Everyone has heard of Oxford University, but as Edgar Shein said, "organizations don't create a culture in a day; it takes time to form itself." Oxford didn't start as a famous prestigious school. It had to create that name for itself. So, how much do people really know about it? Smart people go there? It's famous? That's about all I knew until finding out we were getting the chance to tour the campus. Before going, I read "A Week in the Life of an Oxford Student" written by a student of Oxford named Viola. This gave me a little peak into what it's actually like to attend Oxford. Viola's post gave me a better reference point as a college student and a more "real" version of what her life is like beyond class and studying. I had this notion that because she went to this prestigious institution, she was always studying, never had time for a social life, and was generally boring. Basically the equivalent of what I think a medical student is like. Viola revealed that she does more relaxing and socializing than most college students I know, and she sounds like a lot of fun to be around. My initial question about Oxford was whether or not the students are anything like us James Madison students. From Viola's post and the way our tour guide, William, talked about them, we are incredibly similar. Some Oxford graduates are more like us than they think...like when Bill Clinton did NOT inhale!
I also read the article, "8 Fascinating Facts About Life as an Oxford Student." This article made more sense after we toured Oxford because of one detail in particular...the different colleges. Oxford has 38 colleges, but these colleges are not like what we have in most universities in America. The best way to describe them is comparing them to Harry Potter Houses. They live with students from their college, eat with them, study with them, and have separate parts of campus to each college. According to Stephanie Allen's article from above, Christ Church College is the equivalent to the Slytherin House…yikes! However that was the first college we toured, and it was immaculate. The banquet hall was the one that was used as a model for the famous grand hall in Hogwarts.
My favorite part of this college was the stairs leading up to the dining hall as a scene in Harry Potter was filmed there. Our tour guide, William, mentioned it should look familiar, and I geeked immediately!
As far as history goes, Oxford is the oldest existing university in the English speaking world with origins tracing back to 1096, and we actually got to tour one of the universities first houses, Merton College. Now, I have a question for you. Would you study at a university if you didn't get to receive a degree after your time there? Well, that's what some women did for a while because Oxford didn't grant women degrees until 1920, and women were accepted into the school in 1878. That's too long for something as ridiculous as that. All that hard work and not being able to put it on your resume!
In reference to Shein's statement about organizational culture taking time to form, I think Oxford grew their prestigious standing with its preservation of history and alumni. They still use Latin to label different buildings, and students are required to know the language. They dress in formal dress robes, and the students actually voted to keep them because it means too much in Oxford. Most importantly, they honor those who graduated from their school. Carved faces/characters, paintings, plaques, and imbedding into stain glass is Oxford's way of showing off their past graduates and/or professors. Albert Einstein, CS Lewis and Tolkien each have a chosen place in the grand dining hall, while Lewis Carroll was remembered with himself and some of his characters from Alice in Wonderland displayed in the window.
Both the Oxford website and our tour guide, William, gave us a run down of a typical week for students. “During the first year, you will be expected to attend around five lectures each week, participate in regular meetings with tutors to discuss work, conduct independent research and write at least one essay a week.” Once they’ve completed their first year, students have much more control over their courses. Third year students must have a thesis that allows them to do independent research. Oxford has tutorials which are 2-4 students and a tutor teaching that course to them, but they also have classes with no more than 12 students, but some popular courses may have up to 30 students. Their classes are much more engaging with that one-on-one feel as it’s individual-based learning.
An interesting fact about Oxford is that students wear traditional academic gowns that remind me of what most graduation gowns look like. They also resemble the robes worn in Harry Potter. The students wear these gowns for formal events and exams. In terms of organizational communication, their artifacts have a distinguishing effect on this particular culture. While on our tour, we passed some students covered in random stuff that looked like a combination of food and confetti. This is called “trashing,” which happens when a student has finished their exams, and fellow students celebrate by throwing stuff on them.
Here's a trashing celebration!
10/10 experience at Oxford! Would recommend to everyone!
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