Oxford University

[annwfyn]

I got an e mail this morning from my supervisor. She asked how I was getting on with my thesis and suggested we meet up to discuss it next time I'm in Oxford.

I e mailed her back and told her the deadline for handing it in had passed, so I had handed it in, as instructed to do so by my college and by the department.

It was a very strange e mail to write.

Does nobody talk to each other at Oxford?

Comments

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

She sounds like she needs a good smack around the head, she should have been on top of the deadlines.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

She was the one who originally told me that she thought that my thesis was due on March 17th. It was why it was such a shock when the deadlines changed radically.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

What universities really need is a good feedback mechanism on supervisors, so future students can see which ones were helpful and which ones lead you down the garden path. Mine was crap, she never actually met with me and took 5 days to respond to a draft.

[chrisvenus]

Although its easy to point the finger at this tutor it might be that she had been given the wrong information and that she did think it was due at the end of this week. The main problem seems to be that exam schools or whoever is in charge of such things didn't tell everybody the same date for the hand in. I don't really know too much about how it all works though in terms of who should be in charge of what. I guess the department and tutor should be much in line with each other. I don't think the college usually has much to do with graduate degree type stuff.

It is quite funny though. :)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I _think_ what happened was.

1) My supervisor recommended I apply for an extension re: handing my thesis. She, however, had to send me off to my college, coz such things still happen through the college.

2) My college wrote to the examination board, requesting an extension.

3) The examination board wrote back to my college, but no one else, granting a weird extension which fell on a random date which was the same as no one else.

4) My college lost the letter, and just told me an extension had been granted and my essay was due in Hilary Term of 2006.

5) My tutor asked me, and I told her my essay was due in Hilary Term of 2006. She assumed that meant 'end of week 9' for some reason (I know not what).

6) I began to ask for an exact date. The college checked with the exam schools, who basically said 'all masters dissertations are due week 6 of Trinity Term', because normally they are.

7) We were all confused.

8) My college found the original letter and told me my dissertation was due in asap in Hilary Term.

Apparently, no one has talked to my supervisor. Possibly including me, although I thought I mailed her in week 6.

Hence the confusion.

[chrisvenus]

ah, ok. So you were just being weird and awkward basically? :)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Not deliberately! The head of the exam board made me weird and awkward for reasons which have never entirely been explained.

I suspect he was just having some kind of weird practical joke moment.

[chrisvenus]

The head of the exam board made me weird and awkward for reasons which have never entirely been explained.

That sounds like it should be a tag line somewhere. Maybe just stopping at awkward if you want a briefer soundbite. :)