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Confirming whether someone did graduate from Cambridge?

Hello, I'm trying to find out whether a person claiming to have an MA (CANTAB) from Lucy Cavendish actually does have have this qualification. This is primarily because I have reason to believe that another part of this person's CV is untrue, so I'm checking the rest. Does anyone know whether this college posts lists of previous graduates?

Unfortunately this matter is complicated by the fact that I only know this person's married name, whereas I suspect they graduated using their unmarried name. At the moment I also do not know what subject they are claiming to have a "MA (CANTAB) from Lucy Cavendish" in.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

Tortious

16

Original post by Liz1155

Hello, I'm trying to find out whether a person claiming to have an MA (CANTAB) from Lucy Cavendish actually does have have this qualification. This is primarily because I have reason to believe that another part of this person's CV is untrue, so I'm checking the rest. Does anyone know whether this college posts lists of previous graduates?

Unfortunately this matter is complicated by the fact that I only know this person's married name, whereas I suspect they graduated using their unmarried name. At the moment I also do not know what subject they are claiming to have a "MA (CANTAB) from Lucy Cavendish" in.

The first thing to check would be the year that they graduated.

The "MA (Cantab)" is a rather odd historical quirk, since you don't have to do any extra work to get your "Master's"! Technically it's fine to put on your CV, but I've just graduated with a BA and won't be eligible to upgrade to my MA until at least two years after I've graduated.

The best thing you can do is probably contact the Alumni Relations Office (and/or Lucy Cavendish) and give them all of the information you have to see if they can find a match. Unfortunately since Lucy Cavendish is a women-only college, chances are you'll have a lot of girls to sift through!

It's worth noting that Lucy Cavendish is for "mature students" (over 21 when they start, I think), so anyone aged 22 claiming to have a Lucy Cavendish MA has slipped up. :wink:

Sorry I can't be of more help!

Reply 2

Liz1155

OP

2

Original post by Tortious

The first thing to check would be the year that they graduated.

The "MA (Cantab)" is a rather odd historical quirk, since you don't have to do any extra work to get your "Master's"! Technically it's fine to put on your CV, but I've just graduated with a BA and won't be eligible to upgrade to my MA until at least two years after I've graduated.

That is rather interesting, because this person is claiming to have two-Cambridge degrees (but only lists the MA). Suspicious or just exaggerating?

Thanks for your help :smile:

Reply 3

Liz1155

OP

2

Original post by Octohedral

This may be ridiculously patronising, and I'm sure you've done it, but have you tried putting their name and college into Google, in different forms? Just occasionally you get lucky and get a lead on a social networking site.

Otherwise, your best bet is the alumni office as above. :smile:

I have, but I've still got a few searches to go :smile:

. And then going to try a non-filtering search engine. I'm also trying to track down her unmarried name. (Although, since LC is a mature college there is a small change she may have graduated there after she was married. But no hits so far.)The only hits so far are her own facebook pages...

Reply 4

Tortious

16

Original post by Liz1155

That is rather interesting, because this person is claiming to have two-Cambridge degrees (but only lists the MA). Suspicious or just exaggerating?

Thanks for your help :smile:

I don't understand the detailed ins and outs, but I graduated with a BA in Law after three years of study. Eventually, I'll pay an admin fee (a measly £10!) and "trade in" my BA to get an MA instead. I think I (re-)graduate - there's certainly a new ceremony - and I'm then entitled to put "MA (Cantab)" on my CV. Since I no longer have my BA, the MA supersedes it and it wouldn't be right to say "BA Law MA (Cantab)", for instance.

I suspect they're exaggerating rather than that they actually have two degrees, so I'd definitely ask a few more questions and, if you still have your doubts, drop CARO an email. Alumni are also issued with "CAMcards" - they don't always carry them, but they have an ID number that can be run through the database to narrow the search. Knowing the year of matriculation (and maybe the maiden name) might also help.

The name is probably a red herring though. The colleges all keep records of their alumni so that they can hound them for money ( :p:

), so I'd have expected her entry to have been updated since she got married. In other words, it shouldn't be too hard to find her.

Original post by Liz1155

That is rather interesting, because this person is claiming to have two-Cambridge degrees (but only lists the MA). Suspicious or just exaggerating?

Thanks for your help :smile:

If you get a BA from Cambridge, you can apply later to get the MA. Technically you have two degrees from Cambridge. However, everyone who knows, knows that you have earned the BA and the MA is honorary. You shouldn't mention the MA on a CV, unless you make it clear it is an honorary degree, because it has no academic meaning, you should only refer to your BA. However, you can use the MA (Cantab) as post-nominals on letters, business cards etc.

Are there not lists of graduates in some version of the Reporter? If you had an idea form someones age, which year they might have graduated would it not be listed? To claim you have an MA from Lucy Cav would be bold, as the numbers of graduates are relatively small.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 6

illusionz

20

Just ask for the degree certificate...

Reply 7

sj27

14

Original post by illusionz

Just ask for the degree certificate...

Yes, this, but something tells me the OP is not an employer, as they know how to verify degrees and would have details of the maiden name - all standard stuff on a CV, and if it's not on there they are perfectly within their rights to ask rather than come digging on TSR...

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 8

Liz1155

OP

2

Original post by sj27

Yes, this, but something tells me the OP is not an employer, as they know how to verify degrees and would have details of the maiden name - all standard stuff on a CV, and if it's not on there they are perfectly within their rights to ask rather than come digging on TSR...

You're correct, I'm not an employer. I'm essentially their customer; I used their services because they claimed to be qualified in the services that they offered. (Sorry about the vagueness, but I'd prefer to keep out any identifying details.) It subsequently turned out that they were not qualified in the services that they offered, so I'm trying to verify whether any of this person's qualifications are true (because unfortunately, I still have some work booked with them).

Reply 9

Tortious

16

Original post by Liz1155

You're correct, I'm not an employer. I'm essentially their customer; I used their services because they claimed to be qualified in the services that they offered. (Sorry about the vagueness, but I'd prefer to keep out any identifying details.) It subsequently turned out that they were not qualified in the services that they offered, so I'm trying to verify whether any of this person's qualifications are true (because unfortunately, I still have some work booked with them).

If you entered into the contract because they claimed to be qualified in all of those services, and in fact they're only qualified in some of them (i.e. some of what was promised - which is part of the contract - is absent), I'd argue that you should be able to get out of the contract for future work under the Misrepresentation Act 1967. It might be worth considering, since you could essentially save yourself the hassle of this investigation if you felt you could find someone else to do the work.

Citizens Advice has a sample letter here. There's a little more information here.

(Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer!)

Reply 10

sj27

14

Original post by Liz1155

You're correct, I'm not an employer. I'm essentially their customer; I used their services because they claimed to be qualified in the services that they offered. (Sorry about the vagueness, but I'd prefer to keep out any identifying details.) It subsequently turned out that they were not qualified in the services that they offered, so I'm trying to verify whether any of this person's qualifications are true (because unfortunately, I still have some work booked with them).

Ok. If this is the case, to my mind it doesn't really matter whether or not her degree is what she says it is - if she's not performing the service she claims to be able to then you should be looking for another remedy - canceling the remainder of the work?

Reply 11

Topaz_eyes

12

They could have an MA and an MSci if they studied a science subject. For example, I'm currently studying a four year Physics course. I will graduate with a BA and an MSci. My BA will then be eligible to turn into an MA after a couple of years, as Tortious described.

I think similar is true for Computer Science and Engineering, but they'll graduate with an MEng and BA.