Governance
Governance at Churchill College
Churchill College is governed according to the principles stated in its Statutes and Ordinances.
Governing Body, College Council and a range of committees are the main vehicles through which the College operates. Many include student representatives from the JCR (undergraduate body) and the MCR (postgraduate body).
Our Statutes, Ordinances and other official documents can be found below.
Governing Body
Governing Body votes on key decisions, and can be seen as steering the College’s direction. The Governing Body meets twice a term, and is chaired by the College Master. All Fellows, except Honorific Fellows attend Governing Body as well as four student members: two representing postgraduates and two representing undergraduates.
College Council
The College is a charity and Council is the College’s charitable trustee body. Council meets roughly fortnightly during Full Term, and takes decisions on a wide range of matters matters including financial and strategic matters. Its remit includes oversight of student admissions, educational and tutorial matters, and College finances and administration. Many of the College’s committees report to Council.
Members include the Master, the Vice-Master, the Senior Tutor, the Senior Postgraduate Tutor, the Bursar, eight other Fellows who are elected to serve for two years each, plus two undergraduates, two postgraduates and two staff members.
Master
Prof. Sharon Peacock
The Master, also known as Head of House is responsible for the overall governance of the College.
Vice Master
Dr Adrian Barbrook
The Vice-Master chairs several committees and has responsibility for a number of Fellowship matters, and deputises for the Master in accordance with the College’s Statutes & Ordinances.
Bursar
Tamsin James
The Bursar has general responsibility for all matters related to College finances and investments, the management of the College estate, facilities and services, staff, administration, communications, and fund-raising.
Senior Tutor
Dr Rita Monson
The Senior Tutor provides collaborative leadership, advice and support to the Admissions Tutor and Postgraduate Tutor, Directors of Study, College Lecturers and Tutors to shape the educational and pastoral environment at the College.
Senior Postgraduate Tutor
Dr Alastair Lockhart
The Senior Postgraduate Tutor works closely with the Senior Tutor, overseeing the College’s postgraduate community. He is supported by the Postgraduate Office and Postgraduate Tutors.
College Committees
There are many committees in College, most of which report to Council, dealing with the detail of specific areas of the College’s operation. Two (the Fellowship Electors and SCR Committee) report to Governing Body. Council committees include the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Finance Committee, Ethics Committee, Sustainability Committee. Most committees include student representatives from the JCR and the MCR.
Official documents
Statutes and Ordinances
Statutes and Ordinances provide the framework that allows the College to govern its affairs.
The Statutes contain the fundamental constitutional and governance provisions of the College while Ordinances set out the detailed procedures. Day-to-day operational process and policy is covered in College Regulations.
Ordinances are approved by Governing Body. The College’s Statutes, like those of all Oxford and Cambridge colleges, are approved by the College’s Governing Body, the University, and finally the Privy Council.
Other official documents, including annual accounts, College Regulations and College policies, are also approved by Council.
College policies
A selection of relevant College policies is shared here. If you cannot find what you are looking for, it may be that it is covered under one of the appendices to the College Regulations. These are available to College members.
Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR is about ensuring the College operates such that its economic, social, and environmental impact works to enhance society and the environment.
The Sustainability Strategy addresses the work which the College is undertaking towards a positive environmental impact. This includes economic considerations. The College’s Responsible Investment Policy also addresses economic aspects. Read more about Sustainability at Churchill College.
Social impacts the College has committed to
Social impacts the College has committed to are:
Academic
1.2.6 To foster academic excellence in the arts as well as in science and technology.
1.2.7 To be leaders in seeking to broaden access for UK undergraduate students, postgraduates and international students.
1.2.8 To provide an environment that fosters good relations between College members of all backgrounds, race, religion, gender, age, culture and disabilities.
1.2.9 To maintain a caring and supportive academic environment for all students and Fellows.
Employees
1.2.16 To encourage mutual respect and dignity and treat employees fairly and without discrimination.
1.2.17 To promote the health and well-being of all employees.
1.2.18 To encourage team working and the sharing of knowledge throughout the College community.
1.2.19 To provide a safe working environment and rewarding career for all employees.
1.2.20 To offer employees clear and fair terms of employment and provide resources to enable their continual development
Community
1.2.21 To make the College’s facilities available to the local community whenever possible and to support thereby local community, academic and charitable initiatives
1.2.22 To communicate with our neighbours and welcome them to the College, whenever appropriate.
1.2.23 To enable employees and students to undertake voluntary activities, whenever possible.
1.2.24 To encourage employees and students to support at least one charitable organisation every year through voluntary fundraising activities.
Policies which support these include our Health & Safety policy, Equal Opportunities Policy and Bullying and Harassment Policy
Accounts
The College’s public accounts and accompanying annual report are produced in the recommended Cambridge College Accounts (RCCA) format.
Data Protection
Data Protection Statements
Freedom of information
The official Publication Schemes for the College itself, for Churchill Conferences Ltd, for Churchill Residences II Ltd and for the Møller Institute for Continuing Education. The publication schemes have been prepared in accordance with s.19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. They are a complete guide to the information routinely published by the College and its subsidiary bodies.
If you require further information or experience difficulty in using the schemes, email or write to the Freedom of Information Officer at Churchill College. The various documents are provided in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you require information that is not listed in our publication schemes, please make a written request to the Freedom of Information Officer.
Contact
The Freedom of Information Officer
Churchill College
Storey’s Way
Cambridge
CB3 0DS
Email: [email protected]
Guidance for individuals requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act
As from 1 January 2005 you have the right, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, to request any information held by the College which it has not already made available through its publication scheme. To help the College respond to your request as quickly as possible, please use the following guidance.
- Requests should be made in writing (by e-mail or post) wherever possible
- Enquirers should provide us with an address for correspondence
- To save time, please make your enquiry as specific as possible. We are happy to offer guidance about the framing of enquiries.
- Your enquiry will be dealt with within 20 working days, as specified by the Act.
- If the costs of locating and collating the information would exceed maximum limit set by the government of £450, then the College may not comply with your request or may ask you to meet our reasonable costs in doing so.
- The College will provide copies of documents up to 10 pages long free of charge. Documents that exceed this limit may be charged for at a rate of 20p per sheet.
- If we intend to charge a fee, we will notify you as soon as possible after receiving your request. We will proceed with your enquiry once we have received your fee and respond within 20 days, less the time that it has taken to issue you with the fees notice.
- The College is not required to release information to which an exemption in the Act legitimately applies. However, we will explain to the enquirer why we have decided not to release information that we believe to be exempt.
- If you are not satisfied with the way that the College has dealt with your request, please address your complaint to Churchill College, Storey’s Way, Cambridge CB3 0DS.
- If the College is unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right under Freedom of Information Act 2000, s 50, to apply to the Information Commissioner “for a decision whether, in any specified respect, a request for information made by the complainant (ie yourself) to a public authority (ie the College) has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Part I” of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If you wish to exercise this right, you should contact the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of Speech Code of Practice
The Secretary of State for Education has announced that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will not come into force as planned on 1 August 2024, and that options will be considered going forward, which could include the amendment or repeal of the Act.
Changes to College policies and procedures, including this Code of Practice, which had been formally approved by the College Council, are still due to take effect from 1 August 2024. Other work is now paused pending further clarity, and consideration will be given in due course as to whether any changes already implemented should be amended.
The Ministerial Statement and a Government press release contain more information
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