The boom of Asian universities could threaten Oxford’s world class status and financial security if its funding mechanisms are not radically overhauled, according to warnings from key higher education figures this week.
Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education, claims that the ambitions of institutions in India and China could see them overtaking Europe’s top universities in world rankings within a matter a years.
Figel said that as Asian institutions improve, high-ranking European universities like Oxford will become less appealing to overseas students.
Britain allocates 1.1 per cent of its GDP to higher education, compared with China’s plans to increase funding allocation for education to four per cent in the future.
“If you look at the Shanghai index, we are the strongest continent in terms of numbers and potential, but we are also shifting into a secondary position in terms of quality and attractiveness,” Figel told The Times.
“If we don’t act we will see an uptake or overtake by Chinese or Indian universities. Indian technology is seen as the third best in the world. China itself decided it wants several top universities by 2015.
“Overseas students don’t come to the UK or Europe, our students are attracted elsewhere and then if you’ve got the students going elsewhere the businesses go elsewhere,” he said.
The Commissioner’s warnings came as Chris Patten, Oxford’s Chancellor, stated that the University’s development was already stifled by restrictions on raising money and that British universities were falling behind their international competitors.
“Universities here, and indeed in most of Europe, are left in a no man's land in which they neither get enough funding from the state nor are they allowed to raise money themselves beyond the ridiculously low limits of the tuition fee,” Patten wrote in a Guardian comment piece. “Universities today get 1.1 per cent of GDP in this country, compared with America's 2.6 per cent… and while we are resting on our laurels we must remember that China and India are coming up on the outside.
In 2003, eight Chinese and Indian universities featured in the top 500 Academic Ranking of World Universities and this had increased to 11 by 2006, with many institutions climbing the table every year. Increased prestige of universities closer to home could provide a greater incentive for overseas students to study there. Beijing University is ranked fourteenth in the world according to the QS Top Universities ranking, which cites the University’s average undergraduate course fee as $641 per year.
Dr Frank Pieke, Position Director of Oxford’s Institute for Chinese Studies, estimated that there are around 550 Chinese undergraduates studying at Oxford. Collectively, they may be contributing up to £10m in University and college funding each year.
“The Chinese government has now been investing for a while in higher education after years of neglect,” he said. “The impact of an increase in standards of Chinese universities may mean that Oxford finds it more difficult to recruit Chinese students.”
Shenxiao Tong, a former professor at Nanjing Shifan University in China, believes that increased investment in the country’s higher education system has caused undergraduate numbers to swell in recent years.
“Chinese universities are definitely improving,” he said. “A very high percentage of young people in cities now go to university.”
Although they have not yet overtaken Oxford and its leading European counterparts, Tong insists that China’s universities are developing the ambition and academic potential to rank among them.
“They don't have this ambition yet, but Beijing and Tsinghua are working very hard to be among the top universities in the world,” he said. “Beijing is ranked number one in Asia and fourteenth in the world. The competition for places is extremely high in China because of its One Child Policy. Parents want to give their children the best education possible, so they are pushed very hard. What Chinese science students learn in school is equivalent to our undergraduate level.”
Lan Wu, President of the Oxford Asia-Pacific Society, predicted that the number of Asian students choosing to study at Oxford would fall in the future.
“The rise of Chinese education will mean that Europe will become less attractive to Chinese students,” she said. “I think Asian students will be less attracted to Oxford as a result.”

A University spokesman stressed that Oxford must fight to maintain its status in the face of increasing competition from better funded international rivals.

“Oxford will have to continue to evolve to attract the best staff and students from around the world, and those who will benefit the most from our unique environment,” he said.
“In response to what is clearly a challenging funding environment, Oxford will continue to seek additional funding from a range of sources, including research grants, its own investments and philanthropy.”
James Teasdale 

The commander of the Oxford police service has argued that Magdalen Bridge should be opened for next year's May Day celebrations after heavy security failed to prevent students from jumping into the river this year.

Superintendent Jim Trotman, local area commander for Oxford City, has proposed to reopen Magdalen Bridge on May Day owing to complaints from local residents about the disruption caused by police measures.

Trotman explained that this year's precautions had been counter-productive. “As the police commander for the city, and actually having been there and visited the bridge on the day, I think that the big mesh fences and amount of yellow jacketed wardens at the event are an overreaction,” he said.

On May 1, Police closed Magdalen Bridge between 3am and 9am at a cost of £10,000. The decision came after 10 students were sent to hospital as a result of jumping off the bridge in 2005. This year three Oxford Brookes students managed to jump off the bridge after the security had been removed.

John Kelly, Oxfordshire's Emergency Planning Officer, expressed his satisfaction at this year's precautions given accidents in previous years. “We were happy with how it went this year as we were in 2006 after the events of 2005,” he said.

Kelly said that there had been meetings to discuss the operation last week. “The planning starts in October for May Day 2008, so nothing will be decided until then,” he said.

Keble’s JCR President, James Frew, voiced his support for the security precautions taken during this year's celebrations.

“I completely support the measures taken by the council to prevent people from jumping, even if this includes closing the bridge for the morning and patrolling it for the remainder of the day,” he said. Frew added that on May Day 2005 he had witnessed the accidents that had resulted in injuries to students.

“Two years ago I was on an island beneath Magdalen Bridge for May Day and was within metres of people jumping from the bridge. I think I watched at least 12 people being assisted out of the water, and their injuries were mild compared to some from previous years.”

Superintendent Trotman argued that such events should go ahead to allow police to pursue other more serious matters.“I only read last week that there was a Gloucestershire cheese rolling competition in which people are bound to get seriously injured, indeed sixteen people were hurt this year, but it continues unrestricted by local authorities,” he said.
Rachel Smith

95 per cent of Britons are going to hell, according to a speech given by Wycliffe Hall’s Principal.
A video of the Reverend Dr Turnbull’s speech given at the annual Reform Conference was released on the Internet last week, provoking accusations from prominent members of the Anglican community that he is encouraging intolerance within the Church and exploiting his position as Principal to promote his own theologically conservative views.

Speaking at the conference held by Reform, an evangelical organisation who oppose the ordination of women to the priesthood and who advocate a conservative view of homosexuality, Turnbull warned that the vast majority of Britain’s population would go to hell unless they were converted. “We are committed, are we not, to bringing the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Jesus. And in this land that is 95 per cent of the people, and 95 per cent of the people in this country are facing hell unless the message of the gospel is brought to bear.”
Turnbull also openly criticised more liberal approaches to Christianity. “We are all aware of the challenge that liberalism brings to the Church at large. I want to warn against the nature of liberalism within our own midst. What I mean by that is this whole idea of what it means to be evangelical being broadened so that it encompasses everybody and everything”, he said.

In 2005 the council of Wycliffe banned meetings by the local student branch of Reform while the issue of whether or not it had a place within the evangelical firmament of the Church of England.

Turnbull has confirmed that he has never been a member of the organisation and added that he was not aware of any regulations imposed on the Hall’s student branch. “This has not been discussed during my time here”, he said. He declined to comment on the content of his speech or any of the allegations which have been made against him since then.

A Wycliffe Hall student who wished to remain anonymous voiced her concerns about the intolerant attitude towards Anglo-Catholicism and liberals at the Hall. “The Church is supposed to be a body, in other words different parts working together, and it worries me then that from Dr Turnbull’s speech there seems to be an aim to push forward evangelicalism at the expense of other parts of the Church.’.

In his speech, Turnbull also spoke of the “strategic nature” of his decision to take on the role of Principal of Wycliffe Hall. “I am sometimes asked why I took the post of Principal of Wycliffe where I have been for only just over a year. Well there are all sorts of answers one could give to that but one of the answers is that I view the post as strategic because it will allow influence to be brought to bear upon generations of the ministry”, he said.
Balliol College’s Christian Union Representative, Jonathan Bish, has accused Turnbull of exploiting his position of power. “The reasons he presents for taking over as Principal are nothing short of seeing the study of theology as an opportunity to indoctrinate students with a narrow and doctrinaire opinion that does not reflect the broad range of opinions within Christianity. This is completely the wrong approach, whether one is coming from a liberal or conservative, or high or low church perspective.”

Wycliffe’s SCR President, Adam Atkinson, has voiced his and the SCR’s full support for Turnbull. “Wycliffe Hall has a remarkable Principal in Richard Turnbull. Students here share Richard’s stated passion ‘to bring the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Jesus’.”

Atkinson added that he did not feel that Turnbull’s speech was offensive. “To state the fact that 95 per cent of the people in the UK do not know the gospel of living life to the full for today and a sure and certain hope of life beyond death is surely to state the obvious. That this gives offence has been the case for the last two thousand years largely because we humans have to do something we hate: accept we are in the wrong.”
Iona Bergius

Newly published financial statements from Oxford Student Services Ltd (OSSL), the commercial arm of OUSU, show that gross profit fell by almost £40,000 between 2005 and 2006.

OUSU sabbatical officers have warned that guaranteed funding from the University is the only way to avoid the Student Union’s current financial crisis. Overall turnover is down by around £100,000 and operating profit has fallen by £7,000.

Ed Mayne, OUSU Vice-President (Finance) and OSSL Chairman, said that finances were volatile and prone to fluctuating. “Although the turnover for the 2004/5 financial year was high, the income proved to be unsustainable and many changes were made in the 2005/6 academic year. Due to the way OSSL currently operates, income and turnover will always fluctuate,” he said.

OSSL plans to introduce a second business manager next year in a bid to increase revenue. “I am confident that the income we will receive in this financial year will be higher than in the previous financial year. OUSU’s publication provision will not change from its current format,” he added.

In 2005, OUSU predicted that it would make a profit of £50,000 but in fact incurred a deficit of £42,702. As a result, OUSU was forced to radically reform its operations for creating revenue to remain financially viable.
An estimated deficit of £60,000 the following year was proved wrong when the Student Union lost only £32,904 in 2006.

The University has previously stressed that it will not provide further financial assistance until OUSU stops making losses, but the University’s Joint Committee has since reconsidered its position.

OUSU President Alan Strickland said that the lack of a substantial block grant comparable to those received by student unions at other universities means that OUSU will remain financially weak due to inadequate funding and few permanent staff.

“The volatility of OUSU’s commercial income makes it an unreliable source of funding for welfare, representation and other core services,” he said. “Thankfully, the University’s Joint Committee, which oversees OUSU, has accepted this. We are in advanced negotiations with them to gain stable core funding. OUSU has to guarantee provision of its core services without guaranteed funding. This is a serious problem which I hope we can remedy.”
He added that OUSU expected greater OSSL profits in 2007, saying, “The overhaul of OUSU’s financial management which we’ve led this year and the hard work of our Business Manager mean that profits are stronger than last year. I’m confident that our subsidiary will be able to donate a healthier profit to OUSU at the end of the year.”
Louisa Brownlee

A former Oxford University don has broken a world long-distance running record after completing 10 marathons in 10 days. Sir Christopher Ball, Warden of Keble College from 1980 to 1988, has now entered the Guinness World Records after completing 262 miles in 10 days, even though he only took up running five years ago. The 72 year old from Jericho achieved the record when taking part in a ‘Ten in Ten’ challenge in the Lake District to raise money for a children’s charity.

Becky Ely

OUSU is organizing a ‘Green Week’ in line with World Environment Day on 5 June. The day itself will be marked by ‘Climate Change Oxford: What you can do now?’, a day of sessions in the Town Hall addressing practical action that can be taken to tackle climate change. The keynote speaker will be the President of the Royal Society, Lord May. OUSU Environment officer Niel Bowerman, said, “Oxford is a hub of green innovation, so I’m looking forward to what the people behind the advances have to say.”
Jack Browning

Australian philosopher Professor Peter Singer has argued that citizens of rich nations should donate more of their money to the world’s poorest people rather than waste money on “frivolous consumption”. Speaking at the annual Uehiro Lectures on Practical Ethics at Oxford University on Tuesday, Professor Singer said, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak at Oxford. I shall argue that we are wrong to do so little for the world’s poorest people.”

Joy Wong

Seventy is the new 50, a report by HSBC and the Oxford Institute of Ageing has claimed. The 60-79 age group was found to be worth £59 billion, showing older people to be huge contributors to the economy. Prosperous over-sixties are increasingly pricing first-time buyers out of the property market. Contemporary trends, such as high divorce rates and more women without children, also mean that future pensioners will be unable to rely on family support.
Matt Hackett

University officials have admitted to monitoring and editing Vice-Chancellor John Hood’s profile on Wikipedia in an attempt to protect his reputation.

Officers working for the University Press Office confirmed that they had made changes over the course of six months, claiming it was part of their job remit to alter “misleading” statements on internet websites.

Parts of the profile were also edited by Brendan Dellandrea, son of University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Jon Dellandrea.
A spokesperson for the University Press Office confirmed that they had altered the page in order to prevent false information from appearing online. “Yes, we have made edits. These were deletions of misleading statements, not additions or editing,” she said.

On December 8 2006, one Press Officer deleted a paragraph that detailed academic staff’s cricitisms of John Hood. One month later another Press Officer left a comment complaining that proposals for University governance reform were being directly associated with Hood himself. “Discussion of governance proposals should form a separate entry,” she wrote.

Her objection was criticised by one Oxford academic active on Wikipedia. Jonathan Jones, a physics fellow at Brasenose, replied, “That’s spin and you know it as well as I do. It’s a bit like suggesting that the Iraq War shouldn’t be mentioned in the article on Tony Blair.”

One Press Officer justified removing a number of statements that did not conform to ‘neutral point of view standards’. In one instance, she dismissed an informal letter of confidence in Hood with only 50 signatories out of 3,000 as “irrelevant”, claiming it was not clear “whether or not every member of Congregation was asked to sign the letter”.

Jones said in a discussion on the site that editing did not always produce better entries. “It would indeed be nice to have some pro-Hood views, but his supporters seem to have confined themselves to deleting large chunks rather than adding anything,” he said.

Nicholas Bamforth, a fellow in Law at Queen’s College, attacked the Press Office’s actions as irresponsible. “I am astonished that people at Wellington Square are being paid to try to censor accurate comment by other members of the University,” he said. “Their clumsiness would be amusing if their behaviour wasn’t so dangerous. What planet do these people think they’re on?”

Funding for the Press Office has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2002 and one senior academic questioned the allocation of the University’s financial resources.

“The Press Office ought to be, first and foremost, a resource for the whole of the University and not for John Hood alone. Changing the image of Oxford is a good reason for Press Office spending to increase but I think there is a question of usage,” he said.

One University member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Brendan Dellandrea’s actions were suspicious and raised questions of conflicts of interest. “There seems to be something really quite deep and possibly dirty going on to control what people can and can’t find out using the web,” he said. “We have even found certain pages from Auckland disappearing in the past.”

In Wikipedia’s ‘Talk’ section, where editors discuss proposed changes with a moderator, the user ‘BDF1’ responded to a question asking whether he was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s son, saying, “I lose points for originality with my username, don’t I? Yes, I am [Brendan Dellandrea], I hope that won’t cause too much trouble.”

Dellandrea supported the Press Office’s changes, saying in the discussion on John Hood’s entry, “Your points are well made and I personally welcome your contributions. Don’t be afraid to step in there and make some heavy edits, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.”

The University Press Office issued a statement, which read, “Part of any Press Officer’s job is to correct misleading or false information in the media, including new media like Wikipedia, relating to their institution. In a newspaper this is done by discussion with the editor or a published letter, but Wikipedia works entirely differently.”

A motion to create an OUSU mascot, a “big bouncing blue blob of bureaucracy” called ‘Ousy’, unexpectedly passed at OUSU Council last Friday, despite repeated objections from representatives.

£300 of OUSU’s publicity budget is to be spent on creating a suit after the proposal from Oxide Radio DJs Max Seddon and James MacAdam was amended to force Seddon to be inside the suit as a part-time executive officer.
Seddon, a first year Magdalen student, described Ousy in his satirical manifesto as “a big bouncing blue blob of bureaucracy who lives in a beautiful 1970s style building surrounded by happy homeless people. He’s a loving fellow and is sure that OUSU Council fully reflects the opinion of the majority of students. His favourite things are student union services, hugging and anal sex.”

Wadham SU President Ben Jasper warned that students will not necessarily accept the decision as light-hearted. “Half of our central student union’s publicity budget will be dedicated to putting a pompous Etonian twit in a big blue suit for a few days in Michaelmas,” he said.

“It’s not going to help let students who face being thrown out of their college contact the Student Advice Team. It will prevent OUSU from advertising the most important welfare services it offers. Other JCR Presidents should be hanging their heads in shame. It occurred in a hysteria of ‘I don’t care, my replacement’s been elected’ and they acted with utter stupidity.”

Jamie Frew, OUSU Vice-President for Welfare, said that the mascot was intended to perpetuate the Student Union’s negative public image. “There are people both inside OUSU and beyond who have been very offended by what has happened. I had expected the motion to be quickly dismissed: I was really surprised to discover that people were prepared to vote for the sanitised version he presented.”

Another OUSU sabbatical officer, Andrea Miller, agreed with Frew that the mascot would not be beneficial for the Student Union. “I am very upset that OUSU Council would pass a motion that endorsed the statement that ‘students would be more prepared to listen to someone in a fuzzy blue suit talk about and provide student services than members of the OUSU executive.’

President Alan Strickland refused to side with his fellow sabbatical officers, suggesting that the mascot would be welcome in the future. “I’m touched that Max is thinking of us. I think a mascot would be a fun publicity tool for events like elections and clubs nights where we want to grab students attention and get them involved.

“Personally I think of OUSU as more of a lion than a dinosaur: fast, powerful, and ruthlessly effective. Max’s idea to use animals to get our message across is inspired. Communication is a mammoth issue which has sometimes been a bit of a dog’s dinner for OUSU because of our mouse-like funding.”
Becky Ely