University To Sell Off Student Accommodation
Oxford University is preparing to sell off all its centrally owned accommodation to individual colleges in order to invest more money in research facilities. The move will directly affect graduate students, potentially restricting their choice of college when making an application. The University claims the move is in the interests of students, who they believe will benefit from the social side of college life.
A spokeswoman for the University admitted, “It is obviously a financial issue as well.” It is hoped the transactions will take place over the summer vacation, meaning the properties could belong to individual colleges by next term. Despite these plans, the official accommodation website continues to inform all potential applicants that there are centrally administered properties available, for graduates and undergraduates with a partner or children, for the duration of their course.
Students were initially informed that a consortium of 14 colleges had proposed to buy the properties. However, this deal has fallen through, meaning the houses will now simply go to the highest college bidder. Concerns have been raised that some colleges will now be able to offer even less graduate accommodation, no colleges as yet being able to house all their graduates for the duration of their course.
Student Union Vice-President (Welfare), Nicky Ellis, expressed her disapproval of the sale saying: “It will increase college inequality when all in all the university should be seeking to acquire more graduate accommodation. I understand they’re under financial pressures but they need a better strategy. “We don’t want people choosing a college on the basis of accommodation. It should be on the basis of the place, the course and the people there”.
The concerns are particularly prescient after the University announced its intentions to increase the number of graduate and international students in the Green Paper on academic strategy published in January. Students have expressed concerns that the University does not appear to have considered the impact this might have upon those in difficult circumstances.
It also is possible the changes could lead to private rent price rises in Oxford, with greater demand placed on the private property market. John Marles-Wright, a Merton post-graduate currently living in University-owned accommodation in Court Place Gardens in Iffley, told this newspaper: “I can’t see things being fair and equitable unless distribution of this sort of accommodation is centralised.” The University Accommodation Officer was unavailable to comment on the plans.
2nd Jun 2005