Studying at oxford
Oxford, situated on the bank of the river Thames, is the seat of the most ancient university in Britain. No wonder that it differs from more modern British universities in general organization, internal government, methods of instruction, way of student's life, etc.
The University prescribes syllabuses, arranges lectures, conducts examinations and awards degrees, but there is no single building which can be called "the University". The colleges and university buildings are scattered about the town, mostly in the central area, though the scientific laboratories and the women's colleges are quite a long way out.
The university teachers are mostly Dons* of colleges, who may at the same time hold university appointments as lecturers or professors. Part of the teaching is by means of lectures organized by the university, and any student may attend any university lecture. Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, and no records of attendance are kept.
The academic year in England is divided into three terms. Terminal examinations are held at the end of each term; final examinations are taken at the end of the course of study. If a student fails in an examination, he may be allowed to take the exam again. Only two re-examinations are usually allowed. For a break of discipline a student can be fined a sum of money, for a serious offence he may be expelled.
*Don [dOn] - преподаватель, член совета колледжа
The tutorial system
The Tutorial system is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from all other English universities. It is the system of individual tuition organized by the college. Each Don* in a college is a tutor in his own subject; he has five or six undergraduates* and plans the work for them.
At the beginning of each of the three terms in the Oxford academic year a list is published showing all the lectures being given during the term within each faculty. Every student can choose which lecture he will attend, though his own college tutor will advise him which lectures seem likely to be more useful. Besides attending lectures, the student has chosen, he comes to see his Don once a week. The Don discusses the work the student has done, gives him advice anc helps him in his study. The student is free to go to any lecture or seminar he chooses, or not to attend any at all. But he is in constant contact with his tutor whose guiding hand and tuition he feels in every way.
A student does not necessarily go only to his own tutor but may be assigned to another don in his own college or in another college when he is studying some particular topic which is outside the special interest of his own Don.
*Don [dOn] - преподаватель, член совета колледжа
* undergraduates = students
The open university
The Open University is the most recently established university in Great Britain. It was set up in 1969 for those people who missed the chance of going to an ordinary university. The university differs from other universities in that its students work in full-time jobs and can study only in their free time by means of distance teaching materials, through correspondence and broadcasting. Students study about ten hours a week and they do a lot of watching and listening to the weekly lectures through different communication systems.
As the university is really "open" neither formal entrance examinations, nor qualifications are required at undergraduate level. Students are admitted on a "first came, first served" basis. Each student gets the help of his own tutor who he meets regularly.
The university has some faculties and three programmes of study -undergraduate, associate and postgraduate. The Bachelor of Art degree is built up on a credit system. Students' final mark is based on the exams in October and on the written assignments during the year. It takes six or eight years of study at the usual speed of a course.