UBC student graduates 54 years after he first enrolled

Arthur Ross will receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia this week, more than five decades after he first enrolled. Ross—who is 71 years old—initially began the degree at UBC in 1969, but left after two years to pursue a career in acting and, subsequently, law. After retiring in 2016, Ross returned to UBC to complete his initial degree, choosing history for his course of study. CBC reports that Ross jokes this makes him the “slowest student in the world.” In fact, Ross has surpassed the Guinness World Record for longest time taken to complete a university degree; the previous record was held by Robert F P Cronin, who took 52 years to complete his biology degree.