A review of Oxford’s Permanent Private Halls published last week has voiced concerns about their practices, academic standards and the experiences of those who attend them.
The ‘Review of the Permanent Private Halls associated with the University of Oxford’, published in the University Gazette last Thursday, criticised PPHs for not always conforming to the "liberal ethos" which characterises the rest of the University.
The seven halls under scrutiny, four of which are Roman Catholic, two Anglican and one Baptist, have also been questioned as to their suitability for school leavers.
The document recommends that the University assume greater control or let the PPHs risk losing their University licence, and it warns that "substantial and challenging changes in some, if not all the halls" will be required.
The report states, "The admission of such young students into an overwhelmingly mature community of students does not provide the best learning environment for them or remotely replicate what is understood in the University at large as the collegiate experience of education." It concludes, "The right of those Permanent Private Halls which are principally communities of mature students to matriculate school-leaver-aged students should be withdrawn."
In response to this criticism, Wycliffe Hall Principal Revd Dr Richard Turnbull pointed out the panel’s failure to consult students at the private halls. He said it would have been useful to "find out what students think about their environment and setting".
Turnbull added, however, that he welcomed the report and that he "looked forward to working with the University in implementing these findings". He added, "All that is needed is a positive dialogue between the Permanent Private Halls and the University."
The report deals specifically with Wycliffe Hall in an appendix. It says, "There is a persistent concern outside Wycliffe about whether the strong emphasis on the evangelical tradition in some way inflects the teaching of theology and ministry into a narrow compass of interpretation.
"The panel feels that Wycliffe Hall does need to make a determined effort to clarify these matters to the rest of the University if it is to achieve manifest harmony with the University’s principles of education."
James Goldspink, a theology student at Wycliffe, raised concern that recent reports were unfair. "Those people who expressed views have only expressed upset. Everybody thinks it is a terrible shame about what is being reported about Wycliffe," he said. "Wycliffe are top of the private halls’ academic list. Therefore you cannot accuse us of not conforming to Oxford’s liberal standards."The panel has recommended to the University that a supervisory committee appointed by the Vice-Chancellor inspect the halls and make an annual report to Council.
