TELEPHONES
WISC - There will be one (1) house phone line to be shared with 4-5 people at WISC housing. However, there are also many public phones and internet cafes available around Oxford. They public phones will either be just coin or may accept both coin and phone card, or just a phone card which you can purchase once you get to Oxford. There will be free incoming calls at your housing.
New College - Telephones in each room are accessed by a phone card only, which is available at the porter’s lodge.
Phone calls to you at WISC or your house in Oxford:
No phone messages will be taken for you should someone call for you at the WISC offices. You will not know your house phone number until you actually check-in at the WISC offices on Monday, June 30th. The WISC offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays. There is also no USD office phone. We have arranged it so that you will be able to leave a message only at 011-44-(0)1865-281-297, after hours, if necessary. Both the Director and Administrative Assistant, Ms Kathryn Bevis will be using their cell phones. Their numbers will be provided to you at Orientation. If there is an emergency, then calls should be directed to one of them (regular class hours are 9am - 12:30pm (remember England is 8 hours ahead of Calif)), but only in an emergency. Otherwise, in an emergency, calls can also be made to the USD-San Diego office, 1-619-260-4597 during regular business hours, 8am - 4:15pm Mon - Fri, 1-619-260-4597 and USD-San Diego will do their best to contact you the student or the Director.
The houses are what the British students call “digs” and are above average by Oxford student standards.
Telephone deposits are not required. Local calls (and all utilities) are included in the rent and long-distance calls are made by a credit card or phone card (which is cheaper). Students would be responsible for any damage.
For students and faculty enrolled/teaching in our program, we have made a special deal with a wireless phone company that students and faculty enrolled in the USD summer abroad program, will receive a heavy discount and extras if they secure a telephone through this company. You will be sent further information.
Public telephones are readily available in Oxford, and accept coins, telephone access numbers, and local phone cards which can be purchased at most news agents. If you plan on traveling with your cell-phone, please check with your service provider about the most efficient and cost-effective way to make and receive calls from England. You must be very careful about expensive surcharges! Most of the major cell companies have offices in the Oxford High Street and can provide local ‘top-up’ cards. Calls may be made from the USD office in case of emergency only, as it is difficult to account for the costs of the calls. Here is an important tip for telephone access to Oxford: when calling from the US, dial 011-44-1865-plus the six digit number; when calling from other countries, dial the international access code, then 44-1865-plus the six digit number; when calling from inside the UK (but outside of Oxford code area), dial 01865- plus the six digit number; when calling from within the Oxford code area, dial only the six digit number. To call the US from the UK, dial 001 plus the three-digit US area code followed by the seven-digit number. Students in WISC accommodation will be able to purchase a phone card to make calls directly from their house telephone. Bear in mind that England is 8 hours ahead of California in time zones, and that Europe is one hour ahead of England.
Below are various prepaid cell phone options for your European travels:
As with any phone rentals purchased in your home state/country for use in Europe, you should do your homework before you purchase a plan. Some plans can cost you a bundle. When it may just be cheaper to purchase one at your site.
You will also be provided with international cell phone information when you enroll with USD from a company that is giving USD study abroad enrolled students/faculty a very low discounted price. Feel free to check them out when you receive their information.