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The COUNCIL and the GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:
1. Introduction
This Report brings forward proposals for the reform of the current appointing arrangements for academic-related officers and analogous unestablished posts. Heads of institutions and other authorities and individual members of the University have been given the opportunity to comment on the matter (Reporter, 2001-02, p. 684; http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/offices/personnel/ar/consultation.html) and a clear consensus for reform emerged from the consultation.
2. The present arrangements and the need for reform
2.1. The current appointing arrangements for academic-related offices have traditionally been modelled on those for academic offices, mainly on those for University Lectureships as set out in Statute D, XVII. Essentially they entail a formally constituted Appointments Committee with specified categories of membership, periods of membership, and certain requirements as to attendance and voting. The consultation document drew attention to certain drawbacks inherent in the current arrangements:
| (i) | Academic-related vacancies more often than not need to be filled quickly for operational reasons and the size of Committees can lead to difficulty and delays in setting up meetings. |
| (ii) | The size of membership of Committees makes them costly in terms of staff time as well as lacking in flexibility in relation to particular offices or posts. |
| (iii) | The selection of candidates requires detailed and sometimes specialist working knowledge of the requirements of the office or post and the context in which it operates. |
2.2 The Council and the General Board have accordingly agreed to bring forward proposals that will have the effect of reducing the size of Appointments Committees, of introducing greater flexibility, and of ensuring appropriate local input into the appointment of academic-related staff.
2.3 Whilst the appointing arrangements for University offices are laid down in the regulations for particular offices, there is no codified set of rules for appointing to comparable unestablished posts. In view of the greater flexibility resulting from the proposed new arrangements and the importance of consistency in such matters, the Council and the General Board have proposed that appointments to unestablished posts analogous to certain academic-related offices be made under the same arrangements as those for University offices.
2.4 In the academic-related area there are:
| (i) | singular offices such as the University Laboratory Animal Adviser and Librarian in the Centre of South Asian Studies, in respect of which there are distinct and various appointing arrangements (total number 40); |
| (ii) | offices which may be regarded as having both academic and academic-related components, for example Curators, Design Engineers, Language Advisers, in respect of which the appointing body is invariably the relevant Faculty Appointments Committee (total number 51); |
| (iii) | classes of academic-related offices, for example Technical Officers (total number - 53), Computer Officers (total number - 167), Administrators (total number - 236), Librarians (total number - 81) (overall total 537). |
(All University offices are listed in the stipend schedules - Statutes and Ordinances, p. 650.)
2.5 As the vast majority of academic-related offices (85%) are included within the categories of office specified in (iii), the Council and the General Board have agreed to propose changes to the appointing arrangements for this group that, if approved by the Regent House, can be implemented in the near future. Because of the number and diversity of the arrangements under (i) and (ii) and the comparatively fewer number of offices, the Council and the Board have agreed to give further consideration to the matter of the appointing arrangements for the offices concerned and, subject to consultation with the authorities concerned, to report further to the Regent House in due course.
3. Proposals for change
3.1 It is proposed that the existing regulations relating to the appointing arrangements for each of the categories of office listed under (iii) be abolished and replaced by a regulation along the following lines:
'Appointments and reappointments to the office of [......] shall be made in accordance with arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.'
3.2 The effect of this change on the current appointing arrangements for the categories of office specified under (iii) in paragraph 2.4 above is set out in more detail below. However, it must be emphasized here that limited extension or non-confirmation of an appointment would continue to be treated in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 3.4 of Annex 1 (Probationary arrangements for staff in academically related grades) of the Joint Report of the Council and the General Board on the changes required in the University's current employment practices as a result of the European Community Directive on Fixed Term Working (Reporter, 2001-02, p. 1258). This states that (a) where the Head of institution is not able to confirm that probation has been completed satisfactorily, the appointing body, on a recommendation from the Head of institution, will agree what action is appropriate at the end of the probationary period and (b) that the range of actions available to the appointing body will be as follows:
| (i) | to extend the probation where more time is needed to assess performance, or |
| (ii) | to authorize the termination of the appointment where performance is unsatisfactory. |
The appointing body responsible for considering a recommendation for either (i) or (ii) from a Head of institution will be the proposed bodies mentioned in paragraphs 3.4 - 3.8 below.
3.3 Annex 1 sets out in comparative format the stipends of all the offices and grades of office that are the subject of the proposals of this Report.
3.4 University offices in the Unified Administrative Service (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 661)
The arrangements for appointing staff in the Unified Administrative Service were recently reformed. While appointment in grades of Assistant Registrary/Treasurer or above are made by the Standing Appointments Committee, which is a Committee of the Council (Regulation 6, Statutes and Ordinances, p. 661), appointment to lower grades are made by the Registrary under procedures to be agreed from time to time by the Council (Regulation 7). The Council's view is that the procedures followed have resulted in a significant improvement over previous practice but they believe that, in the light of experience and the opportunity afforded by this more general reform, they can be improved further. The Council propose therefore that appointments to offices and posts at the level of Assistant Registrary/Treasurer should henceforth come within the scope of Regulation 7 rather than Regulation 6.
3.5 Secretaries and Superintendents of Faculties, Departments, and other institutions under the supervision of the General Board (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 705)
There are five grades of office. These, and the number in each grade, are as follows:
| Grade A | 3 |
| Grade B | 10 |
| Grade C* | 8 |
| Grade C | 15 |
| Grade D | 0 |
Table 1 opposite sets out the proposed new arrangements alongside the current arrangements.
3.6 Senior Technical and Technical Officers (Statutes and Ordinances, pp. 706 and 707)
The numbers in the two grades are as follows:
Senior Technical Officers 36
Technical Officers 17
Offices are concentrated mainly in the School of Physical Sciences, of whom 27 Senior Technical Officers and 14 Technical Officers are in the Department of Physics.
Table 2 (p. 200) sets out the proposed new arrangements alongside the current arrangements.
3.7 Computer Officers (Statutes and Ordinances, pp. 701 and 661 (UAS))
The grades of Computer Officers, number in each grade and broad distribution, are set out below.
For historical reasons, the appointing arrangements for Computer Officers are more complex than for any other office or class of office. There are currently seven different appointing bodies depending on the grade of the office and on whether the office is in a Council or a General Board institution, the Unified Administrative Service, or the University Computing Service. Table 3 (pp. 201-02) sets out the proposed new arrangements alongside the current arrangements.
3.8 Librarians in the University Library and dependent libraries, and of the Faculties, Departments, and other institutions (Statutes and Ordinances, pp. 624 and 704)
3.8.1 Librarians in the University Library and dependent libraries (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 624)
The relevant offices and current number in each are as follows:
| Deputy University Librarian | 2 |
| Senior Under-Librarian | 8 |
| Under Librarian | 33 |
| Assistant Under-Librarian | 14 |
| Assistant Library Officer | 6 |
| Graduate Trainee | 0 |
Table 4 (p. 202) sets out the proposed new arrangements alongside the current arrangements.
| Computer Officers | CO IV | CO III | CO II | CO I | SCO | PCO | total | |
| General Board institutions (other than UCS) | - | 23 | 19 | 27 | 3 | - | 72 | |
| University Computing Service | - | 7 | 23 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 63 | |
| Council institutions (other than UAS) | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | 3 | |
| Unified Administrative Service | 3 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
The grades and the number in each grade are as follows:
Grade A 5
Grade B 11
Grade C 4
Table 5 (p. 203) sets out the proposed new arrangements alongside the current arrangements.
4. Other matters concerning the proposed new arrangements
4.1 The Council and the General Board expect the Chairmen of Appointments Committees to undertake training in their role before embarking on their duties. In due course, the Council and the General Board would expect all members of institutions who are likely to be members of Appointments Committees to undertake such training.
4.2 Number of votes required for a valid decision
At present Regulation 1(c)(ii) of the General Regulations for University officers (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 643) prescribes that appointments and reappointments to University offices must be made with the concurrence of the votes of the electing or appointing body, which must be given in person at a meeting of at least five members or a majority of the members present, whichever is the greater number. The Council and the General Board have agreed that the requirements should remain but that the minimum number of members that must be present and voting in favour should be three.
4.3 Appointment and replacement of members
The Council and the General Board in the interest of flexibility and the desirability of reducing administrative bureaucracy, take the view that this should be a matter for the Head of the Institution. Under the proposed new arrangements the Appointments Committee could be constituted anew for each particular appointment.
4.4 The Secretary and the provision of procedural and legal advice
The Head of the Institution should appoint a Secretary for each meeting. Continuity is important in such matters and the Council and the General Board would expect the Secretary, where possible, to be the relevant institutional administrator.
4.5 The relevant Personnel Consultant/Officer from the Personnel Division should attend meetings as required to provide advice on procedures and legal aspects relating to the appointment and employment of individuals.
4.6 With regard to each meeting, there must be a formal agenda of business together with appropriate documentation as there are under the current arrangements, for example copies of applications, references, lists of candidates, and a record of the shortlisting process and outcome. There must also be formal Minutes recording the outcome and comments relevant to the Committee's consideration.
Table 1: Secretaries and Superintendents of Faculties, etc.
| Current | Proposed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
All appointments are made, in accordance with Regulations 1 and 4 of the current regulations, by the Appointments Committee for Faculty and Departmental Secretaryships, which is constituted as follows:
|
The General Board, as the competent authority, under the proposed new regulation, would replace these arrangements for all grades by an appointing body constituted as follows:
Quorum: 4. Either the senior academic or academic-related officer must be from outside the institution. |
Table 2: Senior Technical and Technical Officers
| Current | Proposed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Appointments in both grades are made, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the current regulations in Ordinances, by the Appointments Committee for Senior Technical Officers, which is constituted as follows:
When an appointment or reappointment is to be made to an office whose holder will have responsibilities for the care of protected animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Committee shall include two additional members, appointed by the General Board, - the holder of the designation certificate for the University and one of the persons appointed as the named veterinary surgeons for the University. When an appointment or reappointment is to be made to an office whose holder will have responsibility for matters concerning safety in the University, the Head of Institution shall be as specified in the Schedule below. Two additional persons shall be appointed by the Health and Safety Executive Committee. |
The General Board as the competent authority, under the proposed new regulation, would replace these arrangements for all grades by an appointing body constituted as follows:
When an appointment or reappointment is to be made to an office whose holder will have responsibilities for the care of protected animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Committee shall include two additional members, appointed by the General Board, - the holder of the designation certificate for the University and one of the persons appointed as the named veterinary surgeons for the University. When an appointment or reappointment is to be made to an office whose holder will have responsibility for matters concerning safety in the University, the Head of Institution shall be as specified in the Schedule below. Two additional persons shall be appointed by the Health and Safety Executive Committee. |
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| Schedule | Schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| For an office established in: | For an office established in: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| An institution under the supervision of the General Board. | The Head of the Institution concerned. | An institution under the supervision of the General Board. | The Head of the Institution concerned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| An institution under the supervision of the Council. | The Head of the Institution concerned. | An institution under the supervision of the Council. | The Head of the Institution concerned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| An institution under the supervision of the Unified Administrative Service. | Either the Registrary, if the officer appointed is to have responsibilities in a Council institution, or the Secretary General if the officer appointed is to have responsibilities in a General Board institution. |
An institution under the supervision of the Unified Administrative Service. | Either the Registrary, if the officer appointed is to have responsibilities in a Council institution, or the Secretary General if the officer appointed is to have responsibilities in a General Board institution. |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Members in classes (c) and (d) are appointed in the Michaelmas Term of each calendar year of which the number is even, to serve for two calendar years. | Quorum: 4. Either the academic or the Senior Technical Officer must be from outside the institution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Table 3: Computer Officers
| Current | Proposed | ||||||||||||||
|
General Board institutions Faculties, Departments, etc (other than the University Computing Service) Appointment to offices in the grades of Principal Computer Officer, Senior Computer Officer, Computer Officer, Grade I and II are made by the Appointments Committee for the Faculty/Department concerned as the appointing body, supplemented by the Director of the UCS, ex officio, and two additional members appointed by the General Board who normally have some experience in computing. Appointments to offices in the grades of Computer Officer III and IV are made by an Appointments Committee constituted as follows: In the case of Computer Officers in Grade III or IV, by a committee consisting of the Director of the University Computing Service, ex officio, and the two additional persons appointed by the General Board for Committees dealing with higher grades (see above) together with the following:
Appointments and reappointments to these grades are made with the concurrence of the votes (which must be given in person at a meeting) of not fewer than three members of the Committee. The person serving in class (i) shall act as Chairman. The University Computing Service Appointments to offices in the grades of Principal Computer Officer, Senior Computer Officer, Computer Officer, Grade I and II are dealt with by a Committee constituted as follows:
Members are appointed in the Michaelmas Term to serve for four years from January following their appointment. Appointments to offices in the grades of Computer Officer III and IV are made by an Appointments Committee which is constituted as follows:
Appointments and reappointments to these grades are made with the concurrence of the votes (which must be given in person at a meeting) of not fewer than three members of the Committee. The person serving in class (i) shall act as Chairman. Council institutions Unified Administrative Service Appointments in all grades are made in accordance with the regulations for the Unified Administrative Service. Institutions other than the Unified Administrative Service Appointments in all grades are made by the Appointments Committee for the institution concerned, with the addition of a person appointed by the Registrary to act on each occasion. |
All institutions The Council and the General Board have agreed that under the proposed new regulation the current arrangements would be replaced by the following, which would be standard across all University institutions:
Quorum: 4. At least one of the members must be from outside the institution. In any pre-Committee selection arrangements, the Head of Institution should ensure that a senior Computer Officer (at COI level or above) is involved. If there is no such officer on the staff of the institution the Head of Institution should ask the Director of the UCS to provide a senior member of his staff. Computing officers who are members of the Appointments Committee must be at a grade at least equivalent to the office/post to which the appointment is being made. At present Computer Officers in the Unified Administrative Service are appointed under the same arrangements as other officers. The Council and the General Board believe that it would be difficult to defend the continuation of this practice if Computer Officers in all other University institutions are appointed by a Committee constituted as above. They therefore propose that the current arrangements be discontinued and that Regulations 6 and 7 of the regulations of the Unified Administrative Service (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 661) be amended accordingly. |
Table 4: Librarians in the University Library and Dependent Libraries
Current |
Proposed |
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|
All appointments to a University office other than the University Librarian or an office of Curator are made by an Appointments Committee constituted as follows:
when an appointment is to be made to an office whose holder the Library Syndicate intend to designate for other duties in one of the dependent libraries, not more than three additional persons, as follows:
Statute D, XVII, 5 (University Lecturers) applies to the Appointments Committee as if it were an Appointments Committee for a Faculty. |
Following consultation with the University Librarian, the General Board, as the competent authority, have agreed that under the proposed new regulations the above arrangements be abolished and replaced by the following:
Quorum: 4, one of whom must be one of the academic nominees. |
Table 5: Librarians of Faculties, etc.
Current | Proposed | ||||||||||||
|
All appointments are made by an Appointments Committee constituted as follows: (Schedules I-III are listed in Statutes and Ordinances, p. 704-5)
The General Board is empowered to invite the University Librarian (or his or her deputy) to attend meetings of such an Appointments Committee as adviser. Members are appointed in the Michaelmas Term of each calendar year of which the number is even to serve for the two calendar years ensuing. |
Following consultation with the University Librarian who is the General Board's Principal Adviser on matters relating to Libraries (Regulation 9(c), of the regulations for the staff of the University Library and dependent libraries (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 626)), the General Board, as the competent authority, have agreed that under the proposed new regulations the above arrangements be abolished and replaced by the following:
Quorum: 3, one of whom must be from outside the institution. |
5. The Council and the General Board recommend:
That approval be given to the proposals in this Report, and that the Ordinances be amended with immediate effect as follows:
(i) That the regulations for the Unified Administrative Service (Statutes and 0rdinances, p. 661) be amended as follows:
Regulation 6.
By amending the first sentence of the regulation so as to read:
Appointments and reappointments to the offices of Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director, Principal Assistant Registrary, Principal Assistant Treasurer, Senior Assistant Registrary, and Senior Assistant Treasurer shall be made by a Standing Appointments Committee which shall be a Committee of the Council.
Regulation 7.
By amending the first sentence of the regulation so as to read:
Appointments and reappointments to the offices of Assistant Registrary, Assistant Treasurer, Administrative Officer, Grades I, II, and III, Senior Advisory Officer, and Advisory Officer shall be made by the Registrary under procedures to be agreed from time to time with the Council.
Regulations 8-10.
By renumbering the regulations as 9-11 and inserting a new Regulation 8 so as to read:
8. Appointments and reappointments to the offices of Principal Computer Officer, Senior Computer Officer, Computer Officer, Grade I, within the Unified Administrative Service shall be made in accordance with the general regulations for the appointment of such officers. 1
(ii) That Regulation 1 of the regulations for Secretaries and Superintendents of Faculties, Departments, and other institutions under the Supervision of the General Board (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 705) be replaced by the following:
1. Appointments and reappointments to the offices listed in Schedules I and II of these regulations shall be made in accordance with arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
(iii) That Regulation 3 of the regulations for Senior Technical Officers (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 706) be replaced by the following:
3. Appointments and reappointments to the office of Senior Technical Officer shall be made in accordance with arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
(iv) That Regulation 2 of the regulations for Technical Officers (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 707) be replaced by the following:
2. Appointments and reappointments to the office of Technical Officer shall be made in accordance with arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
(v) That Regulations 3-7 of the regulations for Principal Computer Officers, Senior Computer Officers, and Computer Officers (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 701) be rescinded and replaced by the following new Regulation 3:
3. Appointments and reappointments to the offices of Principal Computer Officer, Senior Computer Officer, and Computer Officers in Grades I, II, III, and IV shall be made in accordance with arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
(vi) That Regulations 4-6 of the regulations for the staff of the University Library and dependent libraries (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 624) be replaced by the following:
4. Appointments and reappointments to a University office on the staff of the University Library, other than the office of Librarian or an office of Curator, shall be made in accordance with the arrangements agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
5. Appointments and reappointments to an office of Graduate Trainee shall be for such periods as shall be determined under the arrangements in Regulation 4, provided that the total tenure of the office shall not exceed three years.
6. The University Librarian, under the procedures approved under Regulation 4, shall from time to time review the position of each Under-Librarian, Assistant Under-Librarian, and Assistant Library Officer. If it appears to the University Librarian that the holder of any of these offices merits promotion in the light of his or her ability, experience, specialist qualifications, and responsibilities, and if there is no vacancy to which the officer may be appointed, he or she shall consult the Library Syndicate who shall have power to seek the approval of the General Board for a temporary increase in the number of offices concerned, as determined under Regulation 3.
(vii) That Regulation 1 of the regulations for Librarians of certain Faculties, Departments, and other institutions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 704) be replaced by the following:
1. Appointments and reappointments to the University office of Librarian of a Faculty, Department, or other institution specified in Schedule I, Schedule II, or Schedule III to these regulations shall be made in accordance with the arrangements to be agreed from time to time by the competent authority.
1 Statutes and Ordinances, p. 701.
| 17 November 2003 | ALISON F. RICHARD, Vice-Chancellor | B. J. BRINDED | D. LOWTHER |
| S. H. ADELMAN | WILLIAM BROWN | D. W. B. MACDONALD | |
| SARAH AIREY | D. A. GOOD | JAMES MATHESON | |
| R. J. ANDERSON | DAVID S. INGRAM | MARTIN REES | |
| Z. BARANSKI | IAN LESLIE | G. A. REID | |
| RICHARD BARNES | A. M. LONSDALE | LIBA TAUB | |
| JOHN BOYD |
| 14 November 2003 | ALISON F. RICHARD, Vice-Chancellor | N. O. A. BULLOCK | D. W. B. MACDONALD |
| SARAH AIREY | H. A. CHASE | ROGER PARKER | |
| JOHN BELL | JESSICA CHILDS | KEITH PETERS | |
| T. J. BLUNDELL | ANDREW CLIFF | S. J. YOUNG | |
| WILLIAM BROWN | M. J. DAUNTON |
Annex 1 - Stipend scales 1 August 2002 [28Kb pdf]
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Cambridge University Reporter, 19 November 2003
Copyright © 2003 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars
of the University of Cambridge.