How the University works

Glossary of Cambridge Terminology

Academical year	Extends from 1 October to 30 September, and is divided into three terms and three vacations.
Admission	Undergraduate students are selected and admitted by the Colleges, through the agency of the Cambridge Admissions Office. Graduate students apply through the Board of Graduate Studies, which also helps to arrange admission to a College.
Appointments committees	Autonomous standing committees, whose duty is to make appointments to most University offices except Professorships and Readerships. They conduct their business according to strict procedural rules. These committees make substantive appointments, subject to confirmation of salary and similar details by the Council or General Board.
Assistant staff	Employees of the University who carry out supporting functions in laboratories, libraries and administrative offices, and all the other activities of the University.
Ballot	A poll of the Regent House (or very occasionally the Senate) on a motion put before it. A ballot of the Regent House takes place if called for by the Council or 25 members of the Regent House, and is conducted by post under prescribed rules of procedure.
Board of Scrutiny	A 'watch dog' body consisting of two Proctors, the two Pro-Proctors, and eight elected members from the Regent House. Its function is to act on behalf of the Regent House by scrutinising the accounts of the University, the Annual Report of the Council and the General Board and the University budget.
Central bodies	The collective term for the Council and the General Board of the Faculties.
Chancellor	An eminent public figure elected for life by the Senate, as the constitutional head of the University. The Chancellor has certain statutory duties. His principal public responsibility in modern times has been the conferment of Honorary Degrees.
Congregation	A meeting of the Regent House for the formal conduct of certain items of University business, principally the conferment of degrees. Congregations take place in the Senate-House regularly throughout the year. Special Congregations take place from time to time, for the conferment of Honorary Degrees, and three days at the end of the Easter Term are reserved for the graduation of most first-degree students (see 'General Admission'). The Vice-Chancellor or a deputy appointed by him or her presides at Congregations, unless the Chancellor is present. A Congregation is also held at the beginning of each academical year for the election of the Proctors and their deputies. Immediately prior to this, the Vice-Chancellor gives an address to the University.
Council	An elected body which is the University's principal executive and policy-making body. It is one of the two central bodies (the other is the General Board of the Faculties) and has responsibility for the business of the University in its broader aspect, except that relating directly to its teaching and research programme. It is the formal link between the University and the Colleges, has overall responsibilty for planning and resource allocation, conducts negotiations with external bodies, and is concerned with student affairs, apart from admissions and teaching. The Council is also responsible through its Finance Committee for accounting, budgeting, and control of investments, and, through the Estate Management, for the management of property. The Council has in most cases the responsibility of presenting to the Regent House business which requires its assent. The Council generally meets monthly except in August, with the Vice-Chancellor as Chairman, and the Registrary as Secretary.
Dean	Except in Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, the term Dean does not, in Cambridge, indicate an academic office. The Dean is usually the College officer responsible for Chapel services, or in some cases, for College discipline.
Director of Studies	A College officer responsible for the overall conduct of a student's academic work, including advice on examinations and lectures, and for the assignment of the student to one or more Supervisors. The term Tutor is not used in Cambridge in this connection.
Discussions	Meetings of members of the University, held on certain Tuesdays in Term, at which business put forward by the Council or other bodies in the form of Reports may be commented upon by any member of the Regent House, the Senate or any other member of the University. The proceedings are usually formal rather than spontaneous. It is sometimes the case that a representative of the body that originated the business will be present to speak in defence of the Report. The Vice-Chancellor, or a deputy appointed by him or her, presides. The body that originated the Report subsequently advises the Council on a response (or Notice) to the remarks made, prior to the proposal of any Grace.
Electors	A body of persons appointed (sometimes ad hoc, sometimes on a long-standing basis) to select a person for certain senior offices, principally Professorships. The Vice-Chancellor, or a deputy appointed by him or her, presides. The rules of procedure resemble those for Appointments Committees, but there are certain additional provisions (e.g. that a body of Electors must meet twice in order to make an appointment).
EMBS (Estate Management)	An organisation responsible for the maintenance of University buildings and the management of its estate.
Emeritus/Emerita	A term applied to the Vice-Chancellor, Professors, Readers, and holders of certain other senior positions, who have retired after the age of sixty. In Cambridge the term is not conferred as an individual mark of distinction (although there is provision for appointment of Honorary Professors).
Esquire Bedells	Two officials whose duties are ceremonial. They have certain important responsibilities at Congregations, and carry the University Maces before the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor in processions. The Senior Esquire Bedell has a general responsibility for the correct formulation and wearing of academical dress.
Faculty	An administrative sub-division of the University responsible for the primary organisation of teaching and research in a particular subject (e.g. English) or group of related subjects (e.g. Clinical Medicine). In the scientific subjects, the work of a Faculty is normally organised into Departments; this sub-division is less common in the arts faculties. Each Faculty has an elected Faculty Board which is responsible to the General Board for the provision of adequate teaching, and facilities for research. Reports on academic matters mainly originate from the appropriate Faculty Boards.
Fellow	A senior member of a College, elected to a particular position of authority and responsibility in relation to the academic work and government of the College.
Finance Committee	A committee of the Council, responsible for accounting, budgeting, and control of investments, and, through the Estate Management, for the management of property. The Secretary is the Director of Finance, and the Chairman is the Vice-Chancellor.
Fly Sheets	Manifestos or explanations circulated by members of the Regent House to enlarge upon issues put forward for decision by ballot.
Full Term	The academical year is divided into three terms (Michaelmas, Lent and Easter). The central portion of each term, during which teaching takes place and members of the University are normally expected to be in residence, is called Full Term.
General Admission	Three Congregations held on successive days towards the end of June each year, are termed 'Days of General Admission to Degrees'. These are the occasions on which the majority of undergraduates who have completed their final year proceed in person to their first Degrees, in most cases the Degree of Bachelor of Arts. Degrees are also conferred at eight other Congregations in the course of the year.
General Board of the Faculties	One of the two central bodies (the other being Council), with general responsibility for the teaching and research programme of the University. In particular the Board's duty is to advise the University on educational policy and to control the resources needed for the proper implementation of that policy. The General Board is responsible for the standard of teaching and research, for the appointment of examiners, and for ensuring that the teaching officers of the University adhere to the regulations and satisfactorily perform their duties. In practice most matters to do with teaching or research are referred to the Board. The Secretary of the Board is the Academic Secretary, and the Chairman is the Vice-Chancellor. It meets every second Wednesday in Full Term, with certain additional meetings. The Board has a number of important standing committees, including a Needs Committee, which deals with resource allocation; an Education Committee, dealing with curriculum and the content of examinations, and a committee dealing with academic personnel matters.
Graces	Motions put forward for decision by the Regent House (or very occasionally the Senate), normally by the Council. They may either be approved without dissent if no opposition is raised within ten days. A ballot of the Regent House on a Grace takes place if requested by the Council or 25 members of the Regent House.
High Steward	One of the high officers of the University, the High Steward may be called upon to substitute for the Chancellor in some closely defined circumstances, for example in resolving disputes concerning the obligations of Colleges to the University.
Incorporation	A procedure by which a University officer or a Fellow of a College who is a graduate of the University of Oxford or Dublin (Trinity College) may be admitted to the corresponding Cambridge degree.
JCR	The Junior Combination Room of a College (essentially a common room, although this term is not used in Cambridge).
Joint Board	The University and Assistants Joint Board is a committee of senior members of the University and representatives of University assistants, under the Chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor, and is concerned with the terms and conditions of employment of assistant staff.
Junior Members	See Status Pupillaris
Long Vacation	The three terms are separated by three vacations (Christmas, Easter and Long Vacation) during which undergraduate teaching is suspended. During the Long Vacation, a period is set aside for certain special teaching in connection with some courses; this is known as the Long Vacation Period of Residence, commonly called the 'Long Vac Term'.
Master of Arts	In most UK universities, the Master of Arts is a degree awarded by examination. At Cambridge, the MA is conferred by right on holders of the BA degree of the University and on certain other senior members and is not available as a postgraduate qualification.
Matriculation	New students of the University matriculate (or join the roll) when they enrol or register at their College, signing a declaration that they will obey the University regulations. There has been no formal University ceremony in Cambridge since 1962.
Non Placet	Latin 'it does not please': originally the call made at a Congregation by those seeking a vote on a proposal for University legislation, it is still used to describe opposition to a Grace.
Notice	An official statement, usually appearing in Reporter but occasionally posted on notice boards, which gives information published by the appropriate authority. Such information might be details of a forthcoming ceremony or of the subjects prescribed for an examination for example. The Council's response to remarks made at a Discussion also takes the form of a Notice in Reporter indicating the course of action the Council proposes (for example, to put forward an amended Grace for approval).
Ordinances	The University Statutes allow the University to make regulations, known as Ordinances, for the proper conduct of its affairs. Ordinances, and amendments of them, are made either by Regent House, the Senate or the General Board. Ordinances may relate to any aspect of the University's business.
Proctors	Two officials, one designated Senior and the other Junior, who are elected annually by the Regent House on the nomination of the Colleges. They are the representatives of the Regent House in formal and disciplinary matters. They have ceremonial duties at Congregations and elsewhere, and are responsible for maintaining public order and freedom of speech in the University. The Junior Proctor has particular responsibilities in relation to student union matters and University societies. A person nominated as Proctor usually serves first for one year as Pro-Proctor, then for a year as Proctor and finally for a further year as Deputy Proctor.
Regent House	The governing body of the University, composed of teaching and administrative officers of the University and the Colleges, and numbering some 3,800 persons. The Regent House is the legislative authority of the University and the body to which proposals for significant changes in procedures or policies must be referred for assent. When such a decision is required, the matter is presented in the form of a Grace published by the Council in Reporter. The Regent House is also the principal electoral body, elects most members of the Council and the Board of Scrutiny and makes appointments by Grace.
Registrary	The principal administrative officer of the University and the head of the Unified Administrative Service.
Reporter	The Cambridge University Reporter, the University's official journal, containing University business, appointments, vacancies, events, Reports, Graces, and reports of Discussions. Published weekly on Wednesdays in Term, and occasionally in vacations. A special edition ('the Officers' number') published at the start of the Michaelmas Term contains full details of the membership of all official committees, boards etc., and a full list of substantive University academic and administrative appointments. There are other special issues, for instance dealing with admission statistics, University accounts, and examination results.
Reports	Reasoned arguments put to the University in support of certain changes or innovations, the proposals being published in Reporter, discussed, and, if necessary, voted upon in a ballot.
Residence	Most students and academic staff are required to be in residence during each period of Full Term; unless specially exempted, staff and students must live within a prescribed radius of Great St Mary's Church. Students may not generally proceed to their Degrees unless their Colleges certify that they have 'kept terms' by being in residence for the specified period.
Scarlet Day	Days on which Doctors are required to wear in public their festal or scarlet gowns. The permanent list of such days is defined by Ordinance, but in addition the Vice-Chancellor may prescribe other days as scarlet days, if they are occasions for instance of national rejoicing or celebration, or other special importance to the University.
School	Administrative grouping of Faculties and other institutions. A School's responsibilities are concerned mainly with distribution of resources to its constituent institutions. There are five Schools (Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Technology, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities). The word 'School' is sometimes used to describe a building and the studies carried out in it (hence 'Old Schools'), or as a familiar title for certain Faculties, such as School of Clinical Medicine.
Senate	Until 1926 the governing body of the University; it consists of all those holding the degree of Master of Arts or any other higher degree. It elects the Chancellor and the High Steward and membership confers senior status and certain privileges such as borrowing books from the University Library.
Septemviri	A University court with seven members which is the ultimate court of appeal in relation to disciplinary offences.
Statutes	The University is a common law corporation, and compiled its first written constitution as early as the thirteenth century. That constitutional code has been thoroughly revised on four occasions since then, and the framework of Statutes which at present governs the University's affairs was drawn up in 1926, with many subsequent amendments; these require the approval of The Queen in Council.
Status Pupillaris	A junior member of the University, who is not either a University officer or a Fellow of a College, a member of the Senate or of more than three and a half years standing after his or her Bachelor's Degree.
Stipend	The salary of a University officer.
Supervisor	A College teacher, who teaches under-graduates, either individually or in small groups, in his or her subject.
Syndicate	An administrative body charged with responsibilities for a certain institution or activity. In some cases, Syndicates are analogous to Faculty Boards in their management of an institution (e.g. the Library Syndicate). Others are responsible for certain affairs (e.g. Societies Syndicate, Sports Syndicate). It has been the practice to appoint 'occasional syndicates' to advise on major particular questions of current importance, and this is still done from time to time.
Term	The academical year is divided into three Terms (Michaelmas: October to early December; Lent: January to early March; and Easter: April to mid-June). See also Full Term, which despite its apparent modern meaning, is a smaller part of Term.
Tripos	A University examination, passing which qualifies a candidate partly or wholly for admission to an Honours Degree.
Tutor	A College officer responsible for the welfare and guidance of a group of undergraduates, but not, in Cambridge, for their academic instruction which is carried out by their Director of Studies.
Vice-Chancellor	The Vice-Chancellor is the principal academic officer of the University and is appointed by the Regent House on the nomination of the Council for a period of up to seven years. He or she is the principal resident officer of the University, normally chairs the two central bodies, and has important ceremonial and statutory duties. There are five salaried Pro-Vice-Chancellors with defined responsibilities and a number of DeputyVice-Chancellors who are appointed by the Vice-Chancellor to act on formal occasions such as Congregations and to undertake particular duties.

The title of this document is: University of Cambridge: how the University works
URL: http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/works/appendix1.html

Last updated: 16/02/2011