Sites supporting the signature of proposals
As part of the University’s governance processes, members of the Regent House are empowered to act collectively in a number of ways. There are sites available to assist Regent House members and certain other groups by providing a platform for the circulation of proposals (petitions) and the collection of signatures in support of them. Examples of proposals which can be signed by members of the Regent House are requests for a ballot on or the amendment of a Grace, fly-sheets (statements for or against proposals on which there is going to be a ballot), and proposed Graces for consideration by the Council. Students, members of the Senate and University employees who are not Regent House members can also sign fly-sheets.
The following sites are available for the collection of signatures:
Regent House Petitions site (current Regent House members only)
https://universityofcambridgecloud.sharepoint.com/sites/RegentHousePetitions
Employee Fly-sheets site (current Regent House members and University employees only)
https://universityofcambridgecloud.sharepoint.com/sites/SECRET_Employeefly-sheets
Cambridge Students' Union provides a platform for collecting student signatures on fly-sheets (email: membership@cambridgesu.org.uk).
How it works
Individual members seeking signatures in support of the above actions can host their petition on one of the sites and distribute a link to it so other members of the Regent House can view the details and choose whether to sign it by submitting the integrated form. Detailed guidance on raising a petition on the site and on signing a petition is available from the links on the right.
Access
The sites are designed to host petitions drafted by members of the Regent House and University employees for circulation and signature. The Regent House Petitions site (and its contents) is only available to current members of the Regent House. The Employee Fly-sheets site is only available to current members of the Regent House and current University employees. Those working for the University who do not have employee status (e.g. temporary workers) will not have access to either of the sites.
Members should log in to the site using their University account (crsid@cam.ac.uk) and UIS password to view and sign petitions of interest. Other University accounts which also give access to SharePoint (e.g. name@jbs.cam.ac.uk) will not give full access to the site. To avoid issues with cached logins, you may need to sign in using a new incognito/inprivate/private browser window (right-clicking in the browser toolbar normally gives access to this option).
The sites are hosted in University's SharePoint Online environment. Any members of the Regent House or University employees who experience problems logging in to the site for the first time should check that their UIS account has been synced to their University Microsoft account. This is a simple process and detailed guidance is provided on the UIS website on how to check and sync passwords; if access problems persist please contact the UIS service desk (servicedesk@uis.cam.ac.uk) in the first instance.
Site administration
The two sites are administered by the University Draftsman and the Reporter office (part of the Governance and Compliance Division), whose involvement with each petition is purely administrative. Queries on the site processes and administration may be directed to them by email to UniversityDraftsman@admin.cam.ac.uk.
The sites are a work in progress, set up at a time when the submission of hard-copy petitions and the collection of signatures was made more difficult owing to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. It is hoped users will find the sites clear and easy to use but it is an evolving resource and suggestions for improvements are welcome and should be sent to the University Draftsman email address above.