Division of General Counsel, Governance and Compliance

Council

Find out about the Council that oversees key decisions relating to the University of Sussex. See its membership, Register of Interests and election details.

About Council

Council is one of the three Statutory bodies of the University (the others being Senate and Court). Council is the governing body of the University.

Its role is, inter alia, as follows:

  1. To determine strategic objectives for the University and to monitor performance against these objectives and against appropriate external benchmarks
  2. To discharge its responsibilities in relation to general legal and other external requirements
  3. To meet general requirements deriving from the Charter and Statutes, other than those matters delegated to committees or to individuals
  4. To monitor institutional effectiveness
  5. To monitor its own effectiveness

Council role descriptor [PDF 105.98KB]

Membership of Council

The membership of Council is set out in the Statutes of the University (Statute IV) and the Regulations for Membership of Council (Regulation 5).

View the membership of council and see the Council role descriptions and responsibilities [PDF 25KB].

Register of Interests

In line with guidance from the CUC Code of Governance, members of Council are required to disclose any potential or actual conflict of interest in accordance with the University’s Council Code of Conduct and Register of Interests.

Council members are asked to declare potential conflicts in four different areas.

For the purposes of our Register we include all members of Council (25 members) plus independent co-opted members of Audit and Risk Committee (two members). Additionally, the University’s Finance Regulations stipulate that Council members are similarly required to disclose any potential or actual conflict of interest in accordance with the University’s Council Code of Conduct and Register of Interests.

The OfS E Conditions of Registration (Management and Governance) list in its examples of behaviours that may indicate compliance the publication of the University’s Register of Interest.

See the current Council Annual Declarations of Interests Report 2021-22 [PDF 132.65KB]

Elections

We hold elections for some positions on the Council.

See past elections and check future election dates.

Questions

If you have any questions about Council, contact Dr Tim Westlake, Chief Operating Officer. Email coo@sussex.ac.uk.