Balliol JCR has drafted a 'student charter', which demands that the university and college provide minimum standards for academic and social welfare for students. The proposed charter comes after the Student Union recommended all Oxford's JCRs should adopt such measures, in an attempt to hold the university and colleges to account. It comes in the wake of revelations about the student contract proposed by the university-wide Conference of Colleges.
Balliol's JCR committee compiled ideas from St Hugh's student charter and OUSU's own recommendations to produce the document,which they see as a direct reaction to the student contract. "We have been pushed into this," said Balliol JCR President, Jack Hawkins. "The university is trying to codify things, so we really need to follow their lead. Just as the university expects minimum standards of us, we should expect minimum standards of them."
The charter's five clauses approach a vast range of issues concerning student accommodation, academic work, discipline and complaints, feedback and fees and charges. Hawkins, who was instrumental in drafting the Balliol charter, said that the document is non-exhaustive and is intended to generate further discussion regarding what is expected from the university and its students. Many of the charter's expectations are already commonplace throughout much of the university. One clause states: "Every student has the right to be given reasonable notice of a tutorial and the work required for it."
"The intention of the charter is simply to formalise such conventions," said Hawkins. As the university moves into a new era of tuition fees and the student contract, Hawkins said that the relationship between university and students is changing. "The student charter is simply a reaction to this," he told The Oxford Student.
The Balliol SCR have been supportive of its JCR's initiative, but the college has decided not to discuss the charter further until the university and OUSU have concluded discussions on the student contract. St Hugh's College have had a similar charter as part of their college bylaws since 2003, and JCR President Martin McCluskey said he is glad other colleges are considering similar action. "It does what the student contract doesn't do; it safeguards certain minimum standards for the students. Basically it gives us something to go back to in the bylaws, just as the college can use the laws for their benefit. Regardless of whether or not the student contracts go ahead, it's a very useful document to have."
OUSU President Emma Norris said: "OUSU are talking to various university committees about the drafting of both the university and college contracts. We want to change the details of both contracts so that they reference the student charter. The Heads of House I have spoken to have been broadly supportive of the concept of a charter, and almost all JCR presidents are in the process of looking at adopting a student charter." A spokesperson for the university said they were not aware of this latest development in the contracts debate, and declined to comment further.