"At a certain point the University loses its grip on you," Silverglate added. "And we claim that the University lost its grip."

If the judge rules against the students on this portion of the case in next week's decision, Silverglate said the students will continue to pursue the claim that they were treated improperly by the administrative board.

"There is an account that the ad board treated these students terribly, but this isn't news," Silverglate said. "The ad board treats all these people terribly." Silverglate has been an outspoken critic of Harvard's disciplinary system in the past, calling the system "right out of Orwell."

The two students could face troubles with immigration authorities if they do not receive their diplomas. Dinu is a citizen of Romania and Tsoukaldis is a citizen of Greece.

Tsoukaldis said his visa expires on July 30, and without a college degree, he does not expect to be able to stay in the country.

"As a Greek citizen, I think the main problem is you cannot get a work permit here unless you have a university degree," he said.

Robert W. Iuliano, the attorney handling the case for the University, was away from the office and could not be reached for comment today.