Michaelmas 2007

Motion on Graduate Admissions

Assembly Notes:

1. That applying for graduate study at the University of Oxford is a complex procedure which students can find confusing and overly long.
2. That during the 2006-7 admissions cycle, as in previous years, students were often left with long delays between receiving their offer and receiving their college place, and that in some cases, students only found out their college days before arrival.
3. That funding is a key issue for graduate students and that finding funding and organising a financial guarantee can be very difficult.

Assembly Believes:

1. That the application procedure should be as straightforward and clear as possible for applicants.
2. That graduate applicants should have good opportunity to find appropriate funding to be able to complete the financial guarantee.
3. That new graduate students should be able to receive all the necessary welcoming material sent from departments, colleges, common rooms and OUSU.

Assembly Resolves:

1. To mandate the VP Graduates to work as a member of the University’s new Committee/Panel on Graduate Admissions.
2. To mandate the VP Graduates to campaign on that committee/panel for an application procedure which would supply the student with a department offer, a college place and a funding package in sufficient time to take up the place.

Proposed: Ingrid Frater (St Hugh’s)
Seconded: Martin McCluskey (St Hugh’s)


Motion on Funding for International Students with Disabilities

Assembly Notes:

1. There is a lack of funding for international students with disabilities, because international students are not covered by the funding provision available to UK students with disabilities.

Assembly Believes:

1. That international students with disabilities should have funding provision available to them.

Assembly resolves:

1. To mandate the VP Welfare & Equal Opportunities and the VP Graduates to work with the Disability Office to work for better funding for international students with disabilities.

Proposed: Louise Randall (LMH)
Seconded: Ingrid Frater (St Hugh’s)


Motion on Investigating Issues for Graduate Women

Assembly Notes:

1. That graduate women often have gender-specific needs during their time as a student at the University of Oxford.
2. That the VP Women, during her election campaign, heard from graduate women about some of these issues, including problems with research funding and maternity leave and difficulties arising from age limits for junior research positions.

Assembly Believes:

1. That these issues should be explored carefully and that any key issues should be taken to University Committees or campaigned on as appropriate, to raise awareness of the issues and find solutions to problems affecting graduate women’s studies.

Assembly Resolves:

1. To mandate the VP Women to create a survey, with input from graduate women, to explore the issues facing graduate women.
2. To mandate the VP Women to bring an update on the outcome of that survey to PGA in Hilary Term.
3. To encourage graduate students and common room representatives to support the VP Women in creating a useful survey, in particular by raising issues.

Proposed: Hannah Roe (Balliol)
Seconded: Ingrid Frater (St Hugh’s)