Despite the harsh economic climate, the numbers of Oxford graduates facing unemployment remains unchanged, though Oxford’s post-graduate leavers are struggling to find paid work.

These findings will be announced in the annual Destinations of Leavers report (DLHE), which is due to be released later this term. According to the report “Undergraduates bucked the national trends with fewer unemployed, fewer going to further study, and more employed”.

The report will demonstrate that levels of unemployment among graduates from the class of 2009 remains unchanged when compared with the previous year. This is despite recent graduates being amongst those worse hit by unemployment levels, which are now at their worst state for 15 years, with 2.51 million graduates out of work. Across the country, young graduates in particular are suffering as employers have chosen to reduce their workforces by halting recruitment.

Yet the DLHE indicates that 5% of the class of 2008 are unemployed, a slight reduction upon the previous year, when 6.1% of graduates had either not continued with studies or had been unable to find paid employment. The data also reveals that 45% of students continued to take further study, which compares to 48% the previous year.
Most surprising is the slight rise in the number of leavers securing paid work – up from 42% to 44%.

Director of the Careers Service, Jonathan Black, commented on the statistics: “Oxford graduates, along with students from Cambridge and LSE, are somewhat insulated against the recession. They’re always at the top of the list for corporate employers.”

The comparisons made by the report do not, however, account for the fact that the effects of the recession were also being felt in 2008. The number of graduates from the class of 2008 who had failed to secure work and were not engaged in study had already increased by 63% when compared with the previous year.

Mr Black conceded that students can no longer afford to be as picky as in previous years: “You can’t be quite as fixed – Oxford graduates don’t have the luxury they used to. But things are picking up and the numbers of employers approaching is the same as usual.”

The Director of the Careers Service encouraged students to adopt a flexible approach, and to look upon future employment “as part of a progressive career path, not just a job”.

He did, however, criticise the increased emphasis which is now being placed on graduate internships arguing, “Internships are for undergraduates. Once you have graduated it is time for a job, simple as that”. Earlier this year Mr Black publicly spoke out against a government scheme which proposed funding for thousands more graduate internships.

However, the experiences of recent graduates suggest that an Oxbridge degree is no longer the golden ticket it once was. Alex Parker, a former music student who graduated in 2009 managed to get a job offer after a tiresome eight months and a total 108 applications.

He said, “I don’t honestly think that my Oxford degree put me at a distinct advantage when it came to most of the jobs I applied to. I believe this was due to the recession levelling the playing field. People who had done more vocational type degrees that had some sort of practical experience that was relevant to the job tended to be much more favoured by employers, although they all admitted that Oxford students were better educated.

“My main difficulty was to demonstrate why I had studied the degree I studied (music) and then transferred to a job area that bore no relevance to my degree (accountancy). It’s very easy for students to become complacent. Once Oxford students think they have a significant advantage because of their academic pedigree, their chances of getting a job they want dramatically diminishes unless they can prove that they have got their hands dirty.”

Another Oxford graduate agreed “I think that it is harder to get some of the desirable jobs that most Oxford students want as there are fewer around in a recession, but it’s also very hard to get very crap jobs (again, fewer) so in many respects Oxford students have it much harder in a recession. The most common feedback I had from jobs was that I was ‘over-qualified and under experience.'”

Those hoping to continue studying have also felt the effects of the financial climate as the competitive job market has provoked a marked rise in the popularity of post-graduate courses. Francis Wynne, a former Classics student and one of the 25% of Oxford graduates pursuing a career in education, is currently studying for a PGCE at Kings College London. He was more satisfied that his Oxford qualification stood him in good stead.

He said, “I think the Oxford degree did help me to secure a place on the Kings PGCE, not because of any ‘prestige’ value that comes with it, but definitely insofar as the rigours of the Oxford course ensured my subject knowledge was strong. In a year when institutions can afford to be especially discerning in their intake it did serve a practical purpose.”

The recent surge in the volume of applications made to post-graduate courses has been felt at Oxford where the number of applicants rose from 13,551 last year to 17,510 for this academic year. The figures indicate that for the first time, the number of post-graduate applications received has outweighed the total number of students applying to the University’s undergraduate courses.

The University’s DLHE report suggests that post-graduate leavers do, however, still face hard times. A comparison of those post-graduates who finished in 2009 with those who left the previous year indicates that higher numbers remain either unemployed or opt for further study, while fewer have secured paid employment.
The Oxford’s Careers Service now aims to increase its ‘marketing effort’ in order to stimulate student engagement. Data tracking the usage of the Service shows huge discrepancy in the types of students visiting the service, which is less than half as popular with post-graduates as it is with undergraduates.

The university has vetoed OUSU proposals to up shop from Bonn Square and move operations to a property on George Street, which OUSU President Stefan Baskerville claimed “would have cost less money, was in a better location and in better condition.”

OUSU has argued that its present home is “ill-suited” to its purposes. Of the its three floors, only two are functional and there is no disabled access. The building, occupied by OUSU since 2002, is also highly inefficient in its energy use.

A spokesperson for the University, which pays the rent on OUSU’s offices, claimed that the axing of the project was part of a moratorium on capital projects in the current financial climate. He said, “It would have required significant expenditure for OUSU to move to new premises.

“The University leases its current premises from a landlord, and moving out would have required restoration of the premises to their initial state – removing many of the alterations that have been made in the meantime. The cost of this (dilapidations costs) was estimated at being at least £100,000. Removal costs and adapting the new premises for OUSU use would have cost a further £80,000.

“It may have been that the rent for the new premises may have worked out a bit cheaper than the current rent for Thomas Hull House, but the expense of the other costs meant the move was not approved.”

Baskerville acknowledged that the University’s moratorium had been “responsible for delaying a fair number of capital projects across the University so we were not being unusually treated in that regard.”
This academic year the student union expects to expend £129,095 on building costs; in terms of their projected total expenditure, this works out at 30%.

An OUSU document – ‘Urgent Challenges’ – notes, “OUSU spends an excessive proportion of its income on costs associated with its premises. Most charities would be criticised for spending such a large proportion of their income on premises.”

Baskerville confirmed that moving out of OUSU Towers remains a long-term ambition for the union. “We think it is hugely important that OUSU’s building is accessible to all students, that the space is suitable, that premises costs are as low as possible, and that OUSU is better located.”

It is the University’s intention to support OUSU in this. Its spokesperson stated, “Thomas Hull House is not the best premises for OUSU. The university is seeking to negotiate the shortest possible lease renewal and will continue to work with OUSU to identify suitable, accessible and less expensive alternative premises.”

Brasenose JCR President Paul Gladwell said, “The refusal will certainly limit OUSU’s attempts to offer a wider array of services, with the current venue being small and decrepit with significant accessibility problems. Without larger premises, welfare or educational events numbers are naturally limited, restricting the efficiency of hosting events of these kinds.”

Mae Penner, OUSU Officer for Magdalen JCR, criticised the University’s refusal to fork out on the move: “As the representative body for Oxford students, accessibility to students is vital in order for OUSU to operate effectively. Unfortunately the lack of wheelchair access and the high rent being paid for partially unusable space in the current premises have compromised OUSU’s ability to serve its members as well as it should.

“Money which could be spent on students is instead being spent on unsuitable and ill-located office space. It is disappointing that the University does not seem to share OUSU’s outlook on this issue.”

Baskerville, however, refuted this view, He said, “Relations between OUSU and the University are good and have improved during the course of this year, even if we disagree over the decision to keep OUSU in Thomas Hull House for the time being. The University recognises that OUSU needs to change premises, I just think it needs to be treated as a more urgent priority.”

A fraudulent student who been studying at Harvard for two years based on false credentials was discovered when he faked an applications for the Fulbright award and the Rhodes scholarship, an international postgraduate award for study at Oxford.

Adam Wheeler, aged 23, had been accepted as a transfer student to Harvard in 2007 on account of numerous A-grade transcripts which he presented from Phillips Academy Andover, an elite American boarding high school, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Wheeler studied at Harvard for two years before his fraudulent claims were discovered.

Following Wheeler’s dubious application for the Rhodes Scholarship, it was found that he had forged the transcripts from MIT which had won him a place at Harvard. It was revealed that he had not attended the high school, nor MIT as he had previously claimed. Rather, he had graduated from Caesar Rodney High School in Delaware, an average state secondary school. He then spent two years at Bowdoin College in Maine, before being suspended for academic dishonesty.

Wheeler also claimed to speak five languages, including Old English, Classical Armenian, and Old Persian. He said he had given lectures at other elite American universities, and pretended to have a perfect score of 1600 on the SAT exam. In fact, he had sat the test twice and scored 1160 and 1220.

The student’s fraud was discovered by an English professor who was reviewing Wheeler’s Rhodes scholarship application. The professor suspected Wheeler of plagiarising part of the application, and although Wheeler claimed it was an error, the professor’s suspicion led to a review of Wheeler’s entire transfer application to Harvard. It was after this that Wheeler’s false claims about his school and MIT became clear. In particular, it was noticed that Wheeler had submitted a A-grade transcript from MIT, despite the fact that MIT does not give letter grades to students during the autumn term of their first year.

When he realised the possibility of being discovered, Wheeler attempted to escape by completing new transfer applications to Yale and Brown, two other Ivy League universities. To do this, he forged yet more documents to attain admission, including a letter of recommendation from David Smith, the Academic Dean at Harvard who had first informed him of the plagiarism accusations concerning his Rhodes scholarship application.

Yale contacted his parents, who insisted that their son confessed his false academic record to Yale. It was due to their interference that he confessed. Wheeler chose to leave Harvard rather than face an academic hearing.

Meg Hauser, a student at Brown University, said, “This type of forgery in the course of college admissions, though usually not so extensive, is all too common. Admissions officers cannot physically check every component of an application; it is likely all too ordinary for graduating students to pad their resumes with false information.” 

Wheeler has subsequently been charged with 20 criminal counts at an arraignment at the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts. The counts included larceny, because he was awarded scholarships totalling nearly $50,000 from Harvard, and also identity fraud and pretending to hold a false degree. Wheeler pleaded not guilty.

The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the oldest and most prestigious international fellowships, which brings outstanding students from around the world to study at Oxford. The scholarship was initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and the first American Scholars came to Oxford in 1904.

Students applying for Rhodes Scholarships apply through the Rhodes Trust’s system, which has its own checks and procedures in place which are separate from those carried out by Oxford’s graduate admissions office.

A spokesperson from the University Press Office said, “Those who make fraudulent applications would face severe action, up to and including expulsion. Oxford’s Graduate Admissions and Funding Office (GAO) takes fraud very seriously, and has issued guidelines on detecting fraud in graduate applications to all departmental admissions bodies. There are procedures in place to deal with suspected cases of fraud.”

The revelations about Wheeler’s attempts to win a place at Oxford through faked documents come after a fresher at LMH was discovered as a fraud at the end of Michaelmas term of last year. The student, who won place at Oxford in 2009 to read Economics and Management, claimed to have graduated from school with at least 10 A grades at A level, and had also forged references from a teacher.

After this went unnoticed, the undergraduate admissions procedures at Oxford has had a shake up. Starting with applications for entry 2011, students who apply outside the UCAS system, as the LMH student did, will be required to produce their exam results as a condition of them getting an offer from Oxford.

The University stated, “Whilst it is impossible to eliminate the risk of fraudulent behaviour altogether, one of the aspects of Oxford which helps to minimise the risks of fraudulent behaviour going undetected is its intensive selection and teaching system. The selection system for undergraduates includes interviews and, for many subjects, aptitude tests, while the tutorial teaching system gives close supervision to demanding academic work.”

A review of Oxford’s teaching model has found that many students feel their work favours “style over substance”, that blagging is one of the key skills taught by an Oxford degree and that the tutorial system has damaged many students’ self-confidence.

Published this week, the document highlights key problems felt by students throughout their degree and calls for a reassessment of long-term teaching objectives.

The review also brings revelations about the discrepancies in treatment students felt they were receiving across the four subject groups of Humanities, Social Sciences, Maths, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) and Medicinal Sciences.

Comments such as “it’s hard to stay motivated when your tutor tells you that ‘teaching you is soul-destroying'” indicate that students, especially those in MPLS subjects, feel that their confidence had been damaged by the teaching which they had received.

Students from Humanities and Social Sciences felt that “blagging” is an inevitable skill to be picked up. Some students felt they have “no choice but to work” and that work is “mainly style over substance”.

Undergraduates studying Medical Sciences courses expressed concern at the difference in teaching between colleges. The number of tutorials which students were having appeared to range from 2 per fortnight to 8 per fortnight depending on what college they attended.  

The review, which “reflects the experiences of hundreds of Oxford’s undergraduates”, is a result of focus groups that were instigated by OUSU, and conducted across nine colleges.

Despite the lack of consistency between tutorials in different Colleges, students in MPLS are more satisfied than their peers in other disciplines with the manner in which they were examined.

Students in MPLS are more satisfied with lectures, but they wished for them to be more effectively timetabled. MPLS students also feel that postgraduate students would be better at delivering classes or leading lab work than academics.

Some of the problems raised with lab work within MPLS and Medicinal Sciences is attributed to an “inclarity over the objectives” and an “outdated” form of teaching.
The issue generating the most dissatisfaction is the mismatch of the teaching model with the examination system, felt most greatly by Social Sciences and Humanities students.

Students frequently reported that they feel the work they were asked to produce for tutorials was very different from what was expected in examinations. 

The report says it was “very apparent that students were deeply concerned that they were unclear about the criteria against which they would be assessed”.

There is a strong sense that students do not know “what a first class essay would look like” in an examination setting or how they would produce one in under an hour.

Commonly students believe that “confidence and the ability to write aggressively” is what got them the highest marks but feel that large amounts of revision would not necessarily provide them with this ability.

Among the report’s suggestions about ways in which the style of teaching could be altered is the introduction of a common framework for teaching. This comes after students expressed that tutors’ teaching did not match expectations.  

The lack of summative assessment was noted by students in all four subject divisions, but was particularly focused on in Humanities and Social Sciences. Students felt that work was assessed against published marking criteria too infrequently given the importance of public examinations. 

Collections were not considered by students to be a sufficient method of providing summative feedback, “because of the lack of seriousness with which it was felt that they were sometimes taken.”  

Humanities and Social Sciences students in particular “did not feel there was any clear link between the manner in which they were taught and the manner in which they were assessed”.

The review showed there is a perceived contrast among students between tutorial work and what was expected in examination settings. It was also felt that summative assessment was largely dependent on the whims of individual tutors owing to unclear assessment criteria.

Students felt that mechanisms such as the release of ‘model answers’ by degree classification, greater access to examination scripts and more opportunities to practice exam-style writing would help with uncertainty over examinations,
Some of the expectations students had about teaching at Oxford had not been met, especially in Social Sciences, where students were likely to perceive tutors “as being comparatively uninterested in undergraduate teaching.”

Social Sciences and Humanities students, in particular Modern Linguists, expressed dissatisfaction with course organization and the unclear administration of joint courses. They were also mostlikely to view lectures as “ineffectual”.

Students across all divisions frequently indicated speed of work, resilience, willingness to defend they point of view as some of the skills they had acquired at Oxford.
The review indicated that even “in light of the [University’s] worsening financial situation” it is possible to implement changes which would improve student satisfaction.

Last Saturday saw Oxford’s RAG-Raid team take to the streets of Bath in aid of Link Ethiopia, an educational charity.

The team of 42 managed to raise just over their target of £2,000, which will go towards funding clean water facilities for school children.

Habiba Islam of Somerville College, who organised the day, commented that the beautiful weather highlighted the importance of Link Ethiopia’s work. “On that hot day, we were especially grateful for water. It made it clear how important clean water availability really is.

“Everyone had loads of fun… it was a lovely day and couldn’t have gone better.”
RAG Press Officer Rob Day wore a Robin Hood outfit for the day. He said that it felt “a bit like being a Big Issue seller,” but overall the public had given generously.

Star RAG-Raiders were Abigail Brehcist and Isabella Mighetto, who raised £233.91 between them. They said, “We found the best way to raise money for a cause is to attract as much attention as possible: for us this meant being bright green, granting wishes and grinning manically! It led to a day full of fun and a bucketful of money!”

Most previous raids have taken place in and around Oxford, but the trip to Bath allowed students to target their fundraising at a predominantly non-student community. The move paid off, as the Raiders raised more money in Bath than they would expect to raise after a day’s bucket-rattling on Cornmarket Street.

James Love of Link Ethiopia said,  “A huge congratulations to Oxford RAG for raising the largest donation we have ever received from a UK RAG. The [money] will be used where it is needed most.  On behalf of the communities Link Ethiopia works with, thank you!”
Oxford RAG has already passed its £50,000 target for this year and their next major fundraiser is Oxford Jailbreak in 9th week.  For more information visit oxfordjailbreak.com.