OVERSEAS STUDENT PROGRAMME Directors Handbook

Transcription

1 OVERSEAS STUDENT PROGRAMME Directors Handbook FROM THE REGENT We are delighted to be working in collaboration with your institution to provide quality education for Visiting Students to Oxford. This information pack has been prepared to give you quick access to information concerning the Overseas Student Programme at Blackfriars Hall. Blackfriars Hall, Oxford INSIDE THIS HANDBOOK Selection of Candidates 2 Application Process 2 Arrangement of Teaching 2 Monitoring Progress 3 Pastoral Care 3 Conduct 3 Important Information 4 Fees and Payment 4 Sample Budget 5 Accommodation 5 Food 5 PROGRAMMES AVAILABLE Philosophy and Theology Philosophy, Theology and English Literature We welcome your comments and suggestions about this pack. Please keep it for yourself and others in your institution involved in Study Abroad programmes. For their part, the students will receive all the necessary information at the appropriate time. It is our confident hope that your students will find their year at Blackfriars to be both academically and socially one of the happiest of their lives. While they are with us, we are committed to helping them benefit from all that Oxford has to offer them. The success of their year abroad, however, equally depends on the work you do in preparing students before they arrive. We invite you to work with us on that preparation. In particular, we invite you to come and see for yourself what we do at Blackfriars. A visit during term is best as it allows you to see at first hand your students at work or play. Hilary (Spring) Term has been a favourite time for Directors visits, but other times are possible too. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are going to be in England. If you require any further information, you are invited to contact us using the details given on the back page of this handbook. Fr. Simon Gaine OP Regent Philosophy, Theology and British History Philosophy, Theology and Church History Philosophy, Theology and Classics in translation THE PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE Oxbridge tutorial teaching: two tutorials a week in which one or two students discuss an essay with a tutor; each week, one tutorial in Philosophy or Theology, and the other chosen according to their specialization; access to the world-famous Bodleian Library, faculty libraries, university lectures and seminars; additional lectures at Blackfriars; optional classes in Latin, New Testament Greek or Biblical Hebrew; accommodation within easy walking distance of Blackfriars. 1

2 SELECTION OF CANDIDATES Candidates need to be academically bright, strongly self-motivated and ready to adapt to the intensive eight-week terms of the Oxbridge tutorial system in which they are required to spend much of each week working on their own (reading, taking notes and writing an essay of several thousand words), ahead of a one-to-one or paired tutorial with their tutor. Two tutorials a week, and so two essays a week, is a challenge to which they must be able to rise, with help, during the first term. Although there are exciting opportunities to participate in the sporting and musical life of the University and to travel in Europe during each vacation, students must not think that their year in Oxford is a platform for discovering Europe. The academic workload means that Blackfriars does not normally permit students to have part-time employment during term time. Permission is only granted in exceptional circumstances for reasons of financial hardship if the student is able to satisfy the necessary visa conditions. Candidates may be of any religious affiliation or none. They must, however, be sensitive to the Catholic religious setting of the Hall in a Dominican Priory and should be open to the Dominican intellectual tradition in Philosophy and Theology. At the same time, candidates should not expect all tutors to be Dominicans or to belong to any particular religious tradition. As candidates are not interviewed by Blackfriars, we rely heavily on the home universities to select suitable applicants. APPLICATION PROCESS Suitable candidates should complete the application form, which must be signed and stamped by their home institution as indication of its approval of the candidate s application. The completed forms should be sent to Blackfriars together with a sample essay, an academic reference, a personal statement by the student explaining why he/she wishes to study at Blackfriars, an official transcript, and two passport sized photographs (not electronic scans) by 31st March Blackfriars reserves the right to reject applications deemed unsuitable. In practice this very rarely occurs as our partner universities develop a good sense of who will benefit from the programme. Occasionally Blackfriars may have to reject a candidate on the grounds of overall numbers or because an application is submitted late. It is the responsibility of the home university to ensure that the options chosen by the student match their needs for credits at the end of the year. ARRANGEMENT OF TEACHING Each student has two weekly tutorials and must in addition attend two lecture and class based courses at Blackfriars. We do our best to provide tutors for the subjects the students have chosen and most wish to study, but cannot guarantee to provide their first or second choices: this depends on the availability of tutors and their work load in a given term or year. As regards courses in philosophy and theology, students are not normally assigned to the same tutor for more than one term. Tutorial teaching for the first term is fixed before the students arrive and cannot be altered (unless in exceptional circumstances see below). Some tutorial teaching for the second and third terms is arranged before the students arrive, but there is flexibility if students wish to alter their options. One of the two lecture and class-based courses for the first term is determined before students arrive, the second is for them to choose on arrival. 2

3 MONITORING OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS Tutors comment to students on every essay they receive (though it is not necessarily graded). The academic progress of the Visiting Students is monitored throughout the year by the Vice-Regent. Students or tutors and lecturers who have any academic concerns may raise them with him. There are weekly office hours at which students may come to discuss their work and any problems they may be experiencing. If, in exceptional circumstances, a student were to find that they were unable to work with the assigned tutor, the Vice-Regent would make alternative arrangements. Each tutor writes a report on the student at the end of term and the student has a meeting with the Vice-Regent to discuss the term s work. Transcripts will be available, please send your grading scheme, so we can advise on grade equivalents. PASTORAL CARE OF STUDENTS The Junior Dean is the person who has first contact with the students on their arrival, who makes them welcome and eases their way into life in England. Students may also approach the Senior Dean or the Chaplain to discuss any issue in confidence. They may also approach any of the Moderators, Harassment Officers, or the Tutor for Women. In addition to the pastoral care provided by Blackfriars, Visiting Students have full access to the Counselling Services of the University. CONDUCT All Visiting Students are required to abide by the University s Rules and Codes of Practice and the Rules of Blackfriars. In practice, this often means no more than the common sense, courtesy and respect one mature adult would have for his or her neighbour. It is necessary to stress the extreme seriousness with which certain infringements of the Code of Conduct are treated by both Blackfriars and the University authorities in the areas of religious or sexual harassment or racial discrimination and in cases of inappropriate access to material on the Internet. Access and use of the Internet may be monitored by the University. Offences in these areas may result in the student s dismissal from the Programme. Students breaking the Rules or whose conduct fails to meet the expected standards may be summoned in the first instance to the Senior Dean. The Senior Dean has the right to impose small fines, withdraw permission to use the various facilities of the Hall etc. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, it will be taken up by a disciplinary panel or more information see: (University Rules). 3

4 IMPORTANT INFORMATION Emergency Contact: Students must provide Blackfriars with names, addresses and phone numbers of next of kin, for use in an emergency. Health Insurance: Every student enrolled in full-time study at British Universities is eligible for medical care under the National Health Service. Visiting Students are obliged to register at a local health centre upon arrival. Other Insurance: Students are strongly advised to obtain travel insurance before leaving for the UK. They might also choose to take out contents insurance to cover their belongings while in Oxford. Immigration: International students (non EEA/Swiss) coming to Oxford to study a full-time course of more than six months must obtain Entry Clearance (a visa) under Tier 4 (General) Student before coming to the UK to start a course. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) requires students to be formally sponsored by a licensed U higher education institution the University of Oxford in our case. Working: Students with Tier 4 Adult Student Visas from abroad are permitted to take some kinds of employment during the course of their studies. Visiting students at Blackfriars should understand, however, that they are only allowed to work subject to the express permission of the Hall. Requests should be made to the Vice-Regent. Residence requirement: Students are normally expected to be resident in Oxford throughout the academic term. Permission is required from the Vice-Regent of Studies for students to absent themselves from Oxford overnight during the week or for more than 24 hours at weekends. FEES AND PAYMENTS Visiting students are liable for tuition fees both to the University of Oxford and to Blackfriars Hall. The Composition Fee is set by the University, and it rises by about 4% annually. The Hall fee is set by the Hall and covers teaching costs, library access, computer provision, membership of the Junior Common Room (JCR) and the range of cultural activities organized throughout the year. Home universities are responsible for payment of all fees relating to tuition and programme costs. Fees for food and accommodation are set by the Hall taking into account the costs involved. These are the responsibility of the home university or the student, depending on the policy of the home university. Nevertheless, if a student accepted for the programme fails to arrive, or leaves during the course of the year, the home university will be invoiced for any accommodation fees that remain due until such time as Blackfriars is able to fill the room. All fees are invoiced in July and are payable in pounds sterling by 15 September. It is preferable for payments to be made by International Bank Transfer, and the appropriate details are included with the invoice. 4

5 SAMPLE BUDGET University Composition Fee 7,300 (estimated) Hall Tuition Fee 10,100 Accommodation (39 weeks) 6,000 (single room) 5,189 (shared room) Food 3,140 TOTAL 25,729-26,540 ACCOMMODATION At present, all of our visiting students are accommodated in two adjacent comfortable and historic houses in St. John Street, just outside the back gate of Blackfriars. Accommodation is in single or twin rooms, according to the preference of the home university and subject to availability. Bed linen is provided, but students are responsible for laundering their own linen and clothes as well as cleaning their own room. An inventory is done at the beginning of the year, and an inspection takes place at the end of every term. Students have the use of their room throughout the academic year, from their arrival at the start of October through a l m o s t t o the end of June. They may receive guests, but only with the permission of the Junior Dean and the agreement of their housemates. Each house has a washing machine and tumble dryer together with a fullyequipped kitchen. A cleaner is employed for the common areas of the houses. A telephone line is provided in each house for incoming calls, and students will be given the telephone number before coming to Oxford. In the event that not all students can be accommodated in St. John Street, Blackfriars will arrange alternative nearby accommodation with similar facilities. FOOD Given the nature of Blackfriars Priory as a religious house for Dominican friars, we can only offer dining facilities to student members on a few occasions during the year. Arrangements have been made for our students to dine at another nearby Hall of the University, where they eat lunch every day during term time. Breakfast and the evening meal are self-catering. Each month the students will receive a catering allowance to cover the cost of self-catered meals. Daily lunch during term and the monthly self-catering allowance are included in the amount charged for food. 5

6 ABOUT Blackfriars Hall is part of Oxford University, the most ancient in the English-speaking world. Blackfriars is run by the English Dominican friars, who first came to the mediæval University city in The Dominican vocation is summed up in the Order s motto Veritas ( truth ), and encompasses the pursuit of truth about human life and dignity. The friars invite others to join with them in this pursuit. If you desire to make sense of it all, Blackfriars may be right for you. ALSO IN THIS PACK This handbook, aimed at course directors, is part of an information pack sent out in October each year for entry of students in October of the following year. Along with this director s handbook, you should also have received: handbooks for students considering applying our programme; a supply of application forms. Further supplies can be requested from the address in the box to the left. 6