2003 Philosophy, Politics and Economics

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PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS AND

ECONOMICS

HANDBOOK

2003-04

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD


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PPE HAN DBOOK 2003-04

This Handbook is revised annually and aims to be up-to-date in September for the next

academic year. Comments and corrections should be addressed to the AcademicAdministrator, Department of Politics and International Relations. The current issue is

available online at: www.politics.ox.ac.uk/teaching/ug/ppe/handbook/index.asp; for the

latest course regulations, please be sure to check the web version.

* IMPO RTANT *

1. Email:It is essential that you use email. It will be used to send you important

information about your course. Please check your mail regularly, and do not

exceed your user allocation, as this will prevent you from receiving new mail.

The IT sup port staff in you r college will set up an em ail account for you.

2. Lecture lists: A Social Sciences lecture list is published before the start of each

term. The most up -to-date version is available on the following web sites:

Philosophy - ww w.philosophy.ox.ac.uk

Politics - www.politics.ox.ac.uk

Economics - www.econom ics.ox.ac.uk

Paper copies are available from your college tutor, in the departments and the

Politics, International Relations and Sociology Library, the Economics Library, or

the Philosophy Library. The paper copy does not contain material that is updated

shortly before term.

3. Subject reading lists: These are available on the above websites and this is the

easiest way to obtain them. Philosophy reading lists are also available at the

Philosophy Library, and Politics subject outlines and tutorial reading lists are

available from the Department of Politics and International Relations. Course

outlines and subject reading lists for Economics can be obtained from the

Depar tment of Economics.


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CONTENTS

PART A - THE COURSE

1. PPE

Content 5

- The PPE Degree 5

- Structure of the Course 5

Choices 6

- Choosing your options 6

- Theses 7

- Sup ervised Dissertations in Politics 8

- Changin g your Course 9

Teaching and Learning 9

- Tutors 10

- Tutorials, Classes and Collections 10

- Lectures 12

- Vacations 12

Exam inations 12

- Procedures 12

- PPE Prelims 14

- PPE Finals 15

- Preparing for Examinations 16

2. Departments

Philosophy Centre 17

Department of Polit ics and Int ernat ional R elat ions 17

Department of Economics 18

Depart ment of Sociology 18

Department of Social Policy and Social W ork 18

3. Libraries and Comp utin g

Libraries 19

Computing 23

IT Sk ills 23

Data Protection 26


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PART B - STUDENT ISSUES

4. Participation

Consultation 31Student Feedback 31

Joint Consult at iv e Com mit tees (JCCs) 32

Library Com mit tees 32

5. Studen t Sup port

Equal O pport unit ies 33

Harassm ent 33

Disabili ty 33

Complaints Procedures 34

Il lness 34

Scholarships, Prizes and Grants 35

6. The Futu re

Tak ing your degree 37

Proceeding to Further Study 37

Careers 37

Appendix A: Outline of Pap ers in PPE 38

Append ix B: Extracts fromExamination Regulations 2003 63

Appendix C: List of key contacts 78


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PPE HANDBOOK 2003-2004 5

PART A - THE COURSE

1. PPE

Content

- The PPE Degree

PPE seeks to bring together some of the most important approaches to understanding the

social and human world . It fosters intellectual capacities that you can apply across all three

disciplines, and develops skills that you will find useful for a wide range of careers and

activities after graduation. The degree is constructed on the belief that the parallel study of

related disciplines significantly enhances your understanding of each discipline, bringingadded dimensions of understanding and perspective. The study of Philosophy develops

analytical rigour an d the ability to criticise and reason logically. It allows you to apply these

skills to many contemporary and historical schools of philosophical thought, and to

questions concerning how we acquire knowledge and how we make ethical

recommendations. The study of Politics gives you an understanding of the issues dividing

societies and of the impact of political institutions on the form of social interest articulation

and aggregation and on the character and effects of government policies. Among the big

issues considered in Politics are, why d emocracies emerge and may be consolidated , or why

states go to war or seek peace. The stud y of Economics aims to give you an understand ing of

the workings of contemporary economies. This includes the study of decisions ofhouseholds, the behaviour of firms, and the functioning of markets under competition and

monopoly, as well as the role of government policies in m any areas. The course also looks at

the determination of national income and employment, monetary institutions, inflation, the

balance of payments and exchange rates, and considers issues in macroeconomic policy

focusing in part on the UK economy.

- The Structure of the Course

The PPE degree is divided into two parts. The first-year course is designed to give you a

foundation in all three branches. In your second and third years, you may continue w ith all

three or concentrate on just two. Whether or not your choice of subjects includes any of the

specially designed bridge papers, such as Theory of Politics, Labour Economics, or

Philosophy of Science and Social Science, your study in each subject will benefit from what

you have learned and the skills you have acquired in other p arts of the degree course.

The syllabus is set by the University, wh ich grants d egrees and therefore examines for them;

but most teaching, apart from lectures, is arranged by your college. The PPE syllabus

prescribes the subjects for two University examinations: the Preliminary Examination for

Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE Prelims), normally taken at the end of your firstyear; and the Final Honour School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE Finals),


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PPE HANDBOOK 2003-20046

normally taken at the end of your third year. Prelims consists of three subjects, Finals of

eight. Each subject is examined in one three-hour paper, except that one subject in Finals

may be a pre-submitted thesis, or a supervised dissertation in Politics. All syllabuses are

published annually in the Universitys Examination Regulations (the grey book), to which

this handbook will frequently refer. You received a copy of the undergraduate version of

Examination Regulations when you arrived; you will be notified of any subsequent changes of

regulation which significantly affect you, and if there are changes of syllabus which might

affect you ad versely, they will not apply to you w ithout your consent. An up -to-date version

is maintained on the Departm ent of Politics and International Relations w ebsite.

PPE Prelims is a part of the First Public Examination. Graduates of other universities can

apply through their colleges for Senior Status, which exempts them from taking the First

Public Examination. Everyone else must pass it in some form - i.e. pass some Prelims or

Mod s - before entering for a Final Hon our School (or Pass School). Unless you are exempt,

your college may require you to pass the First Public Examination before your fourth term

from matriculating, as a condition of continuing with your course. If you take PPE Finals

more than twelve terms after matriculating, you are overstanding for honours and can

receive only a pass degree (unless your First Public Examination was Moderations in

Classics, which allows you fifteen terms, or you have been granted dispensation by the

University).

Choices

- Choosing your options

In PPE Prelims you must offer all the three papers prescribed, one each in Philosophy,

Politics, and Economics. However, you are permitted to restrict your examination answers.

In Philosophy the regulations require you to show adequate knowledge in at least two

sections out of the three into which the paper is divided: Logic, General Philosophy, and

Moral Philosophy. In Politics, they requ ire you to show knowledge of at least two countries

and of political theory/ideology. The Economics paper contains a mathematical/statistical

section, which is optional. In none of these cases are you forbidden to range over the whole

syllabus; and your tutors may expect you to study more than the examination minimum.

But if they do not, then you have early choices to make w ithin the Prelims syllabus, with thehelp of advice from you r tutors.

After Prelims the choices are greater. First you m ust decide whether to select two branches

from Philosoph y, Politics, and Economics, which w ill make you bipartite, or to keep going

with the third as well, making you tripartite. This choice may be easy for you, if you were

originally attracted to PPE for the sake of one or two of its branches and have not changed

your priorities during your first year; or it may be difficult. If it is difficult, go by what

interests you, provided that your tutors think you are suited to it; do not be too much

affected by your marks in Prelims - which can differ greatly from Finals marks. A few

subjects are available under more than one branch, and bipartite Politics and Economics

candidates are allowed to include one Philosophy subject: see Examination Regulations.


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Further guidance on the choice of ind ividual subjects within the th ree disciplines is given in

Append ix A.

- Theses

One of your eight Finals su bjects may be a thesis: see 199, 299 and 399 in the H onou r Schoolregulations in Examination Regulations. A Philosophy thesis must be combined with at least

three other subjects in Philosophy. Bipartite candidates who offer a Politics or Economics

thesis must combine it with a t least three other subjects in the same branch.

If you propose to offer a thesis, the latest date for seeking approval of its topic is Friday of

Fourth Week of the Michaelmas Term preceding the Finals examination, but the right time

to seek approval is before you start work on it, which is much earlier. Begin planning no

later than your p enultimate Easter Vacation, and have a talk with a tu tor no later than the

beginning of Trinity Term. If your tutor thinks that your p roposal is manageable, get initial

suggestions for reading and follow them up. Remember that tutors can only advise: thedecision to offer a thesis is your own, and so is the choice of topic. So of cour se is the work;

what makes a thesis worthwhile is that it is your own independent p rodu ction.

Good u ndergraduate thesis topics can vary in character a great d eal, but all have two things

in common: they are focused, so as to answer a question, or set of questions, or advance an

argument; and they are manageable, so that the time available is enough for your research

and reflection on it, and 15,000 words is enough for an interesting treatment. Titles of past

PPE theses are listed in the PPE Examiners Reports, which can be found in the PPE Reading

Room of the Bodleian and on the Philosophy or the Politics website.

If you decide to go ahead, submit your title and 100-word outline, in accordance with the

regulations for theses in Examination Regulations, for approval during Trinity Term, so that

you can do the bulk of the work during the Long Vacation. Do not worry if your outline is

not in the end very closely adhered to; the point of it is to make clear the general subject of

the thesis and to show that you have some idea how to go about tackling it.

The regulations state that you may discuss with your tutor the field of study, the sources

available, and the method of presentation. Before you start work, go over the plan of the

whole thesis very carefully with your tutor. The plan must be yours, but the tutor can help

you make sure it is clear, coherent and feasible. Get more advice on reading. But bear in

mind that much of your read ing will be discovered by you rself; so arrange to be in Oxford,

or near a large library, for some weeks of the Long Vacation.

Avoid letting your topic expand, and focus your reading on the issue you intend to write

about; 15,000 words is the length of two articles, not a book. Your tutor may also read and

comment on a first draft (in the case of Philosophy, on drafts), and the amount of

assistance the tutor may give is equivalent to the teaching of a normal paper; so tutorial

sessions can be used for trying out first drafts of parts of the thesis. However, you have to

write the finished version on your own; make su re you allow plenty of time - almost

certainly more will be needed than you first anticipated. You must not exceed the limit of

15,000 words, excluding bibliography. That will probably, to your surprise, become a


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problem; but the exercise of pruning is a valuable one, encouraging clarity and precision

wh ich you should be aiming for in any case.

Some general advice: (i) the examiners cannot read your mind ; explain in your introd uction

just w hat you are going to d o, and in what follow s p resen t the argument, step by step , in as

sharp a focus as you can achieve: (ii) examiners will notice if you try to fudge issues or

sweep difficulties aside; it is much better to be candid about them, and to show that you

appreciate the force of counter-arguments; (iii) take grammar and spelling seriously, and

always aim at a simple English style, avoiding convoluted sentences and preferring short

words to long (there is sound advice which may be relevant in George Orwell, Politics and

the English Language, in his Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters, (1946), volume 4). Your

bibliography should list all works to which you refer, plus any others you have used that

bear on the final version. The style for references can be m odelled on any book or periodical

in you r field . The ru les for format and submission, and for change of title, are in the

Examination Regulations.

If for any reason you expect to submit your thesis late, consult your college Senior Tutor in

good time. The Vice-Chancellor and Proctors may grant permission on payment of a late-

presentation fee which they determine; but they may at the same time give permission to the

examiners to reduce the mark on the thesis by up to one class. If permission is not sought, or

is refused , the thesis may be rejected, or its mark m ay be reduced by up to one class.

The Department of Politics and International Relations issues more detailed Notes of

Guidance on Politics theses, which you can obtain from the Department Office.

- Sup ervised Dissertation s in Politics

One of your eight su bjects may be a sup ervised d issertation in Politics, which is similar to a

thesis except that there is a group of students, studying a common theme, all writing

separate dissertations on it. The dissertation may not be combined with a thesis in any

branch, or with fewer than three other politics subjects if you are a bipartite cand idate. The

regulations state that with the ap proval of the Politics Sub -faculty, members of staff willing

to supervise a research topic shall through the Courses Manager of the Department of

Politics and International Relations place on the noticeboard of the Department not later

than Friday of Fourth Week of Hilary Term a short description of an area of Politics

(including International Relations and Sociology) in w hich they have a special interest, a list

of possible dissertation topics lying within that area, an introd uctory read ing list, and a time

and place at which they will meet those interested in writing a dissertation under their

supervision for assessment in the following years [Final] examination... This means Hilary

Term of your penultimate year. So if the idea appeals to you, it is best discussed with your

tutor no later than the beginning of that term; if your interest arises too late for the Hilary

Term meetings, you w ill need you r tu tor's advice about the p racticalities too.

You do not need to seek formal approval for a dissertation topic (unlike a thesis). The rules

on length, format and submission, late submission, and change of title, are the same as for

theses: seeExamination Regulations.


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The Departm ent of Politics and International Relations issues `Notes of guidance' which you

can obtain from the Department.

- Changin g your course

Sometimes the course you have chosen will not seem to be working out for you and youmay wish to consider changing. Do not seek to change course at the first sign of difficulty.

All courses that are worth anything bring the student up against obstacles, and your tutors

will guide you past them. Seek the advice of your tutors at all times when in difficulty.

Discuss p roblems also with your contemp oraries; you are not in comp etition with them, and

you should get into the habit of helping and being helped. But if, having thought the matter

through, you wish to explore the possibility of changing, the first rule is, Do not delay - you

could be losing vital learning time. Talk to your current tutors or, if that is embarrassing, to

your College Adviser or the Senior Tutor or some other Fellow w hom you know.

If you d ecide you really do want to change, there are three bodies which must approve: theUniversity, your college, and those who are paying for you. College approval is usually the

most d ifficult.

The University is unlikely to be a problem. There are no restrictions on examination entry:

provided that your college approves, you may be a candidate in any p art of the First Public

Examination; and the condition for entering for a Final Honour School, besides college

approval, is that (if not exempt) you should have passed some part of the First Public

Examination - any complete Prelims or Mods will do. However, a few departments, such as

Psychology, do have qu otas for acceptance on to their courses.

Your college has admitted you to read for a particular Honour School, or a particular

combination of First Pu blic Examination p lus Honour School. You cannot change w ithout its

perm ission, which is liable to be refused if the `receiving' tu tors think you unsuited to their

course, or do not have room (in some courses, e.g. Law and English, the teaching resources

are often very strained).

If you hold an award from your Local Education Authority, even if it's fees-only, you will

need the authority's permission to change course, which will be given only if backed with

full college approval. Your Senior Tutor will do the correspondence. Other awards,

scholarships, sponsorship, etc. may be tied to a particular course. Again the Senior Tutor

will help, once your college has agreed to let you change.

Teaching and Learning

As you are no doubt aware, Oxford is almost unique in the way teaching is organised.

Knowledge will be impar ted to you through a m ixture of lectures, classes and tutorials, with

the latter playing a particularly important p art. This is what d ifferentiates Oxford from most

universities in the world. The following brief notes should help you understand the

importance of tutors, tutorials and Un iversity lectures for the course.


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- Tutors

Anyone to whom you go for tutorials or college classes counts as one of your tutors. In your

preparation for PPE Prelims there are bound to be at least three of them, and over the whole

course there may well be eight or ten. Some will be tutorial fellows or lecturers of your owncollege; some may be tutorial fellows or lecturers of other colleges, or research fellows, or

graduate stud ents. The overall responsibility for giving or arranging your tu ition w ill lie with

tutorial fellows or lecturers of your own college, probably one in each of Philosophy, Politics,

and Economics. Behind them stands the Senior Tutor, who m ust see that proper arrangements

are made if one of these people is absent through illness or on leave.

Tuition for a term is normally arranged at the end of the preceding term; so before going down

each term you should make sure that you have received reading guidance and the names of

your tutors for all the work you will be doing in the following term. (In the occasional cases in

which the name of the tutor is not yet known you should make sure you have received an

explanation and that you are confident that arrangements will be in place by the beginning of

term.) Some tutors like to see their pupils at the end of the preceding term to make detailed

arrangements. Colleges have different rules about when term begins. The official start is

Sunday of First Week of Full Term, but you w ill almost certainly be required back before then,

and you should try to ensure that by the Sund ay at the very latest you know who your tutors

for the term will be, have met or corresponded with them, and have been set work and

assigned tu torial times by them .

If you wou ld like to receive tuition from a particular person in Oxford, ask the in-college tutor

concerned; do not approach the person yourself, who cannot take you on without a request

from your college. If you would like a change of tutor, say so if it is not embarrassing;

otherwise Do not just do nothing, but take the problem to someone else in your college - your

College Adviser, the Senior Tutor, the Womens Adviser, the Chaplain, or even the head of

college, if your d ifficulty is serious. Most such problems arise from a personality clash that has

proved intractable; but since in a university of Oxfords size there are almost certain to be

alternative tutors for most of your subjects, theres no point in putting up with a relationship

that is impeding your academic progress. In these circumstances you can usually expect a

change, but not necessarily to the particular tutor whom you would prefer.

In Economics, the provision of classes and tutorials for optional subjects will be organised by

the Department. Centrally nominated subject convenors will communicate with collegetutors at the end of each term on the allocation of students to particular tutors for the

forthcoming term.

- Tutorials, Classes and Collections

What you are expected to bring to a tutorial is knowledge of the reading that w as set for it (or a

variant on your own initiative if some book or article proves really inaccessible) and any

written work demanded. What you have a right to expect is your tu tors presence and scholarly

attention throughout the hour agreed, plus guidance, e.g. a reading list, for next time. Beyond

that, styles differ, depending on how many students are sharing the tutorial, the nature of the


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topic, and above all the habits and personality of your tutor. You must not expect uniformity,

and you will gain most if you succeed in adapting to differences.

In PPE it is necessary to cover eight Finals subjects in five tu torial terms (the w eeks before the

Finals examination being usually set aside for revision). So you will nearly always have more

than one tutorial a week. The three PPE disciplines have, however, agreed that you should not

normally be expected to write more than tw elve tutorial essays a term.

Work on a tutorial essay involves library searches, reading, thinking, and writing. It should

occupy a minimum of three days. Read attentively and thoughtfully. As your reading

progresses, think up a structure for your essay (but do not write an elaborate plan which you

will not have time to execute). Expect to have to sort out your thoughts, both during and after

reading. USE ESSAYS TO DEVELOP AN ARGUMENT, NOT AS PLACES TO STORE

INFORMATION. You will learn a lot if you share ideas with fellow students, and if you try out

ideas in tutorial discussion. Remember that tutorials are not designed as a substitute for

lectures, or for accumulating information, but to develop coherent verbal arguments and thecapacity to think on ones feet, and to tackle specific difficulties and misunderstand ings. This

means that note-taking, if it occurs in a tutorial at all, should be very much incidental to the

overriding dialogue. You should, however, leave time after the tutorial to make a record on

paper of the discussion.

Students are broadly encouraged to use word p rocessors, though there are arguments for and

against. On the one hand it makes ones notes and essays more inviting to read later, and in

writing an essay it becomes possible to postpone commitment to all the stages in an argument

un til the very end of the essay-wr iting process. On the other hand there is a danger of getting

out of practice in hand-writing t ime-limited examinations, especially University examinations,in which word-processors may not be used.

Some tu ition is by means of college or University department classes, a system specially suited

to subjects in w hich written w ork is exercises rather than essays - e.g. logic, econometrics, or

statistics. In the case of certain FHS papers in Politics, reading organised by colleges is

supplemented by departmental classes. The information on the classes is included in the

Course Ou tline and Bibliography for each of the papers. You have a right to expect that written

work for a class will be returned to you w ith written or oral comments.

Most colleges will require you to sit college examinations, so-called collections, before the start

of each term. Their object is to test your comprehension of work already covered, and to give

you p ractice in sitting examinations. Make sure at the end of each term that you know the tim es

and subjects of next terms collections.

Oxford trains you as a writer to deadlines; so equip yourself with a writers tools - a

dictionary, such as the Concise Oxford Dictionary , and, unless you are very confident, a

thesaurus and Modern English Usage.


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- Lectures

While tutorials and classes will be mainly organised by your College, lectures are provided

centrally by the University d epartments. A lecture list is pu blished each term, covering all three

branches of PPE; and Philosophy issues lecture prospectuses which d escribe the contents of the

terms lectures. Get a copy of the lecture list, and the relevant p rospectuses, from the web sites,

or from the Politics, International Relations, and Sociology Library, the Economics Library, and

the Philosophy Centre. Take your copy of the list to your meetings with tu tors: all of them will

have ad vice on which lectures to attend .

The lecture list includes a provisional programme for the remainder of the academic year,

which will help you to plan for the future. Do not expect lectures on a subject always to

coincide with the term in which you are writing essays on that subject. Important lectures may

come a term or two before or after your tutorials, and in the case of some less popular options

they m ay come in your second year and not be repeated in your third year: consult your tu tors

early about th is risk.

The importance of lectures varies from subject to subject within PPE. Some lectures give a

personal version of what could be got, in other personal versions, from books. Others

provide the last word on a fast developing subject, or the only satisfactory overview on a

subject whose boundaries are not well recognised in the literature. It is perilous to miss the

core lectures on your chosen options: although in Oxfords system lecturers do not

necessarily set the University examinations, they may be consulted by those who do. The

lecture p rospectuses inform examiners as well as students about the content of lectures.

- Vacations

UK degree courses are among the shortest in the world. They hold their own in international

competition only because they are full-time courses, covering vacation as well as term. This is

perhaps particularly true of Oxford, where the eight-week terms (technically called Full Terms)

occupy less than half the year. Vacations have to includ e holiday time; and everyone recognises

that for very many students they also have to include money-earning time. Nevertheless

vacation study is vital.

You are said to read for an Oxford degree, and PPE is certainly a read ing course: its stud y is

mainly the study of material obtained from books and other documents. In term you will

mostly rush from one article or chapter to another, pick their bones, and write out your

reactions. Vacations are the time for less hectic attention to complete books. Tutorials break a

subject up ; vacations allow consolidation. They give depth and time for serious thought. They

are also particularly important for reading set or core texts.

Examinat ions

- Procedures

Each year a board of seven moderators, drawn from the academic staff, is appointed to

examine PPE Prelims, and a board of up to nineteen examiners, also drawn from the

academic staff except for three external members, is appointed to examine PPE Finals. The


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Finals examiners are assisted by a number of assessors, also staff members, who spread the

load and deal with some of the specialised subjects. It is chance whether any of your own

tutors examines you. If that happens, the convention is that the tutor takes no part

knowingly in deciding your result; but since scripts are anonymous, tutors rarely take part

know ingly so the convention is seldom requ ired to operate.

It is your personal responsibility to enter for University examinations, and if you enter, or

change your options, after the due date, you must pay a late fee and gain the examiners

consent. Entry is through colleges. The forms are kept in college offices, which may

advertise times for applying. The University deadlines are listed each year in Examination

Regulations.

The starting dates of examinations, which Do not often vary in relation to w eeks of term, are

annou nced each year in Examination Regulations and the University Diary. Working to these

dates, a timetable is issued a month or two before each examination; this is posted in the

Examination Schools, and probably also in your college lodge. A m onth or tw o before Finals,the examiners send a memorandum to all candidates about the conduct of the examination.

At University examinations, including vivas, you must wear academic dress with sub-fusc

clothing. Academic dress is a gown, and a regulation cap or mortar board (it must be a

mor tar board for men). Sub -fusc clothing is: for women, a d ark skirt or trousers, a white

blouse, black tie, black stockings and sh oes, and, if desired, a dark coat; for men, a d ark su it

and socks, black shoes, a white bow tie, and plain white shirt and collar.

There are special University regulations on the typing of illegible scripts (NB: the cost of

typing and invigilation shall not be a charge on university fund s), on the use of typewritersin examinations, on blind candidates, on dyslexic cand idates, on Jewish cand idates unable to

take papers on certain days, on the use (where permitted) of calculators in examinations,

and on the use (where permitted) of computers in examinations; see Examination

Regulations. If your native language is not English, you may request to use your own

bilingual dictionary d uring examinations. The request must go to the Proctors through your

college, usually you r Senior Tutor.

If you have any problems connected with University examinations which you want to take

further, never approach the examiners directly: always communicate through your Senior

Tutor. This app lies to comp laints too (although every stud ent has a statutory right to consult

the Proctors directly on any matter at any time in their Oxford career).

The University regulations for PPE Prelims and PPE Finals are in Examination Regulations,

which appear in the appendix to this han dbook.

In add ition to the two main public examinations described below, you are requ ired to attend

a one-day course in Information Technology. Following this course you must submit an IT-

based project. For those coming up in October 2003 and thereafter, the course will be taken

in Hilary Term of your first year of stud y. You will need to submit a satisfactory project in order

to pass PPE Prelims. You will be sent details of these courses via email, and through your

colleges. It is necessary to p lan your tim etable well ahead, to ensure that you are available toattend them. (Further information on Comp uting and IT skills is provided in Section Three.)


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- PPE Prelim s

To complete the PPE Prelim you must pass all three subjects and the IT project. If you fail

one or more subjects in June (or miss any examinations through illness), the University

allows you (subject to your colleges agreement) to retake in September any pap er you failed

(or missed).

Papers are marked on the scale 0-85. The marks can be interpreted as follows - you will

notice that this is much the sam e as for Finals, but the level of attainment that is expected for

Prelims is, of course, considerably lower:

85-70: work d isplaying analytical and argumentational power, with good command of

the facts and/or arguments relevant to the questions and evidence of ability to

organise them with clarity, insight and efficiency.

69-60: work displaying analytical power and argumentational power, but with less

comprehensive and thorough command of evidence; or work showing considerable

thoroughness but less analytical skill or less clarity in organisation.

59-50: competen t work w ith no major defects, but giving an incomplete accoun t of the

question, or marred by inaccuracies; or work which demonstrates lapses in (but does

not lack) analytical and argum entational skills.

49-40: work that is generally weak with m ud dled argu mentation, but containing some

evidence of knowledge of facts and analytical skill; or work that, while competent and

know ledgeable in itself, does not address the question asked by the examiners.

39 and below: very poor quality work, showing little if any evidence of effective

study.

0: Any script which fails to fulfil the rubric for the paper is liable to be given this mark:

e.g. failure to obey the instructions about answering questions from the different

sections of the paper, or, in the case of Introduction to Politics, failure to show

know ledge of two countries.

You should note that one of the commonest reasons for answers receiving poor marks is

irrelevance. It is very important to direct your answer at the question which has actually

been asked.

In 2003, Distinctions were awarded to candidates who scored a total of 200 or more on the

written papers and submitted a satisfactory IT project. The pass mark for each of the three

papers was 40; but compensation was allowed for fail marks in the range 37-39 on one

paper, if marks on both the others were 58 or better. The examiners report your m arks to the

college, which normally communicates them to you. In 2003 the outcome of the June PPE

Prelim was: Distinction 12.5%; Pass 68%; Fail in the IT Project only 17%; Fail in one or m ore

subject 3%.

To enter for Finals you must have passed the PPE Prelim as a whole (or some other FirstPublic Examination), but your Prelims results do not contribute to your Finals result.


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- PPE Finals

All scripts, theses and supervised dissertations are double marked. Any wide discrepancies,

or discrepancies that might affect a candidates class, are either re-read by the two original

markers or given an adjudicating mark by a third marker. The External Examiners play a

special role in ad jud ication. The class bound aries are set as an average m ark, except that the

highest Hon ours can be obtained by excellence in a minority of subjects offered provided

that adequate knowledge is shown throughout the examination (Examination Regulations),

and a Fail mark in one or more subjects may disqualify for Honours or even, in extreme

circumstances, for a Pass degree. Candidates w ho m iss a pap er are governed by the general

regulations in Examination Regulations, which allow for classification in some circumstances.

The mark scale for individu al papers is divided by classes:

Class I II 1 II 2 III Pass Fail

85 70 69 60 59 - 50 49 - 40 39 - 30 below 30

The boun dar y for classifying each candid ate to a class is an avera ge mark wh ich is in most cases set a

little below the m inimum mark associated w ith that class (e.g. it is not n ecessary to score an av erage

of 70 for a First) and a preponderance requirement which states that at least two papers are marked

within the relevant class (e.g. for a first you would need to papers marked at 70 or above, and an

average a little below 70). There are penalties for a missing or negligible answer, and for ignoring

instructions on the question paper (such as show knowledge of both authors), which vary according

to the seriousness of the omission.

One mark is deducted from the aggregate average mark of candidates who came up before

October 2002 and did not pursue, to an adequate standard, the prescribed course in

Information Technology referred to above. Candidates coming up in October 2002 or after

are required to submit an Information Technology project of a satisfactory standard to be

able to enter for Finals in PPE.

Uniform standards requ ired of markers are as or like the following:

First Class script: work displaying analytical and argumentational power, with goodcommand of the facts and/or arguments relevant to the questions and evidence of

ability to organise them with clarity, insight and efficiency. When these qualities are

evident in all questions attempted , the mark shou ld be 74 or above.

Upper SecondClass script: work d isplaying an alytical power and argum entation of

the quality associated with a First, but with less comprehensive and thorough

command of evidence; or work showing considerable thoroughness but less analytical

skill or less clarity in organisation.


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Lower Second Class script: competent work with no major defects, but giving an

incomplete account of the question, or marred by inaccuracies; or work which

dem onstrates lapses in (but does not lack) analytical and argum entational skills.

Third Class script: work that is generally weak with muddled argumentation, but

containing some evidence of knowledge of facts and analytical skill; or work that,

while competent and knowledgeable in itself, does not address the question asked by

the examiners.

Pass Degree script: very poor quality work, showing only slight evidence of effective

study.

Fail script: work of still lower standard, but not so poor that it should prevent the

candidate from being awarded a degree if able to show better ability in enough other

subjects.

Ou tright Fail script: work of such a dismal stan dard that the candidate shou ld not be

awarded a Pass degree irrespective of performance in other subjects, unless the

examining board finds exceptional mitigating circum stances.

The examiners report your marks to your college, which commu nicates them to you . In 2003

the division by outcome of PPE Finals was: I, 16%; II 1, 75%; II 2, %; III, 1%; Pass, 0%; Fail,

0%.

- Preparing for examin ations

When p lanning your examination strategy, it is sensible to keep in m ind th e nature of theexamination method which the University uses (the conventional method in UK higher

education over the past two centuries). If the examiners allowed you to set the questions,

you could prepare good an swers in a few m onths; by setting the questions themselves, they

ensure that a candidate cannot be adequately prepared without study over a broad area.

They will therefore not be interested in answers which are in any way off the point, and they

will severely penalise short weight - too few properly written out answers. The examiners

are looking for your own ideas and convictions, and you mustnt be shy of presenting them

as your own: whether you are conscious of having inherited them from somebody else

doesnt matter one way or the other. When you have selected a question, work out what it

means and decide w hat you think is the answer to it. Then, putting pen to paper, state theanswer and defend it; or, if you think there is no answer, explain why not. Abstain from

presenting background material. Do not write too mu ch: most of those who ru n out of time

have themselves to blame for being distracted into irrelevance. Good examinees emerge

from the examination room with most of their knowledge undisplayed. Examiners reports

are available on the departmental websites and can be helpful in identifying the

characteristics of good an d bad answers in the various pap ers.


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2. DEPARTMENTS

The Departments of Politics and International Relations, of Economics, of Sociology, and of

Social Policy are in the Social Sciences Division, one of five Divisions in the University,

between which the academic departments and faculties are divided. The Faculty of

Philosophy is part of the Humanities Division. The administration of the PPE degree is

carried out by the Department of Politics and International Relations. The PPE Committee,

consisting of the members of the Faculty of Philosophy, the Department of Politics and

International Relations, and the Department of Economics meets at least once a term to

consider issues relating to the course.

The members of the Departm ents and Faculties are those employed to carry out teaching or

research within the University. Further details of staff in Philosophy, Politics and

Economics, including their research interests, are available on the web sites:

www.philosophy.ox.ac.ukwww.politics.ox.ac.uk

www.economics.ox.ac.uk

The Philosophy Cent re

The Philosophy Centre at 10 Merton Street is open from 09.30 to 17.25, Monday to Friday

(16.25 outside of weeks 0 - 9). The ad ministrative offices are closed betw een 13.00 and 14.00.

The Centre is sometimes open for evening meetings, or when its component Library (see

below) has longer hours. The Centre is closed for about ten days at Christmas and Easter,and for five weeks from the begin ning of August to early September. As well as the Library,

it contains a lecture room, a seminar room, a meeting room, a common room, a garden, and

the administrative offices. All enquiries, including the purchasing of Logic Exercises (widely

used in Prelims logic teaching) and other study aids, should be directed to the Secretarial

Assistant (Tel: (2)76926; Email: secretarial.assistan [email protected]) in room G11

(second office on the left of the administrative corridor). A few members of the Philosophy

Faculty have offices in this bu ild ing, though m ost are based in their colleges.

Depart ment of Poli t ics and Int erna t iona l R ela t ions

The Departm ent is located in George Street, opposite the cinema. The side entrance is from

New Inn Hall Street. On all visits, bring your university card for access. The Department is

open in term time from 09.00 to 19.00, Monday to Friday, and also 09.30 to 13.00 on

Saturdays; in vacation from 09.00 to 17.00, Mond ay to Friday, except between Christmas and

the New Year. It contains the Politics, International Relations, and Sociology Library; the

offices of the Head of Departm ent and dep artmen tal administrative staff; a common room; a

lecture theatre, two seminar rooms, and a computing room. The Departmental offices are

open for enquiries between 11.00 and 13.00, Monday to Friday, including the office of the

Und ergrad uate Stud ies Secretary. Coffee, etc. may be pu rchased in the Common Room from

10.30 to 11.30, and tea from 15.30 to 16.30 (16.00 in vacations). There is an undergraduate

noticeboard in the corridor by the Departments Courses Office. The Department will move


18/79


from its curren t location in George Street du ring the long vacation in 2004 to the new social

sciences building in Manor Road, which already hou ses the Departm ent of Economics. The

Politics, International Relations and Sociology library (see below) currently in George Street

will also move to the new building.

Depart ment of Econom ics

The Departm ent is located in the Manor Road Build ing, on the St Cross site, where you will

also find the Economics Library and some lecture and seminar rooms. The full address is:

Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UQ (Tel: (2)71073), opening hours: 8.30-

18.00. Most mem bers of the Department have an office and collect mail there and th e

Undergraduate Administrator is based there. This is where you can obtain lecture handouts,

seminar notices, etc. These will, however, be available on the Economics web site and you

should use this for information in the first instance.

Depart ment of Sociology

The Department is concerned primarily with graduate degrees in Sociology. However,

members give lectures and tutorials for PPE undergraduates in Political Sociology,

Sociological Theory, Sociology of Industrial Societies, and Social Statistics. Its research

programme includes work on social and political change, the sociology of elections,

ethnicity and national identity, and the life course and ageing. A num ber of PPE students

have w ritten theses based on the Departments research projects.

The Department is located at Littlegate House, St Ebbes Street (Tel: (2)86170). On all visits,

bring your university card for access. All students are invited to attend the weeklydepartmental seminars. Further information on the Department and the seminars can be

found at www.sociology.ox.ac.uk. The Department will move to the new social sciences

build ing in the summ er of 2004.

Depart ment of Social Policy and Social W ork

The Department is located at Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square (Tel: (2)70325). It is

primarily concerned with graduate degrees in Social Work and Comparative Social Policy.

Its senior members give lectures and tutorials for PPE undergraduates in Social Policy and

in Demograp hy. Its research program me includes work on social policy, dem ography, social

security, the family, social deprivation and disadvantage, social work and probation, and

psychology. The tu torials are usu ally held in the Department, as may be some of the lectures

and classes. The Social Policy and Social Work library in the Department supports the

reading lists for courses taugh t by the Department (see below).


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3. LIBRARIES AND COMPUTING

Libraries

The library provision in Oxford University is very good but rather complex. PPE studentswill need to use a variety of libraries during the academic year 2003-2004. From October

2004, all reading list texts in support of Politics and Economics will be housed in a single

Social Science Library on Man or Road . Your local college library h as a good selection of

books which can be borrowed. A more extensive range of books is available from the

relevant University libraries. Brief information about each of these libraries is listed below.

Looking at the web sites, picking up a paper guide, or asking the library staff can provide

you with further information about specific services or the rules and regulations of each

library.

Admission: The university card, which is distributed by your college, will be required to

enter and/or to borrow books or to order items from closed stacks. The best policy is to

always carry your university card with you when you go to a library. (If you lose your

un iversity card, request a replacement as soon as possible from your college.)

Induction: There are library induction sessions for all PPE students during 0th week. You

will be taught how to use OLIS, the Oxford University library catalogue, and OxLIP, the

local interface to a large selection of subject d atabases an d internet resou rces. These sessions

take place in the Computing Service (13 Banbury Road) and in the Philosophy Library (10

Merton Street). You will receive further instructions from your college about the timing of

these sessions. If you miss your induction session, the Philosophy Library offers four

sessions daily for new members throughout the year.

Finding books: Begin by checking the OLIS catalogue for items listed on your reading lists

but bear in mind that not all books are on OLIS. You m ay need to use the p aper catalogue in

some libraries. Ask library staff for assistance if you cannot find the books you need. Ask the

library how to suggest new pu rchases if the item is not in an Oxford library.

Find ing jou rnal articles: First look for the title of the journal in the OLIS catalogue. If it is

not there, ask if there is a separate journal list. If you do not know the issue or the page

number of the article, ask library staff who can help you search for the item in one of the

many subject databases available from OxLIP, e.g. EconLIT, Philosophers Index. Over 7,000

journals are now available electronically via TDNet on OxLIP. This allows you to read the

journal ar ticle from any PC in Oxford . Feel free to ask library staff for further information

and assistance.

Borrowing from a library or reading in the library: Once you have found the books or

journal articles you wish to read , you will have a choice of eith er borrow ing the item or

reading the confined copy in the library. Please note that Bodleian Library books cannot be

borrowed. In addition, your college library will often have lending copies of items on

reading lists.


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Subjects and Op ening Hours:

Term opening hours

Library Main subjects covered

Mon to Fri Saturday

BOD PPE Econom ics, Mana gemen t, Philosoph y,

Politics, International Relations, Sociology

9:00 22:00 9:00 - 13:00

BOD Upp er Camera History, Education, Art, Anth ropology 9:00 22:00 9:00 - 13:00

BOD Official Papers

(Rad cliffe Cam era Basemen t)

Official Papers (Parliamentary papers,

governm ent pu blications etc)

9:00 22:00 9:00 - 12:30

Economics Economics 9:00 - 22:00

(9:00 - 18:00 Fri)

9:30 - 17:00

Histo ry Histo ry 9:00 19:00 9:00 - 12:30

Philosop hy Ph ilosop hy 9:30 17:30 9:30 - 12:00

International Developm ent

Centre Library (QEH)

Developm ent Stud ies (Economics ,

Sociology, Politics, curren t h istory of

develop ing countries)

9:00 18:00 Clos ed

Rad cliffe Science Libra ry Science 9:00 22:00 09:00 - 13:00

Said Business School Business and Man agement Stud ies 9:00 19:00 11.00 - 17.00

Social Policy an d Social Work Social Policy and Dem ograp hy 9:15 16:45(some lunchtime

closure)

Closed

Politics, IR and Sociology Politics, Interna tional Relations and

Sociology

9:00 19:00 9:30 - 13:00

Rothermere Am erican

Institute

Am erica n Polit ics 9:00 19:00 9:00 13:00

Photocopying facilities and copyright law:

The copying of books and journ als and the u se of self-service photocopiers are subject to the

provisions of the Copyright License issued to the University of Oxford by the Copyright

Licensing Agency for the copying (from pap er on to pap er) of:

up to 5% or one complete chap ter (whichever is the greater) from a book;

up to 5% or one whole article (whichever is the greater) from a single issue of a

journal;

up to 5% or one paper (whichever is the greater) from a set of conference

proceedings.


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Library Nu mb er of

copiers

Price per copy Type of card

BOD PPE 2 7p self-service Univ ersity comm on card

BOD Upper Camera 2 7p self-service University common card

BOD Official Papers 2 7p self-service Univer sity commo n car d

Economics 3 5p University common card

History 3 5p Key system (ask staff)

Philosophy 2 6p University common card

IDCL 1 5p (Cashkard )

10p (cash)

EMOS

Radcliffe Science Library 8 7p A4, 10p A3 University comm on card

Said Busin ess School 2 5p Photocop ying Account

Social Policy and Social Work 1 5p Univ ersity comm on card

Politics, IR and Sociology 2 5p Univ ersity comm on card

Rothermere American Institute 1 7p University common card

Computing facilities:

Library Electricity

mains for

laptops?

Ethernet

available for

laptops?

Location allowed

BOD PPE YES NO Designated desks

BOD Camera YES NO Designated desks

Economics YES YES Designated desks

History YES YES West Room

Philosop hy YES YES Inform ation Resources Room

Intern ationa l Develop ment (QEH) YES NO Designated desks

Rhodes Hou se YES YES Designated desks

Social Policy an d Social Work YES NO Reading Room

Politics, IR an d Sociology YES YES Electricity: all read ing room s

Ethernet: Period icals Room

Rothermere American Institute PENDING PENDING All Rooms


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Loan entitlement:

Econ History Philos ID CL SBS SP and

SW

PIRS RAI

LoanAllowance

20 6 10 6 norm al 3overnight

8 x 2 day6 x 7 d ay

6 20 N IL

Loan Period

(days)

2, 7 or

same day

7 2 or 7 7 2 or 7 2, 7 or

overnight

2, 7 or

same day

N/A

Renewal

allowed?

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES N/A

Num ber of

Renewals

5 3 1 1 3 5 5 N/A

Renewal viaOLIS?

YES NO YES YES YES YES YES N/A

Reservation

allowed?

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES N/A

Reservation

via OLIS?

YES NO YES YES YES YES YES N/A

The Bodleian:

Reference Library Nu mb er of

stack req uests

allowed

Held in library

for how long?

Reservation for

stack material

allowed?

Reservation via

OLIS OPAC

possible?

Bodleian (inc PPE, Camer a,

Rhodes House)

6 7 days YES YES

Furth er information:

Library Web address

Bodleian www.bodley.ox.ac.uk

Economics www.ssl.ox.ac.uk

History http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/libraryit/faclib/index.htm

Philosophy www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/guides/philosophy/

Int. Development (QEH) ww w2.qeh.ox.ac.uk/librar y/ind ex.html


23/79


Rhodes Hou se ww w.bodley.ox.ac.uk/guides/pd f/rhl01.pdf

Social Policy ww w.ssl.ox.ac.uk

Politics, IR an d Sociology ww w.ssl.ox.ac.uk

Rothermere American Institute http ://www .lib.ox.ac.uk/libraries/guid es/VHL.html

Other libraries, which might be of interest to PPE students, include: Bodleian Japanese,

Bodleian Law, Classics, Hooke, Indian Institute, Radcliffe Science and Theology.

We hop e you will enjoy using Oxfords libraries. Please respect ot her library users and take

care of library books and facilities.

Computing

All colleges have a computer room, with software for word-processing and other

app lications, connections to the central University machines and the Internet, and p rinters.

There are fourteen read er workstations situated throu ghou t the Philosophy Library at 10

Merton Street, including three in the new Computing Resources Room, which also has a

printer and m ains and ethernet points for students wh o want to use their own laptops in the

building. The Library and Centre are open 09.30 - 17.25 (16.25 outside of weeks 0 - 9)

Monday to Friday.

The Department of Politics and International Relations contains a computing room with 15

PCs connected to the Internet. They have access to a wide range of specialist social sciences

research software. Undergraduates may apply to use computers in the Department by

obtaining the support of their College Politics tutor and contacting the Departments IT

Officers (mailto:[email protected] and [email protected]). The room is

used also for compu ter-based courses. Comp uting facilities in the Departm ent of Economics

are listed at w ww .economics.ox.ac.uk/faculty/compu ting.htm.

Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS) is at 13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN.

The building is open to non-keyholders Monday to Friday 08.30 - 20.30. Undergraduateshave access to the IT training courses, to the Learning and Resource Centre (Monday to

Friday 09.00 20.30), and to the shop (Monday to Friday 09.00 (Thursday 09.30) - 16.45);

also, by application, to printers and software on the central UNIX compu ters. Further details

may be obtained on-line at www .oucs.ox.ac.uk .

IT Sk il ls

By the end of your first year we expect you to have the essential IT skills set out below;those listed as desirable would be useful for your future employment but are not a


24/79


requirement of your course. While many students coming to Oxford will already possess

most if not all of these skills, those who need to develop any are required to do this in their

own time. Your college will provide the basic hard ware, software and sup port.

For those who would prefer to attend training courses, OUCS (Oxford University

Computing Services, 13 Banbury Road) has a number of relevant courses set out below;

information about courses and registration details can be obtained either from your college

IT support service, from the reception desk at OUCS, or on-line at

www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/courses (where there is a description of each course as well as details

about the prerequisite knowledge and dates). There is no fee for attending any of these

courses bu t a charge is made for course d ocumentation. OUCS also has the LaRC (Learning

and Resource Centre), a supported working environment where you can teach yourself

using a variety of materials such as videos, computer-based materials, multimedia

courseware and books. You can also study the OUCS courses in your own time, and

materials for the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) are available.

Skill Recommend ed software OUCS Course

Essential

Basic use of a PC MS Window s Essential IT skills: basics and beyon d

(includ es Window s, Word , Excel,

data bases, www , file managem ent)

Word-processing MS Word (*) (1) Word styles and t able of conte nts

(2) Word tables, tabs and ind ents

(3) Word mail merge

Email and use of the Internet Netscape or Internet Explorer(1) Introd uction to Email

(2) Configuring and using Ou tlook

Express

(3) Essential w eb p ublishing skills

(4) Searching the w eb for on-line

resources

Desirable

Spread sheets MS Excel (*) Designing and Using Sprea dsh eets

Presenta tion and dra wing MS Power Point (*) (1) Introduction to Power Point

(2) Creating presentations with MS

PowerPoint

Database and filing systems MS Access (*) (1) Database d esign

(2) Essent ial access

(*) These are part of the integrated Microsoft Office suite. The University has a site license

for this software (available via the OUCS shop) for use in departments and colleges but it

cannot supply copies to individual students. You can obtain your own copy for about 120

from a local supp lier (see ww w.oucs.ox.ac.uk/shop/m sl.html).

You will not be examined in any of these skills. However, you may wish to gain the

European Com pu ter Driving Licence (ECDL). This qu alification has been established across


25/79


the European Union (and is now recognised internationally) as a means of verifying

computer literacy. It covers all the skills listed above and assessment will be carried out a t a

testing centre. OUCS provide training and testing; further details are on-line at

www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ecdl/.

Undergraduates are required in their first year to submit a report of an Information

Technology-based project. There will be a one-day course in IT, in the middle of Hilary

Term, w hich will provide instruction on the IT necessary to comp lete the project. The project

report h as to be han ded in by the first day of Trinity Term in the first year. The subm ission

of a satisfactory report is a requirement for entering the Final examinations. Shou ld you fail

to submit by the first day of Trinity Term in your first year, or should your report not be

deemed satisfactory, there is an opportunity to submit three weeks before the start of

Michaelmas Full Term in your second year. This should be avoided if possible, though, as

there is not third chance to submit should this second submission fail. You will be sent

details of the IT course and project details through your colleges at the start of Hilary Term

of your first year. It is necessary to plan your timetable well ahead to ensure that you are

available to attend this course.

For third year students, various optional papers in PPE may have integrated practical

sessions involving the use of relevant software.

You will need to use IT during your course. Many tutors encourage stud ents to present at

least some of their essays in word -processed form.

There is a web-based information service for PPE students, which you are advised to use:

ww w.politics.ox.ac.uk/teaching/index.htm . This contains information on, amongst otherthings, the lecture list, reading lists, recent finals papers and examiners reports; the JCC also

has its own web page.

It is essent ial that you use electronic mail as this will be used to communicate information to

you by department or faculty staff. Your college will supply you with an email account. Your email

address will be of the form:[email protected]


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Data Protection

DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998: INFORM ATION ON STUDENT PERSON AL

DATA

Please read this d ocum ent carefully. It will h elp you to und erstand th e purposes forwhich your College and the University of Oxford, including its departments, faculties

and adm inistration (the Un iversity) process (i.e. collect and use) your p ersonal d ata and

any disclosures that they may make of those data outside the College/University. It is

imp ortant that you are aware of the p ersonal data which is held about you, especially the

sensitive p ersonal d ata as d efined by the D ata Protection Act 1998 (see section A.2 below ),

wh ere special provisions apply.

A. PROCESSING

In order to fulfil their educational, pastoral, and administrative responsibilities before,

du ring and after your stud ies at Oxford , your College and the University will need to collect

and process personal data abou t you. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires that any such

information is processed fairly and lawfully, is held securely, and is kept up-to-date. In

some cases this processing is permitted under the Data Protection Act 1998 as being

necessary to enable your College and the University to fulfil their operational

responsibilities and where your rights and legitimate interests are not prejudiced by the

processing. Your consent is not needed for processing of this data, which is described in

section 1(a) below). There are other cases where your consent is similarly not required and

these are d escribed in 1(b) and 1(c) below. The final category of processing is that of

sensitive personal data w hich d oes require your consent and that is described in section 2

below. In all cases data will be collected by your College and may be passed to the

University and vice versa, so that necessary processing can be undertaken. Data may also be

shared with other Colleges.

1. Non -sensitive personal data

Categories of the non-sensitive personal data which may be collected and processed are set

out below; these lists are not exhaustive but indicate the main sorts of such data.

(a) Non-sensit ive data w hich may be collected during the applications process and during

your st udies at Oxford

Name, address, telephone number and email address; any other contact details; date of birth and

gender; marital and family/household details; name of doctor; person to be contacted in case of

emergency and contact details; school and admissions documentation; matriculation details and

course studied; information on academic performance; examination details; distinctions, prizes,

positions of responsibility held; membership of University clubs and societies; disciplinary action

taken; financial matters (including loans, fees, college invoices, scholarships and bursaries etc).;

information provided to the College/University during the course of your studies; information needed

to permit access to College/University facilities such as computing facil ities, libraries and for the issue

of the University card, where access will be subject to regulations available from the provider of the


27/79


facility ; passwords and IDs used to access College or University facilities; provision of student advice

and support (eg OUSU and Careers Service).

Your consent for such processing is not required as it is processing needed to allow the

College(s) and the University to fulfil their educational, pastoral and administrative

responsibilities.

(b) Additional non-sensitive data which may be collected and processed after your studies

have been completed.

Details of qualifications and skills; emp loyment details; mem bership of professional bod ies;

publications.

Processing of d ata of this kind d oes not require your written consent but you may wish to

indicate to your College/the University if you do not w ish it to be collected or processed.

(c) Alumni dat a

Unless you request otherwise, your College and the University will add you r details to their

alumni records so that you may receive relevant publications and information about alumni

activities, events and program mes and be kept informed more generally about the activities

of your College and the University . Your d ata may also be included in College/University

alumni publications.

Such data will be held securely and will be treated confidentially for your benefit and the

benefit of your College and the University. The data w ill be available to your College, the

Universitys Development Office, International Offices, faculties, academic andadministrative departments, and to the Oxford University Society and other recognised

alum ni societies, sports and other clubs associated w ith your College and the University. It

may be disclosed to bodies outside your College/the University wh ere such bodies are

acting as agents of your College/the University .

Data will be used for a full range of alum ni activities as described above. Data may also be

used in fundraising programmes, which might include an element of direct marketing by

your College/the University. Data will not, however, be passed to external commercial

organisations withou t your explicit consent.

2. Sensitive personal data

The Data Protection Act 1998 defines sensitive personal data as information abou t racial or

ethnic origins; political opinions; religious beliefs or other beliefs; trade union membership; physical or

mental health; sex life; criminal allegations, proceedings or convictions. Save in limited

circumstances specified in the Act, those collecting and processing sensitive personal data

are required to seek explicit consent to do so. How ever, mu ch of the sensitive personal data

handled by the Colleges and University will be provided by stud ents themselves so that

consent to process in those cases is not an issue.

The Colleges and University have no need or intention to collect information concerning the

political beliefs, sexual orientation, or trade union affiliations of stud ents. Nor d o they have


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any need or intention to collect or process data on religious beliefs or practices except in so

far as students may, for example, require special dispensation to avoid sitting examinations

on certain days or may have special dietary requirements. How ever the stud ent will

probably have volun teered the sensitive data h im/herself so consent to collect and process is

un likely to present a p roblem.

If a student is convicted of an offence under the criminal law, this may be the subject of

further disciplinary proceedings within the Colleges when data may be collected and

processed; this will not hap pen w ithout the students knowledge. Conviction of a criminal

offence may in certain limited circumstances have to be mentioned in a reference to an

emp loyer or professional body.

The University and Colleges may need to p rocess information relating to a students health.

For example, it may be necessary to ask for dispensation to miss an examination or special

provision may be needed for certain health problems or in cases of disability, or suspension

of status m ay be needed for graduate stud ents.

If a student is following a course leading to a professional qualification, the

College/University will need to be able to report to the ap propriate professional body, such

as the General Medical Council, that he or she is a safe and suitable entrant to a given

profession.

The Data Protection Act allows action to be taken to p rocess personal sensitive data, and to

disclose such information to an individual/body outside the College/University, without

consent, where it is regarded as in the stu den ts vital interest. How ever, this is generally

likely to apply only in cases of illness or accident w here the student is unable or unw illing togive consent. This exemp tion may only be used in exceptional circum stances.

There is also an exemption in the Act to allow collection of data without explicit consent in

order to identify or keep u nd er review the existence or absence of equality of opp ortun ity or

treatment between persons of different racial or ethnic origins. Such data is collected by the

Colleges and University for the purposes of monitoring and of upholding equal

opp ortun ities policies.

If you have any concerns about the processing of any information in the sorts of

circum stances outlined ab ove you shou ld contact your College Data Protection Officer or

the University D ata Protection Officer via email to d ata.protection@adm in.ox.ac.uk.

B. DISCLOSURE OF DATA TO BODIES OUTSIDE YOUR COLLEGE/THE

UNIVERSITY

Your College/the University may be required to provide non-sensitive personal data to the

Inland Revenue, Community Charge Registration Officers, local authority electoral

registration, assessment and valuation departments, other education and training

establishments and examining bod ies, and students sponsors (eg local authority edu cation

departments, the Student Loan Company and funding councils (and including the Higher

Education Statistics Agency).


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Your College/the University will respond to requests for references, transcripts or other

information on your educational attainments, from employers or prospective employers or

from other educational institutions, funding bodies or recognised voluntary organisations.

However, the information will not be provided unless the request is made in writing and

app ears to be bona fide.

Disclosure may also be necessary in certain other circum stances, for example to comp ly

with legal or statutory requirements; in any legal proceedings; or for medical reasons to

med ical staff.

Your College/the University will not normally send information about you to outside

organisations at home or overseas other than of the kind ind icated. Your personal data will

not be placed on any website by your College or the University without your consent.

You should be aware that m any countries outside the European Economic Area do not have

data protection legislation and so may not always protect your personal data to the samestandard.

C. KEEPING YOUR PERSON AL DATA UP-TO-DATE

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires that you r College and th e University take reasonable

steps to ensure that any personal data which they process is accurate and up -to-date. It is

therefore important that you let [insert details of relevant College officer] know of any

changes to your personal data, or of any error in those data. The University will be

informed of changes as appropriate.

D. QUERIES AND ACCESS REQUESTS

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to know what personal data your College

and the University are processing, subject to certain exemptions provided in the legislation

and to consideration of third p arty rights. If you wish to seek access und er the Data

Protection Act provisions, you should contact either your college in the case of personal d ata

processed by your College or the Universitys Data Protection Officer, via email to

data.p rotection@ad min.ox.ac.uk. A fee is required for such access.

General queries about the Data Protection Act 1998 may be addressed to the Universitys

Data Protection Officer using the email address, [email protected]

E. ARCHIVES

The College and University records are normally archived as a matter of routine, but your

College and the University are not liable for any failure to archive, or maintain the archive or

for deletion of archive material however arising and you are advised to retain any original

certificates issued by the University safely and securely.

As indicated in section A2 above it is possible that sensitive data may appear on your file. It

is unlikely that your College or the University will have to process sensitive data without

your know ledge and consent. It may, how ever, be necessary to process information about


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your health. If when you leave Oxford you are concerned ab out the retention of any su ch

mate rial on your file or abou t the possib ility that other types of sensitive data (as defined

by the Act) may have been collected, you should discuss these concerns with the college

Data Protection O fficer in the first in stance.


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PART B - STUDENT ISSUES

4. PARTICIPATION

Consultation

Consultation of students is a serious concern to the departments and faculties and takes a

number of forms discussed below. It is important that you give us your views and feel free

to do so, in ord er that w e may deal with p roblems that arise both relating to you personally

and to the course. Feedback from students takes both an institutional form via the Joint

Consultative Committees (JCCs) and also involves you as individuals making the effort to

complete lecture or tutorial report forms or to seek out college or departmental officers for

discussion. Confidentiality is preserved when we seek feedback and will be maintained if

you wish it when you discuss issues of concern to you. It is important that you remember

that both the college and the departments will seek and welcome your feedback in various

ways.

St udent Feedback

The feedback which you provide to lecturers and tutors is valued and is taken seriously. It

has an important contribution to make to maintaining the quality of the education you

receive at Oxford .

Lecture questionnaire forms will be provided for you to comment on each set of lectures.They will be handed out by the lecturer towards the middle or end of his or her set of

lectures, and further copies will be available from department or faculty offices. Comp leted

forms may either be given to the lecturer at the end of the lecture or sent to the departm ental

office. The results of the questionnaire are seen by the lecturer and also by the Director of

Undergraduate Studies or Teaching/Lectures Committee or panel. The DUS and/or

committee or panel are responsible for ensuring that any problems reported through the

questionnaires are add ressed. These are reported on to JCC and the department or faculty.

You will also be expected to provide feedback on tutorial teaching to your college, and

although colleges may differ in the exact ways in w hich they provide for this, in general theywill ask your views on the amount and quality of teaching, reading materials, timeliness of

comments on essays and tutorial performance, and feedback on your progress on the course.

Colleges also arrange for you to hear or read reports written by your tutor and to make

comments on them, and also for you to submit your own self-assessment of your p rogress to

date and your academic goals.


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Joint Consul tat iv e Commit tees (JCCs)

Each department/faculty has an Undergraduate Joint Consultative Committee on

departmental/faculty matters (JCC). The JCC is your forum, through which

departmental/faculty/ officers will keep you informed of developments within the

department/faculty. Typical agenda items include course developments, lecture

arrangements, library provision and IT. Senior members will be looking to you for

comments and suggestions, which may bring beneficial changes. It is also the forum in

which you should raise any matters of concern to you relating to the organisation, content

and delivery of the course.

The Politics JCC comprises the Director of Undergraduate Studies, the Academic

Administrator (or Undergraduate Studies Secretary), the PIRS Librarian, and an

undergrad uate representative from each college. It meets once a term at 2pm on Monday of

3rd Week. The undergraduates must be reading for a degree in PPE. (There is a separate

Politics JCC for the Modern History and Politics degree.) The Economics JCC comprisesseveral senior members, including the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and an

undergraduate representative from each college. The undergraduate representatives must

be reading for one of the Honour Schools involving Economics. The JCC meets once per

term. It elects one of its und ergradu ate representatives as convenor. The convenor p repares

the agenda and minutes for meetings. The Philosophy JCC is similar in structure to the

Politics JCC, but comp rises junior members from across all seven of the joint honour schools

involving Philosophy. It meets once a term on Thursday of Fourth Week at 3.15 p.m. in the

Ryle Room at 10 Merton Street. The JCC conven ors attend their resp ective Sub -faculty

meetings and should send one representative to attend the PPE Committee.

For the JCCs to function well, it is important that undergraduate representatives participate

actively in its work. Make sure your college has a representative, and ask him/her to raise

matters of concern at the JCC and to report back to you.

Library Commit t ees (CoLP)

The Committee on Library Provision in Social Stud ies includes stud ent rep resentatives from

the relevant JCCs. The Committee meets once a term. The Librarian also attends JCC

meetings.


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5. STUDENT SUPPORT

Equal O pport uni t ies

The University has in place policies relating to equal opportunities, harassment and

disability which are kept under review. Details can be found in the University prospectus,

on the Oxford University website (www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/) and in the Proctors and

Assessors Memorandu m, a booklet which is given to all students on arrival.

Harassm ent

The University has a Code of Practice on Harassment, which is published in Essential

Information for Students. The Cod e of Practice makes it a disciplinary offence for any mem ber

of the university to harass another on any grounds. There are confidential advisers who can

be contacted for help on any matter related to harassment:

Politics: Dr Louise Fawcett(Tel: (2)71792),louise.faw [email protected]

Dr Nicholas Ow en (Tel: (2)79175), [email protected]

Economics: Dr Kenneth Mayhew (Tel: (2)76434), [email protected]

Dr. Katy Graddy (Tel: (2) 81296, [email protected]

Philosophy: Mr Derek Parfitt (Tel: (2)79282), [email protected]

Dr Kather ine Morris (Tel: (2)70985 [email protected]

You will also find that your college has people that you can approach if you feel harassed.

You may wish to go to your tutor or to the Senior Tutor; alternatively, if you wish to deal

with someone who is not connected directly with your academic work or your course,

consult the Chap lain, Women's Ad viser, or Welfare officers in you r college.

Disabili ty

The University operates a code of practice to provide equality of opportunity for those with

disabilities. There are currently over 500 students with disabilities at Oxford and the

University and the colleges are committed to making arrangements to enable students with

disabilities to p articipate as fully as p ossible in stu den t life. The Universitys Comm ittee for

Disabled People is responsible for considering the issues facing disabled staff and students

of the University, improving access to University buildings for people with impaired

mobility, and providing support to disabled staff and students. Detailed information about

provision and sources of assistance, including the Universitys Disability Statementand the

Access Guide for People with Disabilities, which gives details about the accessibility of most

University buildings, can be found on the w eb site at ht tp://www.ad min.ox.ac.uk/eop /. Local

information on access and resources can be found on the Philosophy Faculty webs site at

http://ww w.philosophy.ox.ac.uk . Further information and ad vice are available from the

Universitys Disability Office, on 80549 and or d [email protected] . TheDisability Co-

ordinator for the Philosophy Faculty is Dr Hilla Wait, Tel: 92)76927, E-mail:

[email protected] . Observations or complaints concerning disablement issues

should be add ressed via college and departmental complaints procedures


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Complaint s Procedures

It is the policy of the d epartm ents/faculty responsible for the teaching of PPE to deal with all

complaints from individuals fairly, promptly, and in confidence. Complaints concerning

college matters should in the first

2003 Philosophy, Politics and Economics

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