
A King’s College London spokesperson told Roar:
“We take personalised access arrangements seriously and engage with our students to ensure we can provide the most appropriate and tailored exam and assessment support. We are in contact with this student and providing ongoing support.”
In light of these stories, Roar surveyed nearly 400 current and former King’s students about their experiences with the University’s administrative system.
Overall, 42% of respondents said King’s had made a mistake in their grades. Notably, 20% said the error was never corrected, while 22% said it was. 58% reported no mistakes at all.
More than half of respondents said they did not find King’s admin supportive, while a third said they were supportive only sometimes. Just 8% described them as supportive.
Roar also invited students to share their experiences with King’s admin, revealing several recurring issues, from appeals and grading errors to poor support, with students reporting miscommunication, long delays and mishandling of sensitive cases.
One student said King’s admin, “Tried to deny me an extension when my cousin died. I watched her funeral alone at KCL.”
Another stated, “I ended up having a year off due to admin failure as I could not progress into my next year.”
One recalled, “Last year they falsely told half the law cohort they didn’t have the credits to progress into third year.”
Others described long delays in the appeals process. “They took so long to accept my appeal that I had one week’s notice to resit – over a year later,” one student reported.
These delays also extended to disability support cases, with one student sharing that “admin rejected a disability adjustment, leading to a six-month-long fight to get it enforced.”
As reported by Roar, King’s recorded a 74% student satisfaction score in the 2026 Complete University Guide, ranking 126th in the UK – trailing most other major London universities, including Imperial College London and UCL. Ongoing concerns with the university’s admin may help to explain these persistently low satisfaction scores.
A King’s College London spokesperson said:
“We take all matters relating to examinations, student grades and academic appeals very seriously and understand the importance of these processes and outcomes to our students’ futures. We are currently in the process of a Student Service Review which responds to student feedback gathered during workshops and listening exercises, regarding Assessment and Exam Feedback and Organisation and Management, and focuses on the end-to-end student journey from enrolment to graduation. The review will look to shape the future of student services at King’s to deliver the most effective administrative support systems and we look forward to sharing more information on the outcomes of the next stage once it is completed. In addition to the Review, we are also currently implementing changes, effective during this assessment period, to address delays in students receiving their marks.”
