Oxford’s Collections System – Chaos, Confusion, and Chasing Tutors
I sat my collections in 0th week at Oxford, and now, in week 6, I still don’t know how I did. On this note, I plan to outline what collections are, my experience of them, and the experience of others to highlight how people view them.
I can’t lie; my experience with collections has never been
great. I think I have only ever had one back within two weeks of sitting them.
Now, I understand my tutors are incredibly busy, but the stress of the papers
caused by looming at the start of every term can’t be avoided. For those of you
who aren’t familiar with the Oxford system, collections are essentially mock
examinations. They intend to help you take your content from term and apply it
to the exam setting. In History, this means sitting a paper lasting around three
hours, in which you will answer three questions. And at Oxford, because our
courses tend to be end-weighted (examined at the end), these are actually a
good thing. They help us practice our technique, however, when you are left
waiting for the feedback, it can be mildly frustrating. By reflecting on my own
experience and that of my friends, I argue that while collections are useful
for practice, they remain a flawed system.
Collections: The Stress is Real
I can’t remember the last time I haven’t reached the end of
term and not started worrying about collections. In my class on Tuesday, my
classmates and I were presenting on our assigned readings and objects from our
reading week. As part of the class, our tutor had kindly printed off some past
papers. We are very much on our way to thinking about revising now, looking
ahead and planning our holiday revision for the all important one-time we get
to practice (and get feedback) our exam technique.
My very first collection at Oxford was disastrous. I had
prepared, but being in the room and seeing a paper I had seen before starting
back at me did make me quite nervous. As a result, and we can all guess where
this is going, the result was not great. I have to say, although my tutor was
incredibly supportive and I got this collection back relatively quickly, I did
find that for the remainder of first year I was invariably worried about
collections. The feedback I received and acted upon, was to go and see the
writing fellow. This really helped improve my academic writing – and you my
poor reader can be the judge of my writing here. The point is, feedback is invaluable.
The Oxford system wants us to improve rapidly – hence the essays every week –
but the necessity for feedback in order to achieve this remains. Without it
there is relatively little point to sit exams with no feedback - especially when this is their purpose.
My grievance with collections is the idea that we will
somehow improve without getting them back promptly. It doesn’t matter if the
exam is on something you aren’t discussing that term, it is the quality of the writing
that matters. Now, if the paper doesn’t get back to me by the end of this term,
it isn’t an issue as my exam is next year. The feedback would be nice to see
how I can refine my technique for the following collection I sit this year,
though. Having these varied gaps between sitting them and receiving them back
can cause issues. The feedback is necessary, it helps you for the term ahead,
not just for that specific paper. This is why it can be frustrating to sit them
because you may feel like you won’t get it back, sort of defeating the point of
it.
There are two ways to take collections – you either stress about it and try your best, or, you don’t really care and you just get on with it. Both provide ample feedback, but realistically we should take them seriously. However, frankly, when we are faced with the possibility of not having them back one may be tempted to not put as much effort in. Tutors are always very supportive of our work, and of course I personally try my best, I revise, look at papers, plan and strive to finish the answers in the exam. Yet, it is not enough to simply do these without having the feedback. Therefore, the way in which collections currently happen is not helpful enough for the student body.
What do other students think?
I’d like to thank my fellow Hildabeasts for their opinions
on collections. Without their insight, you would just have to take my word for
it. So, thank you to everyone who filled it in.
In terms of data collection, I gathered a small sample out
of a year group of around 100 people. We
received around 15 responses from a range of subject backgrounds and all giving
varied insights.
The data can be broken down as follows.
Figure 1: Graph showing the courses of respondents.
In relation to figure 1, we can see 15 responses split by 11
subject categories. A good selection of about half of the courses offered at St
Hilda’s to undergraduates is represented. The subjects missing responses are:
Computer Science, Geography, Mathematics (Pure), German (and German and Joint
Schools), English, Music, Chemistry, Biomedical Science, Psychology, PPL, E&M,
History and Politics, Law and Engineering.
The irregularity in data collection was likely down to the
form being pushed by a history student to other historians, as well as a small
select group. The form was then sent to a wider audience and received a few
further responses.
The most common responses came from history students, 4 responses
if we include History (with Russian language). Followed by Classics and PPE
which both received 2 respondents each. Whilst Ancient and Modern History,
Classical Archaeology and Ancient History, French and Italian, Biological
Sciences, Maths and Philosophy, Medicine and Physics all received 1 response.
Some subjects had a higher response rate relative to their
total student numbers. For instance, 50% of Classical Archaeology and Ancient
History students responded, while History saw a 50% return rate (4 out of 8
students). With 2 out of 7 Classics students responding (28%), the return rate
was lower than History (50%) but still contributed useful insights. This may
reflect the fact that the survey initially reached more historians before being
shared more widely.
While this does provide useful insights, only ~15% of the
year group is represented. Compared to larger surveys which aim for a 30%
response rate this may not be broadly representative. Instead, the data gives a
snapshot of student opinions rather than a fully representative picture.
All respondents sat collections at the start of Hilary Term
2025. Last term, however, the only participants who would have sat collections upon return would
have been those who did not sit Prelims at the end of Trinity Term 2024. This
was likely to include Classics students and Law students.
Figure
2: A diagram of the number of
papers sat between all respondents
6 students sat 2 papers at the start of term. Followed by 5
who sat 1 and only 4 sat 3 papers. It should be noted that of those who sat 3
this included all Classics students – who subsequently have Moderations (Mods)
this term – Maths and Philosophy, and Physics. Of the students who sat only 1
paper, all of them happened to be humanities students. They studied a branch of
history – History, Ancient and Modern History, or Classical Archaeology and Ancient
History.
Now, the section most interesting is the return rate for
collections. This varies significantly by subject.
Figure 3: Graph depicting the response rate of collections
by tutors to respondents.
Most students received their collections by Week 2 or 3,
though there were clear differences by subject. Notably, Classicists received
theirs earlier, likely due to their upcoming Mods exams. Ancient & Modern
Historians also received theirs in Week 2. In contrast, STEM students often
received one paper back early and another much later, suggesting differences in
how quickly papers are marked across disciplines.
In terms of Historians, the majority of historians have had
their collection back. Only one student is still waiting for their collection. Three
received theirs in week 1, and another in week 2. The response rate clearly
depends on the tutor in question. All historians who received their papers in
week 1 had a tutor based in college, compared to those awaiting or in later
weeks. A similar trend is observed in relation to the Classical Archaeologist and
Ancient Historian.
It appears that, based on the data, most students received their
collections in earlier weeks of term. This is down to a multitude of factors,
given one degree subject has exams this term and the efficiency of tutors in
college compared to outside of college.
When collections are sat in 0th week, the academic
office gathers them and then sends them to the relevant markers. These are
usually sent via internal postage within the university. It does appear to be a
relatively straightforward process in terms of sending them out. With the college lodge acting as the port of call for this. The process of
their return to college is often less so, as demonstrated by the differences in
return to college.
The St Hilda’s Handbook states that:
“Tutors aim to mark and return written collections as
promptly as possible, normally by Wednesday of Week 4; where written
collections are being marked by tutors from outside College, they endeavour to
ensure that they are marked and returned promptly.” (‘Written Collections’, pg.
15)
The return of collections, therefore, are important to the college to understand student progression. It provides a clear grade the student is working at such as a 2.2, 2.1 or 1st. However, in cases where ‘academic deficiency’ is seen, the college will intervene to help the student improve in their studies. This ‘deficiency’ is termed, by College By-law XX Part D 1. ii., to be “in no case of below Third-Class standard.”[1] Without having these collections to confirm the academic attainment of students, the college may struggle to assess the situation in which a student is struggling.
The necessity of collections is not just seen on a college
level but also from the student support of the survey. Students were asked to
rank their support for collections on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 being unsupportive
and 5 being very supportive. The majority of respondents, 53.3%, ranked their
support as a 4. While 26.7% ranked it as a 3, neither supportive or unsupportive.
Only 3 students (20%) placed their support at a 5. Interestingly those who
scored it a 5 had received their collections back between week 1 to 5. So,
regardless of when collections are returned the popular opinion seems to be
that they do count for something, and students do support them.
Figure 4: A graph showing student support for collections
ranging from 1 - 5, 1 being least and 5 being most.
The current format for collections does receive praise from
students, with 66.7% preferring to have them at the start of term as opposed to
an option for the end of term. Only 20% of students were indifferent. This model
appears to work for some subjects more so than for others. With the likes of
humanities citing the need to have more revision time in order to sit them as
opposed to STEM students.
Figure 5: Pie-chart showing the preference of students as
to when they sit their collections.
Now, we’ve established the usefulness of collections not
only through the data but also through the lens of the college. But, what did
student’s themselves say?
A lot of students cited “stress” as a main factor with
collections. The reasons ranged from stress over the vacation whilst revising,
to making the start of term particularly hectic. One student elaborated:
“Start of term collections can be quite stressful when
you are already trying to settle in and plan ahead for the upcoming term
perhaps having an extended essay/thought piece for modules studied in the
previous term set over vacations [could be used instead].”
Other students cited the exam setting as causing issues.
They claimed it was “crowded”. Students at St Hilda’s sit collections over a
few days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Most courses set their times for Thursday or Friday so a larger number of students will be found in the college dining hall sitting their collections on these days. Even students with extra time,
who sit them in another room, are surrounded by oneanother. In the final Oxford exams, students
are typically placed in large exam halls to ensure comfortable working
conditions. Collections, however, often place students shoulder-to-shoulder in
dining halls, creating a far more stressful and distracting atmosphere.
Students also cited the lack of visible clocks as another
issue. They wanted to be able to see the clocks to time themselves during the
exams. Due to the number of students sitting exams, and the fact that all
papers vary in length, the college and those overseeing the collections often
have a lot of timings to remember and announce. This could potentially have a
negative impact on the student experience of collections.
Yet, given the ways to improve outlined by students, the
overall view was indeed positive. One referred to them “like mocks but better
with no pressure.” Whilst another viewed them as a good way to “get you back
into the swing of Oxford working life, in a very helpful way.” This is a good
indicator that collections work to prepare students for the term’s workload,
but as we have seen the lack of communication with feedback can limit their
overall usefulness to students in relation to their academic development.
Albeit slight, it does have an impact. So, to maximise their usefulness to
students, a more consistent approach in returning them is needed.
“My tutors have always returned my collections within
the first two or three weeks of term, which I know is not the case for
everyone; the tutors and/or college must make sure that this is consistent,
since a collection cannot help you to improve until you have seen the feedback
on it.”
There is a need for collections at Oxford. They help students see how they are doing, tell tutors and the college how their students are progressing, and indicate who may need further support. The current system of collections at the start of term, whilst stressful, does help refocus students returning from vacation. Yet, more needs to be done to standardise the return rate of them to students. Feedback is only useful when it arrives on time. Without consistency, it's unfair to expect students to improve rapidly. Collections are good for practice—but in their current form, they’re flawed. Until we actually get them back in time to learn, they’ll remain yet another of Oxford’s headache-inducing hurdles.
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in the study
and wish my friends starting their Mods the best of luck! I’d also like to
thank my personal tutor who is working tirelessly to try and get my collection
back to college.
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