Keble College have told second and third year students to “postpone their arrival in Oxford” after a newly built graduate centre was not able to open to students.
The college planned to house 120 graduate students in the newly built multi-million pound H B Allen centre, but have been forced to place them in temporary accommodation because necessary fire safety checks on the building could not be carried out in time.
In an email, seen by Cherwell, the college Warden Jonathan Phillips said that some of the graduates would need to be housed in undergraduate college accommodation, pushing second and third years out of their assigned rooms.
Phillips added: “We have managed to book some hotel accommodation, but this is the busiest week of the year and there are hardly any rooms available.”
The Warden apologised for the failure, which will force second and third year students having to change their travel plans.
He said that students with “a compelling reason” would be able to move in on the previously planned date, but added that “we cannot accept as a compelling reason the fact that the only time you can be brought to College is at the weekend.”
A third year historian at Keble who will be affected by the changes told Cherwell: “Following on from the mind-numbingly stupid decision to renovate Hall during term-time and not the vac, Keble’s latest construction-related announcement adds further to student’s woes.
“Weeks of carefully planned collections revision is now in flux and most importantly, Fresher’s Week, the pinnacle of any second year’s university career, has been totally and spectacularly ruined.”
Students who have been forced to change their move-in date, from the 30th September to the 4th October, will have the four days rent deducted from their termly bill.
Keble College were contacted for comment.
