Oxford University students have been hiring private tutors in increasing numbers, with those studying sciences, overseas students and women most likely to seek external assistance.
Dr. Vincent McKee, Director of the Independent Institute of College and University Tutors (ICUT) confirmed that his organisation has been contacted by an increasing number of Oxford students over the past two years. Although there have only been twenty-five who explicitly describe themselves as Oxford students, he believes ICUT tutors many Oxonians who are too embarrassed to divulge the name of their institution.
Blue Tutors company has also stated that around fifty Oxford university students have asked for assistance within the last three years. Peter Edwards, spokesperson for the organisation said that there have also been “about 50 students…who were in the Oxford area, but didn’t state their university.” He thought that students are reluctant to disclose this information as “this may reflect badly on that university.”
When asked how the University could improve the teaching system, Edwards suggested that colleges could offer extra tutorials between terms and in the run-up to exams, but pointed out that students are often unwilling to ask for help. He added, “Oxford and Cambridge are understandably proud of their standards, but I think that this occasionally spills over into arrogance, and I don’t believe that an Oxbridge tutorial is necessarily of the high standard that everyone assumes it is.
“I regularly meet and assess the teaching ability of many people who currently teach for the university, and I am fairly shocked at times by what I see.” He also suggested that “students are too slow to question the standard of teaching that they receive in tutorials.”
A spokesperson for the University has defended Oxford’s tutorial system. “Oxford students benefit from much more teaching time and more intensive teaching than almost any other university in the world,” she said pointing out that “The National Student Survey shows that 92 percent of students are satisfied with their courses at Oxford University – higher than the national average.”
Dr McKee has also argued that the number of students seeking outside help suggests that the “tutorial system clearly doesn’t identify all of the problems.”
He particularly expressed dissatisfaction at the problems experienced by foreign students at British Universities. With 70 to 80 percent of ICUT’s clients foreigners, McKee claimed that “overseas students are abandoned by their institutions”.
He added that the students who contact ICUT in the summer months are disproportionately female, an estimated 8 in 10 between July and August. The subjects with the most demand for private tutoring from ICUT include finance, economics, business and management, maths and engineering.
One student, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted that “given the experience of the previous year, in hindsight, I realise I should have either hired a private tutor or requested to change tutors, as I received very little support from my main tutor and found the tuition to be less than satisfactory for several topics.”
He also thought that tutors may well be more interested in their own research than supporting their students.
