Page 8 - Jesus College Strategic Plan 2017-21

Student numbers
and support
Postgraduates
The University’s success in topping the world rankings is due in no small part to the success of its research. Postgraduates contribute a great deal to this, hence the University’s ambition
to increase their numbers, both taught (PGT) and research (PGR) students, as part of its academic strategy.This strategy also recognises the increasing importance further degrees play in students’ careers. Jesus College shares this view and wants to contribute to this. Currently postgraduates make up a higher proportion of the total student population in Oxford than they do at Jesus College and so there is scope for us to act. Both are reasons for the College to take more postgraduates but in order to do so, we must provide the resources needed to support more students.Whilst the academic focus for postgraduates is their faculty or department, which can supply specialist support and advice, the College has an important role to play in facilitating the development of its postgraduate students.
We will:
Increase postgraduate numbers over a three- year period so that the proportion within
the student community is closer to that of
the University.We anticipate that over time this will lead to approximately sixty additional students;
Increase both PGT and PGR student numbers, recognising that some students use the
PGT as a route to doctoral research in or beyond Oxford, while others leave Oxford to contribute to society in Britain and globally; and
Increase the number of part-time places offered for postgraduate courses to around ten places from our current position of four, to provide exibility in the mode of study.
The College needs to be mindful that this
will necessitate a corresponding expansion
of facilities. It is essential that we address this need and improve the overall package for our postgraduate students. In the next section we discuss our exciting plans for developing the College’s central site to accommodate the
physical aspects of expanding student numbers. Other changes will be necessary to meet postgraduate requirements, remembering, for example, that part-time students have their own set of needs and may take up as much resourcing as their full-time counterparts.
The College will:
Consider the size and shape of its overall Fellowship, for example by increasing the number of Research Fellows to help support the postgraduates;
Facilitate more opportunities for postgraduates to engage academically in the College.This will help them develop their skills in public speaking, encourage them to make their studies accessible to non-specialist audiences, develop their appreciation for interdisciplinary collaboration; and
Encourage postgraduates to make use of
the teaching assistant scheme for tutors and participate in access work with schools so that they gain teaching and other valuable experience alongside their specialist studies.
Undergraduates
The intensity of undergraduate teaching and the steady state in undergraduate numbers within the University means that the academic case for increasing undergraduate numbers in general is limited. However, we need to recognise the need to develop certain subjects.The appointment of Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt helps to facilitate the introduction of Computer Science. Accordingly, the College will:
Appoint a Tutorial Fellow, Hugh Price Fellow and Junior Research Fellow in Computer Science; and
Initially admit three full-time equivalent undergraduates per year in Computer Science and joint schools (Mathematics).We have
the ambition to increase this to six full-time equivalent students eventually, with two Tutorial Fellows in Computer Science.
Our undergraduates are academically successful, as evidenced by the continued rise in rst class degrees from 26% to 34%. Over the last ve years, the proportion of our students achieving at least a 2.1 stands at 94%. As a minimum, we aim to maintain this level of attainment.
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The University’s success in topping the world rankings is due in no small part to the success of its research. Postgraduates contribute a great deal to this, hence the University’s ambition to increase their numbers
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