5 | Student Life and Support | Oxford Historians Hub

5.1.1 | Expectations of Study and Student Workload

Students need to be resident in Oxford during Full Term, when teaching and examination take place. For the dates of term, see: http://www.ox.ac.uk/about/facts-and-figures/dates-of-term

You are expected to apply yourself to academic work full-time during term. It is hard to define full time, but a full-time job might be 35-40 hours per week. Unlike most jobs, however, you do have considerable flexibility as to when you do most of your work, taking account of tutorial and lecture times and library opening hours. Attendance at tutorials, meetings with tutors and other formal sessions is mandatory, unless prevented by illness or other pressing circumstances; and attendance at lectures is highly desirable, particularly in the first year. For sources of help in the case of sickness or other circumstances which affect your ability to study, see below, 5.3.1.

If you find it impossible to meet your academic obligations without spending significantly longer than 48 hours per week on academic study on a regular basis (rather than occasionally, or for a limited time period), you should seek advice from your tutor, Personal Tutor, Director of Studies or Senior Tutor. A number of colleges run study-skills sessions. The University’s Counselling Service also offers workshops to assist students with work-related issues: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/counselling/workshops?wssl=1

Term-time employment is not permitted except under exceptional circumstances and in consultation with your Personal Tutor and Senior Tutor. Students can undertake some voluntary work through student societies, but this must be kept in proportion. Employment during the vacation needs to be balanced by the need to do some academic work – revising the previous term’s paper for collections, and preparing for the next term. The paid work guidelines for undergraduate students are at http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/experience Students who hold a Tier 4 visa will have restrictions on the paid and voluntary work permitted under the terms of their visa.

5.1.2 | Expectations of Behaviour: Harassment and Bullying, Freedom of Speech

The University’s Policy and Procedure on Harassment and Bullying is available at https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/harassmentadvice/ and is formally drawn to the attention of student members of the University. This page also lists sources of help, both in the University and in your college. The Faculty has its own Harassment Advisors, whose names and contact details are listed below under 6 | Facilities and Contacts.

All students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting an Oxford University student. Fellow students and staff and the residents of Oxford City should be treated with respect at all times. Abusive behaviour, bullying or harassment will not be tolerated; discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, disability, age or personal circumstance is absolutely unacceptable and may lead to expulsion.

Students should note the University’s statement of the importance of Freedom of Speech at https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/prevent/freedom-of-speech. Not only does the University embrace these principles it is also legally obliged to uphold them https://compliance.admin.ox.ac.uk/prevent/legal-context

Consent Matters

Consent Matters is an online programme offering initial consent training for all new and returning students. It is an interactive course that helps students build their understanding of consent, respect, boundaries and positive intervention.

The module is now available via the Oxford Students website. All students will be able to access the programme in advance of arriving at Oxford and without needing an SSO or University email address.

5.1.3 | Equality and Diversity at Oxford

“The University of Oxford is committed to fostering an inclusive culture which promotes equality, values diversity and maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected. We recognise that the broad range of experiences that a diverse staff and student body brings strengthens our research and enhances our teaching, and that in order for Oxford to remain a world-leading institution we must continue to provide a diverse, inclusive, fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish.” University of Oxford Equality Policy

As a member of the University you contribute towards making it an inclusive environment and we ask that you treat other members of the University community with respect, courtesy and consideration.

The Equality and Diversity Unit works with all parts of the collegiate University to develop and promote an understanding of equality and diversity and ensure that this is reflected in all its processes. The Unit also supports the University in meeting the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010, including eliminating unlawful discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between people with and without the ‘protected characteristics’ of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Visit our website for further details or contact us directly for advice: edu.web.ox.ac.uk or equality@admin.ox.ac.uk.

The Equality and Diversity Unit also supports a broad network of harassment advisors in departments/faculties and colleges and a central Harassment Advisory Service. For more information on the University’s Harassment and Bullying policy and the support available for students visit: edu.web.ox.ac.uk/harassment-advice

There are a range of faith societies, belief groups, and religious centres within Oxford University that are open to students. For more information visit: edu.admin.ox.ac.uk/religion-and-belief-0

5.1.4 | Student Welfare and Support Services

The Disability Advisory Service (DAS) can provide information, advice and guidance on the way in which a particular disability may impact on your student experience at the University and assist with organising disability-related study support. For more information visit: www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/das

The Counselling Service is here to help you address personal or emotional problems that get in the way of having a good experience at Oxford and realising your full academic and personal potential. They offer a free and confidential service. For more information visit: www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/counselling

A range of services led by students are available to help provide support to other students, including the peer supporter network, the Oxford SU’s Student Advice Service and Nightline. For more information visit: www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/peer

Oxford SU also runs a series of campaigns to raise awareness and promote causes that matter to students. For full details, visit: www.oxfordsu.org/communities/campaigns/.

There is a wide range of student clubs and societies to get involved in - for more details visit: www.ox.ac.uk/students/life/clubs.

5.1.5 | Skills and Employability

The academic and college environment at Oxford University is rich with opportunities for you to develop many transferable skills that are eagerly sought by employers. Undertaking an intellectually demanding academic course (often incorporating professional body requirements) will equip you for the demands of many jobs. Your course will enable you to research, summarise, present and defend an argument with some of the best scholars in their subject. Under the direction of an experienced researcher, you will extend their skills and experiences through practical or project work, placements or fieldwork, writing extended essays or dissertations. In college and university sports teams, clubs and societies you will have the chance to take the lead and play an active part within and outside the University.

Surveys of our employers report that they find Oxford students better or much better than the average UK student at key employability skills such as Problem Solving, Leadership and Communication. Hundreds of recruiters visit the University each year, demonstrating their demand for Oxford undergraduate and postgraduate students, fewer than 5% of whom are unemployed and seeking work six months after leaving.

Comprehensive careers advice and guidance is available from the University Careers Service, and not just while you are here: our careers support is for life. We offer tailored individual advice, job fairs and workshops to inform your job search and application process, whether your next steps are within academia or beyond. You will also have access to thousands of UK-based and international internships, work experience and job vacancies available on the Careers Service website.

Oxford University History Society is the University’s student history society. It organizes weekly events every term from guest speakers on a range of historical subjects to social occasions. It also publishes a termly journal of student contributions. Each term it also holds a highly beneficial careers event to promote the opportunities and development of historians at Oxford. See https://www.ouhs.org/, @OUHistorySociety on Facebook or @OxHistorySoc on Twitter.

Many colleges also have History Societies which provide opportunities for hearing and meeting historians and history-themed social events.

5.3.1 | Personal and Pastoral Support

Oxford has a wide range of agencies and people whose job is to help students with personal problems, from student peer-supporters to medical professionals. Often your college will provide the first port of call, and colleges will have explained to you the possible sources of help; your college handbook and website will identify ways of contacting people. You will also have been registered with a medical practice at induction, which you can use in the normal way.

The University Counselling Service assists students who are experiencing psychological stress (http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/counselling). Appointments can be made by email (counselling@admin.ox.ac.uk), by telephone ([01865 2]70300) or by calling in person at their offices (3 Worcester Street); you do not need to have been referred. The office of the Service is open Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm throughout the year (and later if you already have an appointment), except for short periods in the vacations which are publicized on their website well in advance.

See 6 | Facilities and Contacts for the Faculty’s officers for Disability and Harassment.

Details of the sources of support available in the University are on the Oxford Students website (www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare), including in relation to mental and physical health and disability.

5.3.2 | Administrative Support

The Faculty’s Undergraduate Office is committed to providing a one-stop administrative and advisory service for undergraduate students of History and its joint schools. They will send you emails reminding you of important deadlines and other crucial information. Please always read carefully any emails that come from undergraduate.office@history.ox.ac.uk.

For further details, see 6 | Facilities and Contacts.

5.3.3 | Academic Support

Your college Personal Tutor or Director of Studies (the terminology may vary from college to college) has responsibility for your academic progress and welfare, and should be the first port of call for academic support.

The History Faculty’s Undergraduate Office administers the Prelims and FHS course, and will be the source of many emails to you.

For further details, see 6 | Facilities and Contacts.

The University, the Humanities Division and the History Faculty all hope that provision made for students at all stages of their course of study will make the need for complaints (about that provision) or appeals (against the outcomes of any form of assessment) infrequent.

Nothing in the University’s complaints procedure precludes an informal discussion with the person immediately responsible for the issue that you wish to complain about (and who may not be one of the individuals identified below). This is often the simplest way to achieve a satisfactory resolution though we recognise that this is not always the appropriate.

Many sources of advice are available within colleges, within faculties and from bodies like Student Advice Service provided by OUSU or the Counselling Service, which have extensive experience in advising students. You may wish to take advice from one of these sources before pursuing your complaint.

General areas of concern about provision affecting students as a whole should be raised through Joint Consultative Committees or via student representation on the Faculty’s committees.

5.4.1 | Complaints

If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by the Faculty, then you should raise it with the Chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee and Directors of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. David Parrott and Dr. Lucy Wooding. Within the Faculty, the officer concerned will attempt to resolve your concern/complaint informally.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, then you may take your concern further by making a formal complaint to the University Proctors. The procedures adopted by the Proctors for the consideration of complaints and appeals are described on the Proctors’ webpage (https://www.proctors.ox.ac.uk/complaintsandacademicappeals/), the Student Handbook (www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/student-handbook) and the relevant Council regulations (www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/247-062.shtml)

If your concern or complaint relates to teaching or other provision made by your college, you should raise it either with your tutor or with one of the college officers, Senior Tutor, Tutor for Graduates (as appropriate). Your college will also be able to explain how to take your complaint further if you are dissatisfied with the outcome of its consideration.

5.4.2 | Academic Appeals

An academic appeal is defined as a formal questioning of a decision on an academic matter made by the responsible academic body.

For undergraduate courses, a concern which might lead to an appeal should be raised with your college authorities and the individual responsible for overseeing your work. It must not be raised directly with examiners or assessors. If it is not possible to clear up your concern in this way, you may put your concern in writing and submit it to the Proctors via the Senior Tutor of your college.

As noted above, the procedures adopted by the Proctors in relation to complaints and appeals are described on the Proctors’ webpage (https://www.proctors.ox.ac.uk/complaintsandacademicappeals/), the Student Handbook (www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/student-handbook) and the relevant Council regulations (www.admin.ox.ac.uk/statutes/regulations/247-062.shtml

Please remember in connection with all the academic appeals that:

The Proctors are not empowered to challenge the academic judgement of examiners or academic bodies.
The Proctors can consider whether the procedures for reaching an academic decision were properly followed; i.e. whether there was a significant procedural administrative error; whether there is evidence of bias or inadequate assessment; whether the examiners failed to take into account special factors affecting a candidate’s performance.
On no account should you contact your examiners or assessors directly.

The University is committed to ensuring that students with disabilities are not treated less favourably than other students, and to provide reasonable adjustment to provision where they might otherwise be at a substantial disadvantage.

General advice about provision for students with disabilities at Oxford and how best to ensure that all appropriate bodies are informed, can be found on the University’s Disability Office website at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/disab. The Faculty has established its own Disability Working Group, chaired by the Vice-Chair of the Faculty Board, which meets termly with student representatives.

Section 6 | Facilities and Contacts lists contact details for the Faculty’s officers with responsibility for disability. For the accessibility of premises, see 6.2 | Buildings, Locations and Accessibility.

If you have declared a disability, you will have an advisor who will guide you through the adjustments, facilities and equipment which need to be made to support your studies. Your Personal Tutor will contact tutors conducting tutorials to advise them of necessary adjustments, and also lecturers whose lectures you are likely to attend. It is also helpful if you inform tutors and lecturers directly of how they can best make adjustments.

You are permitted to record lectures orally (but not visually), subject to complying with the relevant procedures, available from the Disability Office or History Undergraduate Office. The University’s policy and guidance on the recording of lectures can be found here.

Increasingly reading-lists and the reading they prescribe are available electronically (see 6.5 | IT for Historians), although there are still many books not so available. The Bodleian History Faculty Library staff are also able to provide help and advice, and to make arrangements for gaining access to particular materials in the libraries. The Library staff can also assist in making special copies (large print, coloured paper, etc.).

Examinations: The Proctors assess the adjustments needed for students with disabilities. Your college should ensure that an appropriate application is made to the Proctors in good time. Further information about the Proctors’ role and the guidance they give is available on their website: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/proctors, and the Disability Office website: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/disab/.

5 | Student Life and Support

5.1 | Expectations

5.2 | History Societies

5.3 | Sources of Support

5.4 | Complaints and Appeals

5.5 | Guidelines for Students with Disabilities

5.6 | University Policies and Regulations