Written by Jack Baker
A former LSE undergraduate has spoken out about ongoing legal action following the Department of Social Policy’s refusal to re-mark her dissertation. After receiving a 57, Rehab Asad Shaikh missed her offer for a graduate programme at the University of Cambridge, and has since been attempting to convince the department to revisit its finding.
After receiving the result at the end of 2023, Rehab described being “devastated” after having poured so much “love and thought” into the project. The School informed her that the dissertation hadn’t been marked according to the usual process due to the Marking and Assessment Boycott that took place that year. Instead of accepting this result, Rehab requested the grade be revisited. She states that the department eventually offered “£200 cash with a confidentiality agreement, but refused to remark”.
When speaking to The Beaver, Rehab noted the emotional impact this process has had on her, stating her plans for eventually pursuing a PhD had been “completely derailed”.
Following this, she took the case to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, the body responsible for actioning student complaints about higher education providers. Following extensive questioning and investigation, the organisation sided with Rehab, prompting LSE to offer a re-mark.
In July of this year — two years on — she received an updated transcript, with a new grade of 72 (an increase of 15 marks, and two grades). Rehab claims that the drawn-out process has had a “serious impact” on her “mental health and wellbeing, something that LSE has refused to acknowledge”.
In addition to her own case, Rehab said she was “aware of loads of people unhappy with their marks, but who didn’t pursue action because they knew LSE wouldn’t do anything”. They also expressed concerns over the “shady marking process” during this period of time. Prior to complaining externally, Rehab had approached the School Secretary, who didn’t uphold her complaint.
Following receipt of the new transcript, Rehab received the David Piachaud Prize for Conspicuous Achievement, before being informed it had been “entered in error” only two hours later. After challenging this explanation, the Department reinstated the prize due to the “obvious distress and anxiety it caused her”.
This final administrative failure by the School encouraged Rehab to instruct the law firm LBMW to seek compensation for the emotional and professional damage she has suffered as a result of the drawn-out process. Her legal team is currently working on this, as well as pushing for an independent investigation into the entire process.
Rehab has since pursued an MSc at the University of Oxford, and now works as an Analyst at the Ministry of Justice. In her social media posts, she calls on LSE and other institutions to “respect teachers with better working conditions and better pay”, to avoid situations like this happening again.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for LSE said they were not able to comment on “a case that is ongoing”.
