Notices

Calendar

21 May, Thursday. Easter Term divides.

22 May, Friday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.

23 May, Saturday. Congregation of the Regent House at 10 a.m.

24 May, Sunday. Scarlet Day. Whitsunday.

26 May, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

31 May, Sunday. Scarlet Day. Trinity Sunday. Preacher before the University at 11.30 a.m., The Rt Revd Dr Paul Swarup, of Clare College, Bishop of Delhi, Church of North India (Ramsden Preacher).

2 June, Tuesday. Discussion by videoconference at 2 p.m. (see below).

8 June, Monday. End of third quarter of Easter Term.

Discussion on Tuesday, 26 May 2026

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, 2024, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 26 May 2026 at 2 p.m. The following item will be discussed:

1.Consultation on proposals for changes to senior administrative offices (Reporter, 6823, 2025–26, p. 447).

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email Discussions@admin.cam.ac.uk 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 Discussions@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 Director of Governance and Compliance, 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.

For general information on Discussions see the Reporter website at https://www.reporter.admin.cam.ac.uk/discussions.

Discussion on Tuesday, 2 June 2026

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, 2024, p. 111) to attend a Discussion by videoconference on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 at 2 p.m. The following item will be discussed:

1.Topic of concern to the University: Pause of UIS reorganisation (p. 475).

Those wishing to join the Discussion by videoconference should email Discussions@admin.cam.ac.uk 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 Discussions@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 Director of Governance and Compliance, 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.

For general information on Discussions see the Reporter website at https://www.reporter.admin.cam.ac.uk/discussions.

Amending Statutes for Hughes Hall

14 May 2026

The Vice-Chancellor begs leave to refer to the Notice of 11 June 2025 (Reporter, 6788, 2024–25, p. 628), concerning the text of a Statute to amend the Statutes of Hughes Hall. She hereby gives notice that she has since received from the Governing Body of Hughes Hall, in accordance with the provisions of Section 7(2) of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge Act 1923, a revised Statute to amend the Statutes of the College, which includes further amendments in response to comments from the Privy Council’s advisers. The current Statutes of the College and the proposed amendments are available on the College’s website at https://www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/revisions-to-statutes-of-hughes-hall/.

The Council will consider the amendments after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 27 May 2026.

General Admission to Degrees 2026: Procedure

The Vice-Chancellor gives notice that the Congregations for General Admission to Degrees will be held on 1, 2, 3, and 4 July 2026. The Congregations will take place at 10 a.m. in the Senate-House.

Tickets will be required for admission to the Senate-House and the Yard, including for children of any age, who must be accompanied by an adult. Graduands should apply through their Colleges for tickets for their intended guests and other members of the University who wish to be present are also asked to obtain tickets from their Colleges if possible. Although a limited number of places will be available at each session for gowned members of the University in general who wish to be present, these cannot be reserved and will be allocated to those first to arrive, so any College wishing to seat groups of Fellows etc. in their session is requested to issue them with tickets within their permitted limit and to contact the University Marshal (email: universitymarshal@admin.cam.ac.uk) by 30 June to ensure that they can be seated appropriately.

The Ceremonies will be divided into separate sessions, with intervals between the presentation of graduands by successive Colleges, although those from Murray Edwards College and Wolfson College, and those from St Edmund’s College and Hughes Hall, will proceed together in single sessions and some larger Colleges will divide their session. Guests may not leave except in the intervals between sessions. Members of the University attending should wear academical dress. A member who is not acting as an officer at the Congregations or presenting candidates for admission to a degree or receiving a degree and who holds a degree of another university or degree-awarding institution may wear the dress of that degree on this occasion. The days of General Admission to Degrees are ‘scarlet’ days, so Doctors should wear their festal gowns.

Timetable for the ceremonies

Wednesday, 1 July

The doors of the Senate-House will be opened at 9.30 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and graduands are asked to arrive by the following times (for those Colleges with divided sessions, only the time for the first part is given). Timings given are provisional.

The ceremony will end at about 5 p.m.

Thursday, 2 July

The doors of the Senate-House will be opened at 9.30 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and graduands are asked to arrive by the following times (for those Colleges with divided sessions, only the time for the first part is given). Timings given are provisional.

The ceremony will end at about 6 p.m.

Friday, 3 July

The doors of the Senate-House will be opened at 9.30 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and graduands are asked to arrive by the following times (for those Colleges with divided sessions, only the time for the first part is given). Timings given are provisional.

The ceremony will end at about 5.20 p.m.

Saturday, 4 July

The doors of the Senate-House will be opened at 9.30 a.m. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and graduands are asked to arrive by the following times (for those Colleges with divided sessions, only the time for the first part is given). Timings given are provisional.

The ceremony will end at about 5.15 p.m.

General Admission to Degrees: Notice by the Director of Governance and Compliance

The Director of Governance and Compliance gives notice that the latest time for the receipt of supplicats and any necessary certificates of terms for persons who propose to take degrees at General Admission on Wednesday, 1 July, Thursday, 2 July, Friday, 3 July, or Saturday, 4 July 2026, is 10 a.m. on Friday, 19 June 2026. No further additions to degree lists can be accepted after that date.

Health and Safety Policy

14 May 2026

The Council and the General Board, on the recommendation of the Health and Safety Executive Committee, have approved an updated University Health and Safety Policy. The revised Policy simplifies the description of the responsibilities of individual roleholders without making material changes. Detail has also been added to note how institutions use and maintain data in the various systems that have been deployed for safety management since the last version of the Policy was approved in 2022. The Policy is available at: https://www.safety.admin.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/hsd016m_2.pdf.

Topic of concern to the University: Pause of UIS reorganisation

19 May 2026

The Director of Governance and Compliance gives notice that she has received the following request for the discussion of a Topic of concern to the University:

Urgent Pause of Proposed UIS Reorganisation and Relegation under UAS

Immediate Concerns

On 6 May the Council announced proposed changes to the senior administrative offices (Reporter, 6823, 2025–26, p. 447) that would relegate the UIS under the Unified Administrative Service (UAS), and introduce a new University Chief Operating Officer (COO).

These rushed, but substantive proposals raise serious questions (11 May All Staff meeting) about the disconnection of the UIS from its academically-interconnected roots and responsibilities, including as part of the digital strategy-related work just launched.

On 29 April the new University CIO initiated a formal organisational change process for the University Information Services (UIS). The proposal includes significant staff redundancies, and the reduction or closure of long-standing UIS services, alongside the recruitment of new, top-heavy and very expensive administrative roles.

If adopted, this reorganisation will result in a critical loss of domain knowledge and expertise. It represents a shift away from user-led, academic-focused IT development and would yield minimal net staff reductions or financial savings.

Strategic Contradiction

On 27 April the CIO launched a draft University-wide Digital Strategy and Maturity Model framework, two days before initiating the proposed UIS restructuring.

A mature, co-created and co-assessed digital strategy is likely to require at least a year of meaningful consultation with the Collegiate University community. Initiating a drastic, top-heavy structural overhaul before the University’s digital needs and capabilities have been understood and determined is logically flawed and strategically premature.

Disconnection from Academic Priorities

The proposed UIS reorganisation, along with the proposed changes to senior administrative offices, would move UIS under the UAS, reporting to the proposed new COO. This risks entirely disconnecting UIS from its roots in the academic community, and consequently risks refocusing its work away from academic priorities.

Relegating UIS under the UAS effectively recreates the more bureaucratic, administrative focus of the former MISD – a retrograde step that directly violates the key principles of the University’s rigorous 2013 Review of IT Infrastructure and Support. That Review explicitly mandated that:

•IT strategy must be driven by user needs in teaching, learning, and research, not pure administration.

•The central IT organisation must remain outside the UAS and under the supervision of the Council to balance academic and administrative needs.

•Talented computing support staff must be retained and supported.

Call to Action

We call for an immediate suspension of both the internal UIS reorganisation and the proposed relocation under the UAS/COO. Pausing these processes will allow the University Digital Strategy to be genuinely academically-led and user-driven.

Taking the time to co-create and co-assess this strategy properly will enable the University to:

•Address Skills and Service Gaps: Align our IT quality with world-class peer institutions, and expand collaborative development of comprehensive digital skills delivery, in response to community-identified users’ needs.

•Foster Innovation: Restore focus and funding for community-led innovation (akin to the former ‘Bright Ideas’ project and existing programs at Oxford and Harvard).

•Fix Working Culture: Provide the stability needed to address deep-seated workplace culture and bullying issues highlighted in recent internal surveys.

•Ensure Accessibility: Select and develop systems and services that are appropriate and usable by all end users.

•Optimise Professional Standards: Use established frameworks (SFIA and Government Capability) to align IT roles accurately with evidenced University needs.

(Further Details: Background Information)

This request is supported by the 75 members of the Regent House listed in Annex A.

The Council has agreed that this topic will be included on the agenda of the Discussion on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 at 2 p.m. by videoconference (see p. 472).

Annex A