For students, graduations matter a great deal. They represent years of hard work: the blood, sweat and tears shed for their education. Graduations are a milestone, the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

But, for many, graduation comes at a cost. Institutions the length and breadth of Scotland are continuing to tax student achievement by stealth.

Thanks to a freedom of information request from NUS Scotland, we can reveal that students can be out of pocket by as much as £225 as a result of winter graduations and the associated costs. The data shows a mixed approach by institutions, with specific graduation fees in place at 70 per cent of universities and 16 per cent of colleges. While some may not be surprised that universities are charging students to graduate, they may be shocked to find out just how expensive it can be.

Before a student has even thought about gowns, photographs and other expensive additions, they may need to drop £70 just to get a seat in the hall. Even those students who cannot afford their graduation and decide not to attend the ceremony may yet be charged by their institutions to graduate “in absentia”.

Such miserly, Dickensian practices should be consigned to history, along with the legacy of education being the sole preserve of the wealthy.

Regrettably, some colleges have now followed suit. Graduation fees, which are masquerading as “registration fees” or mandatory “alumni association” fees, are demanded before students can participate. For college students, many of whom are in further education and looking to build a better life for themselves and their dependents, institutions risk souring their education by making them shell out to celebrate one of their greatest accomplishments.

Many institutions also require students to hire robes from external companies, with some institutions receiving commission on each hire.

This might go some way towards explaining why many of them make such robes mandatory at ceremonies.

We appeal to all institutions across the country to reflect on their graduation fee policies and the impact of their costs - particularly for vulnerable students.

For the students of Scotland who have commuted back in forth, sunk thousands of pounds into rent and lost potential income to participate in education, and subjected themselves to tremendous stress, a lack of finance should never be a barrier to any facet of education - including their graduation.

Liam McCabe is president of the NUS Scotland students’ union