Academic Information for Undergraduates

Students should familiarise themselves with the handbook and exam regulations available below:

Undergraduate Handbook

Exam Regulations

All members of the University are required to wear academic dress with sub fusc clothing on certain occasions.

They include:

• Matriculation ceremony
• University examinations
• Graduation ceremony

Academic dress consists of a Commoner’s Gown or Scholar’s Gown and mortarboard or soft cap. Gowns and caps may be bought at any Oxford tailor’s shop, and may also be available from Oxford University Student Union. Second-hand gowns are likely to be available. It is unnecessary to buy a gown immediately on arrival in Oxford, although academic dress is required for the Matriculation ceremony.

Sub fusc clothing consists of the following:

• Commoner’s Gown or Scholar’s Gown and mortarboard or soft cap, and either of a;
  • dark suit with dark socks, or;
  • dark skirt with black tights or stockings, or;
  • dark trousers with dark socks, and;
• black shoes, and;
• plain white collared shirt or blouse, and;
• white bow tie, black bow tie, black full-length tie, or black ribbon
• plus a dark coat if required

You can find out more about academic dress on the University website

Undergraduates are invited to see the College Principal each year, to discuss your academic progress and well-being.

You will be emailed with details of appointment dates and times, and information on how to sign up for an appointment.

You can also make an appointment to speak to Jan for advice and careers guidance, and to discuss references. You can make an appointment to see her by emailing principals.office@some.ox.ac.uk

Collections are exams sat in college by undergraduates at the start of each term in order to help you consolidate the previous term of learning and get valuable exam practice.

While they are less formal than University exams and do not count towards your final mark in your degree, good performance and evidence of excellent progress may be rewarded with a prize.

Collections are an important way for your tutors to see how you are progressing on the course, which means we take a serious view of failing to attend. You must return to College in good time after the vacation (i.e. the Wednesday of 0th week) ready to sit Collections. Additionally, if your performance is well below the expected standard, it may lead to further action intended to get you back on track.

Your tutors should tell you at the end of term whether you will have any Collections the following term. Freshers do not sit collections in their first term; students who have sat formal university exams do not usually sit collections at the start of the following term. If you are unsure whether you have collections, you should contact your tutor.

Collections are always sat on Friday and Saturday of 0th Week, at the following times:

• 09:30 – 12:30
• 14:30 – 17:30

You may also occasionally be set Collections at other times during the year.

The Tutorial and Graduate Officer handles all practical arrangements for Collections. If you already have permission from the Proctors to have extra time and/or use of a computer in University exams, you may, if you wish, also request these arrangements for Collections, if you give enough notice.

Please contact the Tutorial and Graduate Officer as soon as possible to discuss such arrangements.

Late return from vacation

If you have a serious reason why you will not be able to return in time to sit scheduled Collections (e.g. illness, family emergency) then you must contact the following people as soon as possible:

• your personal tutor
• the Academic Office
• the lodge (to let them know that you will not be signing in and collecting your room key by the 0th week Wednesday deadline)

Please note that social events (family or otherwise) are not considered a suitable reason for delaying your return to College.

Your Personal Tutor will be a member of the College’s academic staff working either in your own subject area, or in a related one.

They will oversee your academic progress, and are also available to talk about any personal difficulties you may experience.

You will also have one or more Organising Tutors, who will be responsible for arranging your teaching. You will receive an email at the beginning of each academic year telling you who your Personal Tutor is.

More information can be found in the Undergraduate and Personal Tutor Guidance document.

You may for future activities need a transcript detailing the course(s) you have taken at Somerville and the results you have obtained.

Students and alumni who began a taught course at Oxford in or after Michaelmas 2007 (for exceptions see below) can order a University transcript via the main University website.

One complete transcript is automatically sent to your home address as listed on Student Self Service once you have completed your course. College transcripts are available for the following groups, with ordering information given below:

Transcripts that need to be ordered through College, and not through the University:

• students and alumni who began a taught course before Michaelmas 2007
• BA Medical Sciences
• BA Physiological Sciences
• BMBCH
• alumni who undertook a research course

College transcripts are usually dispatched within two working weeks of receiving a complete transcript request. If you are eligible for a transcript from the College, please email the information below to academic.office@some.ox.ac.uk:

• your full name
• your matriculation year
• the course(s) you studied at Somerville
• any information needed in your transcript other than your course details and results
• whether you require your transcript(s) in hard copy, or emailed as an attachment
• if you need a hard copy, the number of copies needed
• the name of the person to whom the transcript(s) should be sent
• postal and/or email address(es) to which the transcript(s) should be sent
• the deadline by which the recipient(s) must receive the transcript(s)

Reports

Your tutors will write termly reports on your work with them.

The reports are available for you to read online using OxCORT, the Oxford Colleges On-line Reports for Tutorials system. You can log in using your Oxford Single Sign On username and password, using the “Log in to OxCORT” button on the right-hand side of the page.

You should usually be able to see your reports for a given term from Monday of 9th week. If you’re unable to view the content of your reports, please check with your Personal Tutor in the first instance that your reports have been released to you on OxCORT.

Your Personal Tutor sees all of your reports, and is willing to discuss your academic progress at any time. In addition, at the end of each term, you will have a Report Reading with your Personal Tutor, when you will go over the term’s reports with them.

Academic Feedback

We place enormous value on your constructive comments and feedback on the teaching you receive, whether positive or negative.

Academic feedback sessions are organised by the JCR. Please contact the JCR Academic Officer for further details.

If you have specific concerns about your teaching that you feel unable to discuss with your tutor, you should arrange to see the Senior Tutor, Steve Rayner, in confidence.

Lost or broken your Bod card? Don’t panic – Bod cards can be easily replaced.

Broken Bod cards

Email the Academic Office explaining that your Bod card has stopped working, and they will order you a new one.

The new card will be sent to the Academic Office, who will email you when it is ready to collect.

You don’t have to pay for a replacement for broken Bod cards. You must, however, hand over your broken card when you collect your replacement, to prove it hasn’t been lost.

Lost Bod cards

Email the Academic Office explaining that you have lost your Bod card.

They will send you a link to the University shop where you will have to pay a charge for the replacement card (currently £15).

The new card will be sent to the Academic Office, who will email you when it is ready to collect.