Report confirms tutorials crisis
The OXFORD HEAD of Humanities has called for students to speak out after revalations that College Senior Tutors will meet next Tuesday to debate "University wide" proposals to further break away from the Oxford tutorial.
A new report obtained by The Oxford Student provides hard evidence that at least eleven major University faculties are planning to reform teaching practices so that students have "more classes and less tutorials."
The author of the report, Chairman of the Senior Tutors Committee also refused to rule out the possibility that poor colleges may be the worst hit. Dr David Robertson told the OxStu: "Yes, it might very well happen."
The changes, collectively called 'Stint Reform', could affect departments across the University including Maths, Law, Geography, Physics, Earth Sciences and Biochemistry. English and Modern Languages have also been confirmed as drawing up proposals for change.
Among the most radical proposals are plans in Politics, Economics and History to cut the number of tutes per term from eight to just four. In Chemistry and Archeology, tutorials could contain as many as four students to every one tutor.
Stenuously defending the new system, officials claim that classes will benefit students and improve the quality of teaching, and insist that the changes are not intended to "save money and abolish the tutorials."
But many admit that faculties want to "free up tutors' time" so they can focus more exclusively on research.
For now, Dr Robertson is waiting for the report, along with a motion proposing to lessen the hours of teaching that tutors must complete, to be discussed at the Senior Tutors' Committee on Tuesday.
Should the motion be passed, the issue will move on to the Conference of Colleges the following week. The propositions must also be considered by University-based committees before they can be acted upon.
Ralph Walters, Head of the Humanities Division, told the OxStu that the Colleges were "very concerned about this", and then appealed to students to make their voices heard.
"The best help that we can get is from students... We would be very grateful if students would comment on the new proposals."
His request comes as Pembroke JCR passed a motion, with the vocal support of JCR President Ruan McGee, "in favour of retaining the tutorial system as the main method of teaching."
The Divisional Heads of Mathematics and Physical Sciences and Enviornmental and Life Sciences were unavailable for comment.
31st Oct 2002