A Cherwell investigation has revealed that many Oxford students pay for services that claim to significantly improve grades.

Companies providing such coursework ‘proof-reading’ services can charge between £2.50 and £10 per 1000 words. Having a thesis checked can cost as much as £100.

In the past week alone, eight different advertisements for proof-reading and editing services in the Oxford area have been listed on the classified ads website Gumtree, as well as two for help with assignment-writing.

University Examination Regulations state only that theses, extended essays and dissertations must be “the candidate’s own work”. However, a spokesperson for the University said, “Whilst there is no specific University regulation regarding coursework ‘proof-reading’ services, the University would take a dim view of students using any ‘proof-reading’ service that was really an aid to cheating.”

Some proof-readers claim to boost marks, with one advertising “Copy writing” and “Rewriting” as well as spelling and grammar checks. The advert states, “Apart from content, these are the things that annoy examiners and which they mark down for.”

Another independent proof-reader claims, “Having obtained a Bachelor’s Degree at the Law School of Aberdeen, and subsequent Master’s Degrees at the Universities of St Andrews and Oxford, I have developed the skills necessary to turn a failing paper into a passing paper, a good degree mark to a great one.”

Express Proofreading, which charges £2.50 per 1000 words or £55 for a thesis and claims to receive up to 20 requests a month from Oxford students, state that their services are popular with both students for whom English is a second language and native English speakers, “who have found our services beneficial as it made their work more academic and error free.”

A company representative told Cherwell, “We have a split of 70/30 between international students and British students. I think that because our ethos at Express Proofreading is to offer a top quality service at a low cost price, we attract people who wouldn’t normally bother to get their work checked but do and then often become repeat customers.”

She emphasised that the company would not write or paraphrase essay, adding, “I believe that proofreading is not cheating, as I am fundamentally just correcting their spellings and grammar etc and not adding any new information. In addition, I think it increases a student’s confidence and I have seen many students improve their English as a result.”

OUSU’s Academic Affairs Campaign Officer, Nick Cooper, commented, “All candidates have to confirm that submitted essays and theses are entirely their own work, and this protects the integrity of both students and the University. I know that other universities have clearer guidelines on paid proof-reading services, and Oxford should perhaps consider their position on the issue. However, given the calibre of Oxford students, and the excellent provision of supervision for theses and dissertations, it would be disappointing to think that students would need to resort to such services.”

However, other students defended the use of proof-reading services. One second year historian said, “I think it’s only fair to get a second pair of eyes to look at your work, and if you have to pay for that so be it.”

Oxford’s museums are set to share a major grant from The Arts Council for England (ACE) after a bid from the University and County Council trumped fourteen others from the South East of England.

The additional funding is to be spent on joint projects from the Ashmolean Museum, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, and The Oxfordshire County Council Museums Service.

Professor Ian Walmsley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, said, ‘Generous benefactors have helped us renew many of the galleries and facilities in Oxford University’s museums.

‘ACE’s major grant will help ensure that the galleries and expertise of curatorial staff are even better used by schools, and local, national and international visitors and colleagues.’

Student opinion was divided on the issue. One source commented, ‘This looks like another blunder by the ACE. Oxford’s rolling in money already isn’t it?’

Emma Finlayson, a music student at St Peter’s, took a more positive line, saying ‘Museums are a big part of my cultural life at Oxford.’

A team from Oxford University has triumphed in the University Wine Championships, winning a trip to Australia.

The Wine Australia UK competition saw teams battle against each other on wine trivia and blind wine tasting. Competitors had to identify different varieties of grape, and answer questions on wine production.

The Oxford group proved their knowledge against teams from UCL and Nottingham in the knockout competition, before achieving victory in the final question of the final against Edinburgh.

Oxford team captain James Flewellen told Cherwell that it was ‘a great feeling to win.’ He added, ‘We’ve had a great opportunity to taste some amazing Australian wines, and we’re all really looking forward to exploring the wine regions of Australia in the prize trip.’

Hertford’s Principal, Will Hutton, will be chairing a new independent commission looking at the impact of the tuition fee rise.

Fees for British and EU undergraduates are set to rise to £9000 from September at many universities, including Oxford. The commission will produce reports assessing the impact of the increase in fees on application and admissions trends in universities. Hutton explained, “It is incredibly important that we provide an independent check on the biggest reforms for Higher Education in a generation, particularly looking at what impact higher fees have on prospective students from less privileged backgrounds.”

Though many claim to know what the impact of raised fees will be, the picture is far from clear. UCAS figures released on Monday showed a 9.9% drop in applications to English universities for 2012, but applications are still higher than they were three years ago. Applications for Oxford have held steady.

Hutton said of his position as Principal of Hertford, “It’s made me ever more aware of the issues at stake – and many students not just at Hertford but across the university are very alert to what it is going on, and attach great importance to equity of access. I have been impressed in the few months I have been here by the commitment of both the university – and not just my own college which has a long tradition in these matters but nearly all the college community – to promoting access.” He also pointed out that “this is much bigger than either Hertford or Oxford. This is a policy that affects all of England.”

Oxford’s student party associations indicated support for the enterprise, with Miles Coates, President of OUCA, commenting that while he supports the Coalition’s tuition fee reforms, “no student should be prevented from going to university for lack of funding,” and the commission “will facilitate a constructive debate about the impact of tuition fees going forward, and enable universities and the government to continue to improve access to higher education.”

Lib Dem city council candidate Robin McGhee, a student at St Anne’s, agreed that the commission was useful, but cautioned that “the creeping privatisation of universities will substantially reduce the quality of education, destroy Britain’s international edge in higher education, and almost certainly reduce opportunities for those from less well-off backgrounds to go to university.”

Many Hertford students were proud to see their Principal at the head of the commission. Finbar McLoughlin said, “Will’s a good guy, I’m sure he’ll do a sterling job.” Tom Fleming added, “As he’s a top lad, I completely trust him,” while another student commented, “Will’s a babe and I trust him implicitly.”

However, even with Hutton at its head, many were sceptical that the commission will have much of an impact. McLoughlin pointed out that past studies have not been acted upon, continuing, “Surely it is a bit late to launch an investigation now. I don’t think for a minute that even if the report says ‘this is the worst idea ever’ the government would act upon it, given it would signify a massive climb-down and the reversal of a policy that they have only just implemented.”

Steven Wenham, a finalist at Hertford, commented, “Surely it’s an important step, but Hutton’s reputation as a left-wing looney will not win him support across the political divide. I doubt he had the stature and cross-party support necessary to produce something that will really impact on the tuition fees debate.”

Hutton stated, “We will be keeping an open mind; the aim will be to produce a dispassionate and authoritative analysis of the data as it emerges.

“It’s important because what is planned is a vast social experiment, and British society needs an independent and impartial assessment of the impact. We aim to provide it.”

Keble’s Governing Body have clamped down on poor academic performance in response to a disappointing performance in the 2010 Norrington table.

Collections have been renamed “College Examinations” and all marks are now monitored by a newly established tutorial board. The proposals originally stated that all students must obtain a 2:1 or above in College Examinations, although following pressure from the JCR, this was withdrawn.

Instead, Acting Senior Tutor Michael Hawcroft told Cherwell, “If it is felt that a student has performed at a level that would not allow him or her to have a chance of securing a 2:1 by the end of their course, the board, on the tutor’s recommendation, can require the student to re-sit the examination either later that term or at the beginning of the following term.”

The changes will also see College Examinations “more closely resemble University examinations”, as students will be seated randomly by number, as opposed to the alphabetical system currently in place. Hawcroft stressed, however, that “There has been no change to the College’s Academic Disciplinary procedures, which have been in place for a number of years.”

JCR President Basil Vincent seconded such a view, stating, “So far there has been no visible change in discipline, although a more rigorous collections procedure means that students are expected to achieve a 2:1 standard.”

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed the changes were “good”. He pointed to an example of a student last year, who was “doing hardly any work” and “fell behind.” He claimed the college was “too relaxed” about the matter, and resultantly, the student “failed prelims and his retakes.”

Another student, James Nottage, commented, “Norrington display has been oscillating wildly over the past few years, but last year actually Keble actually went up nine places – though I think the plans were probably given some impetus by the previous year’s 28th place”. He also stated that the demand for a 2:1 in College Examinations is entirely “discretionary” and that any retakes are “basically up to the tutors”.

Sarah Herdan, the JCR rep for Academic Affairs commented, “The increased formalisation of Keble’s “College Examinations”, coupled with a system of more standardised feedback for students, is an attempt by the college to both better prepare students for the experience of undertaking University exams and to raise the overall academic standing of the college. The requirement to achieve a 2:1 standard in these Exams, or else resit, aims to benefit the students as well as the college.

“Understandably, given the novelty of this system in Keble, certain issues have arisen, in particular regarding timing, and workload as a result, of resits, but the college is working to address these.”

Keble second year, Vyas Adhikari, suggested that the new policy hasn’t really changed the mentality of the students. While acknowledging that “the new policy has good intentions”, he told Cherwell, “there is a sense among the students that they [collections] don’t matter, which is true, they don’t.”

He added, “The threat of a retake is just an incentive to cram the night before instead of doing some useful revision that is remembered in the long run.”

One second year, from Univ, commented, “I hope my college doesn’t adopt this kind of policy. I don’t want to waste my youth in an exam hall.”

Members of Harris Manchester JCR have been embroiled in conflict this week, after the narrow defeat of a motion to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.

The motion, proposed by law student Edgar Mkrtchian at a JCR meeting last week, argued that the Wall Street Journal “has some of the most knowledgeble, deeply-analysed, and well-written articles on business and financial news.”

However it was brought to the attention of the JCR that last term, following a suggestion by second year PPE student Calum Proctor, another motion had been passed to unsubscribe from all Murdoch publications. The proposal to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal (owned by Murdoch) then failed by a single vote.

Proctor justified the boycott by criticising the “journalistic standards” of papers such as The Times, claiming the standard of content had “rapidly fallen”. He also expressed fears regarding the “monopoly of print media” and referenced the recent phone-hacking scandal which tarnished the reputation of Murdoch’s News Corp.

Such criticisms were dismissed as “misguided and inaccurate” by Mkrtchian however, who argued that The Wall Street Journal “has some of the best writing on business and financial markets which is recognised by even their fiercest critics”. He also criticised the “dig on journalistic standards” as “a kind of dog-whistle for attacking the opinions espoused on the editorial pages”. He claimed that these “do not affect the news sections of the paper.”

Mkrtchain further expressed his anger at the boycott, blaming it for the failure of the motion. He told Cherwell, “Universities and institutions of higher learning hold as a central tenet the free pursuit of knowledge,” adding, “Deliberately not subscribing to a newspaper because of a dislike of the ownership of a holding company that in turn owns the publication runs counter to that goal.” He questioned the “haphazard” and “misguided” nature of the boycott, commenting, “We currently support 20th Century Fox and other Murdoch-owned properties.”

Proctor countered this, stating, “We do not “support” 20th Century Fox. Our library holds some of its films and many of the members of the JCR enjoy certain content which is transmitted by Murdoch-owned properties.”

He continued, “The apparent inability to distinguish between the news content of a press monopoly and profit-driven activities to which the content is (beyond its popularity) entirely incidental is either a petulant smokescreen or an indication of imbecility.”

He concluded, “I do not believe that many people would seriously contend either that the Murdoch Empire has been good for journalism or that subscribing to its output is essential for “the free pursuit of knowledge”. Neither I nor the JCR are advocating book-burning, we merely believe that our budget is not best spent providing Edgar with personal reading material of dubious origins.”

JCR President Lois Sage stated that the JCR “review their subscriptions regularly at JCR meetings,” adding that the decision was made as some students “believe that the Murdoch group does not deserve our support” and that others had concerns regarding “the quality of journalism.”

He added, “I believe that, as a student body, the JCR is capable of making rational and considered decisions and we could not for a moment suggest that the other papers we subscribe to do everything right, which is why we reserve the right to change our minds and vary our reading matter every few terms.”

Harris Manchester have confirmed that they are planning to construct a new clock tower after receiving the backing of a wealthy Thai couple.

Ms Maevadi Navapan and Dr Sukum Navapan have decided to fund the £1.4 million project despite already having gifted funds for the college to build an eight room accommodation block last year.

The Bangkok based couple hold the positions of CEO of City Sports and Executive Director of Recreation Public Company Limited. Prior to taking on this role, 65 year old Ms Maevadi Navapan worked as a barrister and was once the Director of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the International Federation of Women Lawyers. Her husband has spoken as a Special Lecturer at Thammasat University.

Student Milja Fenger suggested that Thai influences could be incorporated into the tower’s design, suggesting that elephant designs could feature. JCR president Lois Sage told Cherwell that “there has been some talk of the clock itself being rather special.”

The new clock tower will be built behind the Alternative Tuck Shop. The construction process will involve the rebuilding of the gate leading into the Arlosh Quod from Mansfield Road. The building will be multifunctional, containing five ensuite study bedrooms.

Sage added that the college community are “incredibly grateful for the generosity and continued support of the college” offered by the Navapan family. She added, “The plans have met with approval from the student body and will make a lovely addition to college.”

“Comparing the cost of this building project to recent more large-scale accommodation buildings at other colleges, we will be getting very good value for what will be a beautiful building.”