Cambridge University Press and Assessment[2] is a non-school institution[3] of the University of Cambridge. It was formed under Queen Elizabeth II's approval in August 2021 by the merge between Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment.[4][5][6] The institution is headquartered in Cambridge, England, with 50 overseas office locations.[7]
| Status | Non-school institution of the University of Cambridge |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 August 2021 |
| Headquarters location | Cambridge, England |
| Key people |
|
| Revenue |  £1 billion (2022)[1] |
| No. of employees | 6,560 (2022)[1] |
| Official website | cambridge |
The institution's products include the Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge Core, IGCSEs, Cambridge Technicals, Linguaskill and hundreds of academic journals and books. Following the merger, the combined group calculated that it reaches 100 million learners worldwide, with 85% of its revenues coming from outside the United Kingdom. [8] It reported a turnover of £1 billion in 2023, up from £868 million the previous year.[9]
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has advocated for "Effective climate education [to] become available to students at every age and stage". [10]
As part of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Press and Assessment is a non-profit organization.[citation needed] It is led by Peter Phillips, its chief executive officer, who reports to the Vice-Chancellor of the university.
History
edit
Cambridge University Press and Assessment was legally formed on 1 August 2021. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II approved amendments to University of Cambridge Statutes,[11] which formally recognised the operational merger of Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press, presented at a Privy Council meeting on 15 December 2021.[12] The main changes to Statute J were to replace references to the University Press with references to the merged entity under the title of the Press and Assessment Department, and to update the name of the Press Syndicate to the Press and Assessment Syndicate.[13] The two founding organisations have an entwined history, since December 1858 when Cambridge University Press first printed exam papers for Cambridge Assessment.[14][15]
At the 2022 Education World Forum, Cambridge University Press and Assessment Chief Executive Peter Phillips warned of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' mental health, urging the gathering of education ministers and leaders to "put wellbeing at the heart of everything we do."[16]
Governance
editThe organisation is governed by a 'Syndicate' (Press and Assessment Syndicate) of 18 senior members of the University of Cambridge. The Press and Assessment Syndicate governs the group's activity and exercises oversight through the Press and Assessment Board and its committees. Day-to-day management of the business is delegated by the Syndicate to the Cambridge University Press and Assessment's Chief Executive Peter Phillips, working with its executive board. Updates from the syndicate are published by the official newspaper of the University of Cambridge, The Reporter.[citation needed]
In a 2021 discussion reported in the Cambridge University Reporter, Dr D.D.K.Chow of Trinity College, expressed concerns about the lack of academic leadership of the new body:
"For 323 years, the Press has been tightly controlled under the University's academic leadership through the Press Syndicate (formerly Curators)...However, the Council's report proposes a Press and Assessment Syndicate, without such academic leadership....The proposed change in composition of the Syndicate...is in stark contrast to the arguments used by the Press to obtain its current tax exemption. In a landmark letter to the Inland Revenue in 1975, Sir Geoffrey Cass, then Chief Executive of the Press, wrote: "The Press of Cambridge University is actually no more than a department of the University, with no independent status of its own, governed by academic senior members of the University" and that it was not "an almost semi-independent 'international publisher'....Without adequate academic leadership, it would be all too easy for commercial concerns to override academic values, removing public benefit....If the Regent House does zippo to provide leadership on the Press and Assessment Syndicate, treating Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment as cash cows, there is little reason for the University to continue owning them."[17]
References
edit- ^ a b "Annual Report 2022-2023" (PDF). Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ Waldoch, Laura (5 June 2018). "Cambridge University Press and Assessment". www.libraries.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Colleges and Departments | University of Cambridge". www.cam.ac.uk. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Cambridge University Press to join with Cambridge Assessment". University of Cambridge. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Cambridge University Press to merge with Cambridge Assessment | Business Weekly | Technology News | Business news | Cambridge and the East of England". www.businessweekly.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Shepard, Gabriel (5 August 2021). "Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment merge". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "What we do". Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Cambridge University Press & Assessment Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Cambridge University Press & Assessment hits £1bn in revenue". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ "Climate change education needs review, say experts". BBC News. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "University of Cambridge Statutes & Ordinances". University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Issue 6642: Wednesday 12 January 2022". Cambridge University Reporter.
- ^ "Statutes & ordinances: Statute J" (PDF). University of Cambridge.
- ^ Black, Michael (2000). A Short History of Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77572-4.
- ^ "Our Story - Timeline". Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "Global education in "worst crisis in a century" following pandemic". thepienews.com. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Dr D.D.K.Chow, statement in a discussion on the report of the council, Cambridge University Reporter, 17 March 2021, 238-9