Journal of Orthodontics, Vol. 29, No. 2, 151,
June 2002
© 2002 British Orthodontic Society
Universities and Students. A Guide to Rights, Responsibilities and Practical Remedies.
G. R. Evans and J. Gill Kogan Page, 2001 192 pp., Paperback, £18.99 ISBN 0 7494 3465 1
J. Sweet
This is an unusual book that fills a gap in the literature on the relationship between student and university. The logistics of place selection, admission, fees, and loans is covered first, followed by welfare and safety issues, including disablement. Quite some space is given to conduct issues including plagiarism, and the preparation for and taking of examinations. However, right from the start, the book takes these topics as a list of problem areas from a lawyers-eye view, rather than any typical student-eye position, which the authors claim it does. Each chapter ends with a student action checklist. However, it seems a sad day indeed if ‘on becoming a student’ should entail rooting around in the initial literature to find ‘disclaimers’ and ask what they mean; to have to ask for equal opportunities policies and equal access policies and to ask if the university is an ‘old’ or ‘new’ (post-1992) one; whether you will become a ‘member’, as well as a student, and whether there is a visitor. All is preparation for a future legal battle. On ‘course and examination requirements’ the student action checklist starts to look more like an incitement to complain: ‘it is reasonable to complain if the university has failed to fulfil any promise made to students—Make the complaint in moderate language and try to get a group of the students affected to sign it—Ask the student union to endorse the complaint.’
When it comes to the ‘complaints’ chapter a long list of items on ‘What to complain about’ are suggested. Apart from the obvious ‘lectures are being cancelled’, ‘I have been raped’, ‘I have suffered disadvantages because I am a girl/boy/from an ethnic minority/disabled, to ‘I do not like my director of studies’ and ‘My supervisor stole my ideas’! I am less certain about ‘The cleaners keep upsetting my experiments by dusting round them’ and, especially, ‘The porters took away our aerosols by force when we sprayed rude words on the walls in the porters’ lodge. They assaulted us.’ The book is thus a mixture of serious case-quoted explanations of the various unpleasant tangles that students and universities have found themselves in.
The following of internal and external procedures that can help remedy situations when horns are locked between student and institution are particularly well covered. The checklists appear as an impossibly defensive set of advice for the regular student, but helpful reference for those who can sense trouble or who are caught up in it. At worst the book has a casual and mischievous air. Practically all the problems occurring are to do with poor communication, but this word is indexed only once. I would like to see a book that concentrates on good university practice. Students should certainly complain, and complain loudly and early if necessary, but I would hate to see a book such as this incite students to set time-consuming formal complaints procedures into motion that were not entirely necessary.
