Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge. It was formed in August 2021, when the University of Cambridge merged Cambridge University Press, the world's oldest academic publisher, and Cambridge Assessment.[2][3][4]
Status
Department of the University of Cambridge
1534; 2021 (merger of Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment)
Cambridge, England
- Deborah Prentice (vice chancellor)
- Peter Phillips (CEO)
6,560 (2022)[1]
The organisation operates in more than 170 countries around the world and has offices in 50 locations,[5] with its headquarters in Cambridge, England.
Its products include the Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge Core, IGCSEs, Cambridge Technicals, Linguaskill and hundreds of academic journals and books.
Two years on from the merger between Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment, the combined group now calculates that it reaches 100 million learners worldwide, with 85% of its revenues coming from overseas. It reported a turnover of £1 billion in 2023, up from £868 million the previous year.[6]
Being part of the University of Cambridge gives Cambridge University Press & Assessment a non-profit status. It is led by Chief Executive Peter Phillips who reports to the Vice-Chancellor of the university.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment's operations include four main product groups in English, International Education, Academic and UK Education.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment also works in partnership with Cambridge University on mathematics curriculum (Cambridge Maths) and on supporting education at a national level (Cambridge Partnership for Education).
Governance[edit]
The organisation is governed by a 'Syndicate' (Press & Assessment Syndicate) of 18 senior members of the University of Cambridge. The Press & Assessment Syndicate governs the group's activity and exercises oversight through the Press & Assessment Board and its committees. Day-to-day management of the business is delegated by the Syndicate to the Cambridge University Press & 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.
History[edit]
Cambridge University Press & Assessment was formed on 1 August 2021. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II approved amendments to University of Cambridge Statutes,[7] which formally recognised the operational merger of Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press, presented at a Privy Council meeting on 15 December 2021.[8] 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 & Assessment Syndicate.[9]
The two founding organisations have an entwined history, since December 1858 when Cambridge University Press first printed exam papers for UCLES.[10][11]
At the 2022 Education World Forum, Cambridge University Press & Assessment Chief Executive Peter Andrew Jestyn 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."[12]