Skip to main contentCambridge University Reporter

No 6750

Wednesday 24 July 2024

Vol cliv No 40

pp. 799–852

Notices

Calendar

31 July, Wednesday. Last ordinary issue of the Reporter in the 2023–24 academic year.

25 September, Wednesday. First ordinary issue of the Reporter in the 2024–25 academic year.

1 October, Tuesday. Michaelmas Term begins. Congregation of the Regent House at 9.55 a.m.: Election and admission of the Proctors. Annual address by the Vice‑Chancellor.

8 October, Tuesday. Full Term begins. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

Discussion on Tuesday, 8 October 2024

The Vice‑Chancellor invites members of the Regent House, University and College employees, registered students and others qualified under the regulations for Discussions (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 8 October 2024 at 2 p.m. The following item will be discussed:

1. Joint Report of the Council and the General Board, dated 18 July 2024, on the review of examination regulations following the marking and assessment boycott (p. 806).

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from their University email account, providing their CRSid (if a member of the collegiate University), by 10 a.m. on the date of the Discussion to receive joining instructions. Alternatively contributors may email their remarks to contact@proctors.cam.ac.uk, copying ReporterEditor@admin.cam.ac.uk, by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the Discussion for reading out by the Proctors,1 or may ask someone else who is attending to read the remarks on their behalf.

In accordance with the regulations for Discussions, the Chair of the Board of Scrutiny or any ten members of the Regent House2 may request that the Council arrange for one or more of the items listed for discussion to be discussed in person (usually in the Senate-House). Requests should be made to the Registrary, on paper or by email to UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk from addresses within the cam.ac.uk domain, by no later than 9 a.m. on the day of the Discussion. Any changes to the Discussion schedule will be confirmed in the Reporter at the earliest opportunity.

General information on Discussions is provided on the University Governance site at https://www.governance.cam.ac.uk/governance/decision-making/discussions/.

Footnotes

Notice of a benefaction

18 July 2024

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that she has accepted with gratitude a benefaction of approximately £4.7m from the trustees of a discretionary trust fund established under the will of Dr John Brian Dodsworth. In a letter of wishes dated 18 September 2018, Dr Dodsworth requested that the trust fund be used to ‘support the study, teaching of and research in Icelandic studies in the University; and support the purchase of material relevant to Icelandic studies by the University Library’. The Council is submitting a Grace (Grace 2, p. 812) to establish an endowment fund reflecting that wish, to be called the Brian Dodsworth Fund.

Grace 2 of 17 July 2024: Correction

22 July 2024

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice of a correction to Grace 2 of 17 July 2024, made under Regulation 15 of the Ordinance for Graces and Congregations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 112). The wording of the Grace has been amended to read as follows (inserted wording shown in bold [and underlined in the online version]):

2. That the recommendations in paragraph 5 of the Report of the Council, dated 4 June 2024, on the term of office of the Chancellor and the High Steward (Reporter, 6744, 2023–24, p. 634), as amended by the Council’s Notice dated 11 July 2024, be approved.1

1 See the Council’s Notice, p. 778.

Election to the Board of Scrutiny in class (c)(ii)

23 July 2024

The Vice-Chancellor announces that the following person has been elected to serve as a member of the Board of Scrutiny in class (c)(ii) with immediate effect until 30 September 2027:

Class (c)(ii) (a member of the Regent House): Professor Neil Wyn Evans

The results of the voting are as follows:

Number of valid votes cast: 1,984 (no invalid votes)   (Quota: 992)

Professor Neil Wyn Evans

1,345

Elected

Ms María Matilde Goodall

639

Total

1,984

Dates of Congregations, 2024–25, 2025–26 and 2026–27

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice, in accordance with Special Ordinance A (ii) 2, and the regulations for General Admission to Degrees, that Congregations will be held on the following days in the academic years 2024–25, 2025–26 and 2026–27.

CONGREGATIONS OF THE REGENT HOUSE (on Saturdays unless otherwise stated)

2024–25

Michaelmas Term 2024
Full Term:
8 October – 6 December

Lent Term 2025
Full Term:
21 January – 21 March

Easter Term and Long Vacation 2025
Full Term:
29 April – 20 June

1 October (Tuesday), 9.55 a.m.1

25 October (Friday), 10 a.m.
26 October, 10 a.m.

30 November, 10 a.m.

31 January (Friday), 2 p.m.
(for degrees in absence only)

1 March, 10 a.m.

29 March, 10 a.m.

5 April, 10 a.m.

3 May, 10 a.m.

23 May, (Friday) 10 a.m.
24 May, 10 a.m.

Honorary Degrees:
25 June (Wednesday), 2.45 p.m.

General Admission:
2 July (Wednesday), 10 a.m.2
3 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.2
4 July (Friday), 10 a.m.2
5 July, 10 a.m.2

24 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.
25 July (Friday), 10 a.m.
26 July, 10 a.m.

2025–26

Michaelmas Term 2025
Full Term:
7 October – 5 December

Lent Term 2026
Full Term:
20 January – 20 March

Easter Term and Long Vacation 2026
Full Term:
28 April – 19 June

1 October (Wednesday), 9.55 a.m.1

24 October (Friday), 10 a.m.
25 October, 10 a.m.

29 November, 10 a.m.

30 January (Friday), 2 p.m.
(for degrees in absence only)

28 February, 10 a.m.

28 March, 10 a.m.

11 April, 10 a.m.

2 May, 10 a.m.

22 May, (Friday) 10 a.m.
23 May, 10 a.m.

Honorary Degrees:
24 June (Wednesday), 2.45 p.m. TBC.

General Admission:
1 July (Wednesday), 10 a.m.2
2 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.2
3 July (Friday), 10 a.m.2
4 July, 10 a.m.2

23 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.
24 July (Friday), 10 a.m.25 July, 10 a.m.

2026–27

Michaelmas Term 2026
Full Term:
6 October – 4 December

Lent Term 2027
Full Term:
19 January – 19 March

Easter Term and Long Vacation 2027
Full Term:
27 April – 18 June

1 October (Thursday), 9.55 a.m.1

23 October (Friday), 10 a.m.
24 October, 10 a.m.

28 November, 10 a.m.

29 January (Friday), 2 p.m.
(for degrees in absence only)

27 February, 10 a.m.

3 April, 10 a.m.

10 April, 10 a.m.

1 May, 10 a.m.

21 May, (Friday) 10 a.m.
22 May, 10 a.m.

Honorary Degrees:
23 June (Wednesday), 2.45 p.m. TBC.

General Admission:
30 June (Wednesday), 10 a.m.2
1 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.2
2 July (Friday), 10 a.m.2
3 July, 10 a.m.2

22 July (Thursday), 10 a.m.
23 July (Friday), 10 a.m.24 July, 10 a.m.

Footnotes

  • 1Election and admission of the Proctors.


  • 2General Admission (M.Eng., M.Math., M.Sci., Vet.M.B., B.A., and B.Th. Degrees only).


Report of the General Board on the introduction of Clinical Academic (Teaching and Scholarship) offices and posts: Notice in response to Discussion remarks*

18 July 2024

The Council has received the remarks made at the Discussion on 25 June 2024 concerning the above Report (Reporter, 2023–24: 6745, p. 683; 6748, p. 776).

The General Board’s Report is the first step in enabling teaching-focused clinical academics to seek promotion under the Academic Career Pathway (Teaching and Scholarship) (ACP (T&S)) scheme. It recommends permitting promotion of clinical academics to existing offices and posts on the T&S track, and also to the office of Clinical Professor, which is currently only available on the Research and Teaching track. This will create a clear promotions pathway through different levels of office and post for teaching-focused clinical academic staff. If the Report’s recommendations are approved, the ACP (T&S) scheme guidance1 will be updated to cover clinical academic (T&S) roles. The changes to the existing scheme guidance are expected to be minimal, with the single most substantive change being an additional requirement that clinical academics must be clinically active. Those seeking promotion as clinical academics will therefore need to meet the existing criteria and also hold an honorary consultant contract from an NHS body.2

Dr Astle draws attention to discussion of the office of Clinical Professor, including the contents of the 2022 Report that proposed the new office. He quotes from the Report, which noted that for clinical academics, whose pay is determined according to NHS seniority, ‘the purpose of applying for promotion under the University’s academic promotions scheme is solely to achieve a change in title, with their pay remaining the same’.3 This remains the main reason for including only one office of Clinical Professor in the table in paragraph 14 of this Report, equivalent to the office of Professor at Grade 12 for non-clinical academics, rather than having two offices, one at Grade 11 and another at Grade 12.

The General Board has confirmed that the criteria for promotion to a Clinical Professorship through the ACP (T&S) Pathway are to be equivalent to those for promotion to the office of Professor at Grade 12 rather than the office of Professor (Grade 11). Although the Report notes transitional arrangements for clinical academics who currently hold the offices of Reader and Professor (Grade 11), there are in fact no current holders of those offices in either the School of Clinical Medicine or the School of the Biological Sciences and therefore no transfers are anticipated.

Professor Evans is correct that the honorary consultant contract does not of itself guarantee expertise in teaching and therefore the relevant assessment of teaching ability would be on appointment and as part of the promotions process. However, as noted above, it is a core criterion for clinical academics that they must hold an honorary consultant contract, therefore any person seeking to transfer or be appointed or promoted to any clinical academic role, including T&S roles, must hold such a contract. This is because holding an honorary consultant contract indemnifies those academics when they carry out clinical work associated with their contract of employment with the University. It also confirms their status as individuals who can carry out clinical work in an NHS setting, are registered with a relevant professional body (such as the General Medical Council) and are on the Specialist register. Administratively, it also confirms that they are eligible to be paid on the clinical pay scales, given that all clinical academics are paid according to those pay scales.

The Council is submitting a Grace (Grace 1, p. 812) for the approval of the recommendations of this Report.

Footnotes

Correction

  • *25 October 2024: This Notice has been amended to remove wording that suggested that the General Board had been consulted in preparing the Notice.


Making decisions during crises

18 July 2024

In July 2020, at the end of the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Council acknowledged that it needed to provide greater clarity on how it expected the University to make decisions in a future crisis. It invited members of the Regent House to provide their feedback on the management of the pandemic since March 2020 by calling a Discussion on a Topic of concern. In its response to remarks made at that Discussion, the Council noted that it would devise a scheme to govern strategic decision-making in a crisis ‘to bridge the gap between the highlighted concerns about transparency of decision-making and accountability to the Regent House and the Council’s need for a more agile decision-making process that is capable of providing an authoritative response within a short timeframe’.1

In its response to the Board of Scrutiny’s 28th Report in January 2024, the Council noted its regret for the delay in providing its proposals on the management of future crises – other work had taken priority – and its expectation that it would publish a Report by the end of this academic year.2

At its meeting on 15 July, the Council agreed that it wished to clarify and strengthen the delegation of decision-making powers to sub-committees and individuals to enable quick decision-making in a crisis. The Council noted its two Notices in June 2020 recording decisions made during the initial phase of the pandemic between 16 March and 31 May 2020.3 It agreed that in the small number of cases where there was a breach of regulations, a different decision would be made now4 or changes have since been made to Ordinances to revise arrangements which were difficult to meet or unclear or are the subject of ongoing review. It also noted that some of the earliest and most consequential decisions during that phase concerned delegations of decision-making authority by the Council and the General Board. In March 2020, the Council agreed to delegate its authority to the Vice-Chancellor should significant, rapid and unexpected changes relating to the Covid-19 crisis require urgent decisions concerning the University’s business. The Council also delegated authority to the chairs of the Council’s committees to take such decisions as they consider necessary. The General Board gave similar delegations to the Vice-Chancellor and the chairs of its committees.

The Council will therefore consider proposed amendments to the provisions for delegation currently set out in Special Ordinance A (viii) 4, with a view to publishing a Report in Michaelmas Term 2024. It will also receive for review a draft scheme of delegation to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the University’s committee-based decision-making processes, which will in turn facilitate more effective management of a crisis.

Footnotes

Grants from the Colleges Fund

18 July 2024

The Council has received the following report from the Colleges Fund Committee, which it now publishes to the University in accordance with Regulation 4 for the Fund (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 1082).

1. The amount available in the Fund for distribution in 2023–24 is £5.815m.

2. The Colleges Fund Committee has approved the following grants to be paid in 2023–24:

Total Grant

£’000

St Edmund’s College

1,246

Lucy Cavendish College

1,246

Hughes Hall

613

Wolfson College

928

Fitzwilliam College

615

Darwin College

848

Clare Hall

319

3. The allocation is calculated by taking account of the model of a ‘standard’ College with a basic requirement for endowment. The figures take account of the endowment requirements of the relevant Applicant College as estimated by the Committee’s model having reference to numbers of undergraduate students, full-time equivalent postgraduate students, Fellows, and College Teaching Officers.

4. The Colleges Fund Committee has not approved any exceptional grants in addition to the endowment-based grants listed above.

Leadership of environmental sustainability

18 July 2024

The Council wishes to update the Regent House on leadership of environmental sustainability. At its meeting on 15 July, the Council approved two related proposals to provide leadership for environmental sustainability, one focused on academic leadership, the other to provide operational leadership.

Academic leadership for environmental sustainability

Mirroring a suggestion from Regent House members as part of comments on the proposal for a sixth Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for environmental sustainability, academic leadership will be provided by an existing Pro-Vice-Chancellor (PVC). ‘Environmental Sustainability’ will be added to the portfolio of the current PVC (Education) so that it becomes the PVC (Education and Environmental Sustainability). This change will take effect from 1 September 2024. This portfolio will be reviewed on any subsequent new appointment or reappointment to this particular office.

The brief for the environmental sustainability portfolio will be to develop an academic strategy that will integrate and enhance the University’s interdisciplinary research strengths, capabilities and ambitions and will encompass its educational offerings and outreach activities. The PVC will also support and champion the University’s climate and sustainability initiatives across the collegiate University, including Cambridge Zero, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Operational leadership for environmental sustainability

The aim is for the University to have, by the end of the calendar year 2025 at the latest, an agreed approach to environmental sustainability which is sector-leading. This will include an ambitious strategy to achieve operational environmental sustainability, accompanied by a plan for delivery with firm, costed targets and clear KPIs against which progress can be measured; a clarified and strengthened governance structure to oversee progress; and a clear articulation of who, operationally, is responsible for delivering which aspects of the plan. Initially, the focus of this activity will be on climate and environmental sustainability but, over time and depending on progress, the scope may be broadened to cover social and other sustainability issues.

This ambition will be approached in two stages. Stage 1 will involve an assessment of the work done to date across the University in the five main areas of environmental sustainability – waste, water, carbon, biodiversity and transport. The assessment, which should be completed by the end of 2024, will provide recommendations for improvement, both operationally and in terms of the University’s governance in this area, and identify early wins. It will also offer a broad strategic framework that could be developed in Stage 2.

Stage 2 will require the recruitment of an individual who has expertise in delivering stretching environmental sustainability objectives in complex organisations. Building on the assessment carried out in Stage 1, the individual will be responsible for developing and leading the implementation of the University’s operational environmental sustainability strategy and plan. The person appointed will also be responsible for implementing the recommendations of the Stage 1 assessment (if approved by the Council), including embedding any governance changes. The position will be fixed term and the individual will report to the Vice-Chancellor.

Predictable Working Policy

18 July 2024

The Council and the General Board have approved a Predictable Working Policy, to ensure compliance with new government legislation due to come into effect this autumn. The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act received royal assent on 16 October 2023 and aims to redress the balance of one-sided flexibility by providing employees, workers and agency workers with a statutory right to request more predictable terms and conditions if their existing working pattern lacks consistency. A ‘work pattern’ includes the number of hours, the days of the week and the times, or the duration, an individual is required to work. Subject to eligibility, those engaged on a fixed-term contract of 12 months or less can seek a longer term or an open-ended contract. A statutory request including any appeal must be concluded within one month of the application. The legislation is process-based and the Policy incorporates the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service guidance.

The Policy will be launched on the date the legislation comes into effect. The approved text of the Policy is available on the Reporter website at https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/reporter/2023-24/weekly/6750/PredictableWorkingPolicy.pdf (University account required).

Extension to the pilot of the Email Address Allocation and Retention Policy

18 July 2024

Further to the Notice published on 26 July 2023 (Reporter, 6710, 2022–23, p. 885), the General Board and the Council have approved a six-month extension to the pilot1 of the Email Address Allocation and Retention Policy,2 and a delay to the wider rollout of the policy from 1 September 2024 to 1 March 2025. To allow time for a period of preparation, communications to affected individuals did not commence until the end of January 2024. That preparation included agreeing draft communications, and ascertaining an approach to implementation with the three participating volunteer institutions. An extension will allow for the collection of sufficient data to assess whether and how the policy can be refined further, as well as ensure adequate time to put processes in place to enable a smooth rollout across the wider University. Any recommended changes to the policy resulting from the pilot will be considered by the General Board and the Council prior to the wider rollout.

The Email Address Allocation and Retention Policy sets out options for email address retention for email address users leaving the University who would not be eligible to retain their address under existing standard retention procedures. In the first three months of the pilot’s operation, 326 email address users leaving the University were contacted by UIS to advise them of the options for email address retention. Only two of these users requested one of the forms of retention set out in the policy, and subsequently both were found to be eligible to retain their email addresses under existing procedures.

Lord’s Bridge, Cambridge Road

Further to the Council’s First-stage Report of 29 July 20201 and subsequent planning permission granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council in 2023, the Estates Committee has taken the decision not to pursue the proposed development of a solar farm at Lord’s Bridge, Cambridge Road, Barton. Further work on the project has led to the conclusion that the construction and operation of the planned solar farm would have a sufficiently detrimental impact on the research undertaken at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory that the simultaneous land uses at Lord’s Bridge are incompatible.