Wolfson Freshers' Induction Guide 2023

The following items are mandatory components of your student induction. Please ensure you do 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. For non-UK/ROI students: Submit your passport photo page and BRP, online visa, or EU (pre-)settled code via the portal link if required. Front and back scans are required of BRP cards.
3. Read all of the information on this page, including the handouts
4. Attend the President’s Welcome and College Induction on Wednesday 04 October (09.30 - 11.30)
5. Attend the online Health & Well-being Induction on Wednesday 04 October (15.00 - 15.30).
6. Complete the online consent training Consent for Students: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/welfare/supportservice/consent-for-students 
7. Attend Matriculation on Saturday 14 October
8. Book onto and attend a New Student Welcome Dinner. If your course is within the MPLS/Medical Sciences division, your welcome dinner is on 10 October. If your course is within the Humanities/Social Sciences, your dinner date is either on 18 or 24 October. More information has been emailed separately. Please note that you must have completed enrolment in order to book on to these dinners.

Enrolment and University Card

Once you have completed items 1 and 2 of the above list, you may visit the Academic Office to complete your registration and receive your University card ('Bod card'). Please note that you should allow 1 working day between uploading your immigration documents and collecting your bod card to give our team sufficient time to receive and check the scans of your documents.

Please note: 

• Invitations to the online Health & Well-being induction will be emailed to you nearer to the event.
• Booking information for the New Student Welcome Dinners will be emailed to you separately.
• Information on the President's Welcome, and Matriculation, will be sent in due course.
• We will issue your university card as part of our registration procedures. Your card will not be created 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 created and sent to us.

The following items are optional components of your student induction:

1. Induction to the Library and Library Tour. The library team will write to all new students with booking information.
2. Participation in the Old Hands, New Faces peer mentoring scheme. A sign-up form will be circulated via email; please complete this if you would like to sign up to be assigned a current student mentor.
3. Attend the Oxford SU's Freshers' Fair - the Wolfson slot is 10-11 a.m. on Thursday 05 October. The fair will take place at the Examinations Schools and you must bring your university card ('Bod card') to enter.
4. 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!

A full calendar of freshers' week events and updates can be found here: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/freshers-week-timetable-2023

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. We can also arrange phone or Teams meetings with members of the team where required. Please email any forms which require our attention (in an editable format, if they require our signature) to academic.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk. 

Who are we?

Admissions Officer: EB Hill. The 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. They are 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 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: academic.office@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.

Welfare Team: 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 about the team, including how to contact them can be found here.

The Lodge: 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.

Every student is assigned a college advisor 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 advisors from the same division but not the same department. Occasionally matches will be made outside your division where advisors have expressed an interest in advising students from other areas.

College advisors 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 advisor scheme can be found in the handout at the bottom of the page. 

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

Download it from Student Self Service and email it to academic.office@wolfson.ox.ac.uk who will stamp and sign it for you and return it to you by email. We will only do this once you have officially enrolled 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 card please contact the Academic Office.

Wolfson is working on reducing its environmental impact by promoting positive ways in which students and staff can participate. Take a look!

Zero Carbon: In July this year, we achieved zero carbon status on our large main estate following a mulltimillion-pound project to replace the old gas boilers with air source heat pumps and to replace all of the windows with advanced triple-glazed windows and insulation. We hope to achieve zero carbon on the remainder of our estate buildings by 2024.

Earth Emergency Cluster: The Earth Emergency Cluster (EEC) was established in October 2019 with an aim to create and integrate inter- and trans-disciplinary discussion on – and a range of activities about - the ecological crisis and climate change, which are increasingly apparent and urgent

The Green Team: The Wolfson Green Team works together with the Home Bursar to improve college sustainability. We discuss and take action on a range of issues. 

Wolfson has many different sports clubs and there are fitness classes throughout the week for members to participate in. Our sports facilities include:

• Sports Room/Gym - The Wolfson College Sports Room and Gym is open from 6.30am-11pm. It is fully equipped with running machines, cross trainers, a cycle machine, rowing machine, weights and lots more. For more information including rules for use, costs and how to join please see: Sport & Recreation | Wolfson College, Oxford.

• Sports Field 
• Squash Courts
• Multipurpose Court
• University Boathouse
• Punting
• Bicycles
• Fitness Classes and Club Sports
• Croquet Lawn

Full information on our sports facilities can be found here. 

Joining a club or society can be a great way to meet new people and get involved in the Wolfson community. Wolfson College boasts a wide range of clubs and societies - from arts to yoga and most things in between. Join one of our already established ones or if you fancy, start a new one all together! More information can be found here.