Information for New Students

The following items are mandatory components of your student induction. Please read the following list very carefully and ensure you complete the following:

1. Verify your details on Student Self Service [note: this process MUST be completed in order for your registration to be finalised]
2. Sign and return the Student College Contract to admissions@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
3. For non-UK/ROI students: submit your passport photo page and online visa, or EU (pre-)settled code via the portal link if required.
4. Read all of the information on this page.
5. Attend both the “President’s Welcome and College Induction” and “Meet your College Adviser” events which run con-currently on Wednesday 8 October from 09:30 to 11:45.
6. Attend the online Health & Wellbeing Induction on Wednesday 8 October from 14:00 – 15:00.
7. Complete the online Consent for Students course [please note that this is mandatory and completion of the training is a requirement in order to attend a New Student Welcome Dinner. Please refer to the Medical and Welfare section below for more information on the course, including how to request exemption].
8. Attend Matriculation on Saturday 18 October

Enrolment and University (“Bod”) Card

Once you have completed items 1 and 2 on the above list, you may visit the Academic Office from Wednesday 10th September to complete your registration and receive your University card (‘Bod card’).

Please note that you should allow 1 working day between uploading your visa/passport documents and collecting your bod card to give our team sufficient time to receive and check the scans of your documents.

Please also note the following: 

• A Microsoft Teams meeting invitation to the online Health & Wellbeing induction will be emailed to you nearer to the event.
• Booking information for the New Student Welcome Dinners will be emailed to you separately.
• Further information on the President’s Welcome, Meet your College Adviser event, and Matriculation, will be sent in due course by email.
• We will issue your university card as part of our registration procedures. Your card will not be produced until you have returned the university contract and card form to the University Cards Office. They are very busy at this time of year so it may take some time for your card to be produced and sent to us.

The following items are optional components of your student induction:

1. Book onto and attend a New Student Welcome Dinner (evenings of 13th October, 15th October, and 21st October): further information to follow in due course.
2. Induction to the Library and Library Tour. The library team will write to all new students with booking information.
3. Participation in the Old Hands, New Faces peer mentoring scheme. A sign-up form will be circulated via email before the start of term; please complete this if you would like to sign up to be assigned a current student mentor.
4. Attend the Oxford SU’s Freshers’ Fair – the Wolfson slot is 10-11 a.m. on Thursday 9 October. The fair will take place at the Examinations Schools and you must bring your university card (‘Bod card’) to enter.
5. Participation in social and welcome events run by the College’s Social & Cultural Committee (SCC). These will include college tours by current students, activities such as pub quizzes and games nights, and a college freshers’ fair so you can get a taste of the many exciting clubs and societies are available to you at Wolfson!

The timetable of social induction events (known as “Wolfson Week”) will be available to view here by early September. A copy, as well as an introduction from the SCC Freshers’ Committee themselves, will also be sent via email in September!

Please note that freshers activities may be subject to change.

The Academic Office team are responsible for all aspects of student administration, from application through to graduation. The office is located on the top floor of the main quad and is staffed during working hours. You may drop in with quick questions or requests during our daily drop-in windows of 10.00 – 12.00 or 13.00 – 15.00, make an appointment to meet us outside of those times, or email us your request. Emails are monitored from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 4pm on Fridays. Please email any forms which require our attention (in an editable format, if they require our signature) to academic.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk.

Academic and Admissions Officer

The Academic and Admissions Officer is responsible for all aspects of student admissions administration and student induction.

Academic & Admissions Assistant

​The Academic and Admissions Assistant is the first point of contact for many of the day-to-day administration queries including University cards (‘Bod Cards’), GSO forms, enrolment certificates, graduation queries and appointments with the Senior Tutor and Academic Registrar.

Student Support & Engagement Officer: John Gardiner

The Student Support and Engagement Officer supports the Academic Registrar with matters relating to student support, particularly regarding student welfare and assessment issues.

Academic Registrar: Dan Aldred 

The Academic Registrar manages the Academic Office and has particular responsibility for current student administration, disability matters, examinations and funding. He is also the first point of contact for students seeking advice on academic-related welfare matters.

Senior Tutor and Dean of Welfare: Emily Eastham

The Senior Tutor has overall responsibility for all student academic administration as well as student welfare, the library and archives and the Common Room Administrator. The Academic Office team may refer you onto the Senior Tutor if they feel it would be helpful or if you query is particularly confidential or sensitive you may wish to contact her directly. If you would like to arrange a meeting with the Senior Tutor please email: seniortutor.pa@wolfson.ox.ac.uk.

Common Room Administrator: Not strictly part of the academic office team but co-located, the Common Room Administrator provides administrative support to the College Common Room including clubs, societies and college facilities (e.g. the gym) and to the College General Meeting.

The College has a Welfare Team who students can contact for advice or guidance about where they can go for further support. The team consists of Student Welfare Officers and Peer Supporters, Harassment Advisers, College Nurse, Student Support & Engagement Officer, Academic Registrar and Dean of Welfare (Senior Tutor). More information and contact details can be found here.

The Lodge, or reception, is open for business daily from 8 am–11 pm. A night porter is on duty between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am (8 am at weekends) in case of emergencies. The Lodge’s receptionists are the first point of contact with Wolfson and the College remains open seven days a week.

Please see the documents below for details on registering with the College Doctor (GP, or General Practitioner), immunisations, medical assistance and student health and safety.

We would strongly advise registering with the College’s GP (Banbury Road Medical Practice) so that you have easy access to medical professionals that understand how Oxford and its colleges operate. It will be easier for you to acquire medical documentation from the College GP, i.e. a medical certificate, if this should be required at some point during your course.

Our College Nurse is able to assist you with registration and can be contacted via pml.wolfsonnurse@nhs.net.

• Registering with the College GP;
• Immunisations;
• Medical Assistance;
• Student Health and Safety (Available in September)

The College also has an understanding and supportive Welfare Team who students can contact for advice or guidance about where they can go for further support. The team consists of Student Welfare Officers and Student Peer Supporter Volunteers, Harassment Advisers, College Nurse, Student Support & Engagement Officer, Academic Registrar and Dean of Welfare (Senior Tutor). More information and contact details can be found here.

Support for students with a disability/long-term health condition

Please refer to our Disability Disclosure form, sent via email, for information and guidance on the range of support for students at Oxford that have disclosed a disability and/or long-term health condition.

The College’s Disability Coordinator is the Academic Registrar, who would welcome any questions relating to registration with the University’s Disability Advisory service, and the support available. He can be contacted via academic.registrar@wolfson.ox.ac.uk.

Consent for Students

Consent for Students is a free online, interactive consent programme for all students and staff at the University of Oxford. Completion of this online course is mandatory*, and evidence of completion is required in order for you to attend a New Student Welcome Dinner at Wolfson. The course can be accessed once you have received your Single Sign On (SSO) credentials, via this webpage: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/supportservice/consent-for-students

 *Please note that if you have lived experience of the issues covered in the training, and do not wish to complete the course, you can confidentially notify academic.registrar@wolfson.ox.ac.uk; you will not be asked for any further information, and we will ensure you are exempt from completing the course.

You can use your enrolment certificate for:

• Proof of student status
• Opening a bank account
• Obtaining a Council Tax waiver if you live out of College

You can download your enrolment certificate from your Student Self Service and email a copy to academic.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk who will stamp and sign it for you and return it to you by email. We can only do this once you have officially enrolled (i.e. verified your details) and completed the required registration steps. Please note that we are not able to access your enrolment certificate for you – you will need to download and print/email it so that we can stamp and sign it.

Your University Card (or ‘Bod’ card) gives you:

• The ability to make cashless purchases of food and drink in the dining hall, café, Cellar Bar, and printing in the library
• Access to College library, laundry and the side door of the Academic Wing
• Access to University buildings and libraries

If you have any problems with your University (“Bod”) Card please contact the Academic Office.

Course Fees

A fees invoice will be sent by the College Academic Fees Office via email in early September. All students are required to pay or arrange for their funding provider to pay the annual course fees in full before the start of each academic year.

Students may arrange for their studies to be funded or part-funded by grants, sponsorship, awards, loans or other funding, but they are still individually liable for their fees and living expenses and for ensuring that all of the costs of their studies are paid in full and by the due date. Please note that failure to pay course fees will result in the University suspending the student for non-payment of fees.

Fees may be paid using your own internet banking facilities or using Transfermate.

Payment of all fees should be made to ‘Wolfson College, Oxford’. Please be aware that bank transactions can take up to two weeks to clear the banking system, so you must make your payment early enough to allow sufficient time for your payment to reach the College bank account and to be identified in time to meet the payment deadline. Please quote your College student number on your fees payment.

If a student starts in Hilary or Trinity term, then the first year’s fees will be due before the start of term that enrolment commences. In subsequent years fees will be due before the start of the normal academic year.

For queries about how to pay your fees, contact the College Academic Fees Office at: academic.fees@wolfson.ox.ac.uk

Course fees are charged each academic year until fee liability has ended and are collected by the College on behalf of the University.

You can find more information on fees for each individual course on the University’s Fees and Funding pages, along with information on fee liability.

If, after having read these pages, you are unsure about your fees or fee status please contact the University Fees Clerk at student.fees@admin.ox.ac.uk.

College ‘Battels’ Account

College members have an account with the College known as ‘Battels’ where all personal costs incurred at Wolfson are added to a running total. Each month, Battels bills including accommodation and other items are emailed to each member, and must be paid by the due date specified on the Battels statement. Find out more about Battels.

Please note that from the 1^st of October 2025 bank charges incurred when using international debit and credit cards on the Gateway portal for Battels or top-up payments will be charged to your Battels account.

A guide to topping up your Battels account is available here.

Lunch and dinner are served in Hall every day from Monday to Friday, and brunch (rightly famous) is served on Saturday mornings. More elaborate ‘Formal Halls’ and ‘Guest Nights’ take place throughout termtime, where Wolfsonians and their guests enjoy served, multi-course meals, sometimes with wine pairings from the College cellars. More information is available here.

A guide to Catering at Wolfson for new students will be available here in September.

Every student is assigned a college adviser who will be an additional point of contact in College for any academic-related issues and/or welfare concerns you may have. The College aims to match students with college advisers from the same division but not the same department. Occasionally matches will be made outside your division where advisers have expressed an interest in advising students from other areas.

College advisers are not there to answer questions specifically related to your course or to provide feedback on your work (your department will provide this support) but rather as a generic source of guidance and support.

Whilst we will try to keep you with the same advisor throughout your studies this isn’t always possible. More information about the College adviser scheme can be found here.

Wolfson has many different sports clubs and societies and there are fitness classes throughout the week for members to participate in. Find out more about our sports facilities here.

The College has recently started its construction of the Garden Building – a significant step in our long-term goal to provide more on-site accommodation for our students and support the evolving needs of our College community.

Over the next two years we will construct a three-storey building that is both aesthetically consistent with the existing College and built to the highest Passivhaus decarbonised standards. This will create space for 50 additional students to live in College, strengthening our community and ensuring that more students can experience everything Wolfson has to offer.

What to expect

On arrival you will notice a cordoning off of the construction zone for everyone’s safety, and the building works already underway. Disruption will be minimised as much as possible, but some noise is inevitable particularly during the early phase of groundwork. Noisy work will only take place during normal working hours.

To help minimise impact additional college spaces have been made available for quieter working, and noise-cancelling headphones/earplugs are available from the Lodge on request.

Further information

You can find more information about the Garden Building Project on posters in the Upper Common Room (on arrival) and online on the College website (here). This includes a live-feed of the construction taking place!

Regular updates will be shared via social media, with larger updates by email as the building work progresses.

Wolfson is working on reducing its environmental impact by promoting positive ways in which students and staff can participate. Find out more about our award-winning decarbonisation project and getting involved with the Green Team.

The Green Team has put together a document outlining the environmental responsibilities of College members.