Useful Contacts

In an emergency, either dial 999, or call the Porters’ Lodge (01223 339339). It’s opened and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The College and University are both run by a number of committees and administrators, and it’s often hard to work out who to contact. The lists below should give you some pointers. There are also useful glossaries of Cambridge words published by the University and ApplyToCambridge.com – the University is 800 years old, and sometimes unusual names are given to things simply because that’s how they’ve always been known! Another place to go to find who’s who is the Departments page on JNet, which has pictures of lots of the people you may deal with in your time at the College (click the ‘Staff’ link for the relevant section).

  • Accommodation: the Student Rooms team
  • University Card, general admin: the Senior Postgraduate Administrator
  • Food and drink within College: the Catering Office (email the Manciple, which is a Cambridge word for the person who runs the catering).
  • Freshers events organised by the MCR: the MCR Social Officers.
  • Freshers events organised by the College: probably the Senior Postgraduate Administrator, unless the event has been organised by a different department.
  • Your course: email your Departmental Administrator (see the list of Departments on the University’s website, then look for the ‘About Us’ or ‘People’ section within the Departmental website).
  • Welfare issues: see our Welfare pages for comprehensive information on where to go for help (including within the University and the College).
  • Sports: the MCR Sports Officer; also see the Sports page on JNet for court booking and info about the gym, or the University sports pages.
  • IT issues in College: the College IT Officers.
  • The Library: the Librarian.
  • General help: The Porters. (Porters in Cambridge are gatekeepers and generally tend to know everything and everyone; they are not there to carry your bags!)
  • The Postgraduate Conference: The MCR Academic Officer.

The Tutorial Department

The College Tutorial Department is able to help with applying for an extension, interruption to your studies, leave to work away, applying for financial assistance, a visa letter, returning home unexpectedly or you may just need to talk about your worries about your course or difficulties with your studies. You may wish to discuss the financial implications of changing degree, moving onto a PhD and the opportunities for research studentships, scholarships and other awards. Full information is found on the Postgraduate pages within JNet, particularly on the Academic Support page. You can request letters here.

The Graduate Tutors

Professor Tim Wilkinson, as the Graduate Tutor, has primary responsibility for postgraduates and is the person to approach with any problems that may arise during your time at Jesus. Tim is located in F staircase, Room 5. Arrangements can be made to see Prof. Wilkinson by emailing graduate-tutor@jesus.cam.ac.uk. Prof. Wilkinson usually attends the Postgraduate and Fellows High Tables on Tuesday nights, so this is a good time to meet him.

Dr Sybil Stacpoole is the Assistant Graduate Tutor, and Dr Michael Edwards is the Deputy Graduate Tutor.

Dr Vanessa Bowman is the Senior Postgraduate Administrator and can be found during office hours (09:00 to 15:00, Monday to Wednesday, and Fridays) in the Tutorial Department, First Floor, N Staircase. Her telephone number is (01223) 339421, and she can be contacted by email at graduate-tutor@jesus.cam.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about navigating College processes, about your student status or immigration matters, or anything else, please contact Vanessa as a first port of call.

Tutors

In addition, there are a number of Fellows who are ‘Tutors‘. Postgraduate students may turn to any of them for advice on any matter whatsoever and on any problems, great or small. They will provide a confidential and sympathetic ear and can direct you towards appropriate professional or expert advice if necessary. You can contact any of them directly through either their daily drop in sessions or through the College Porters. The Tutors will treat any information you give them in complete confidence, only passing information to others where necessary with your permission. They can be contacted in case of an emergency or urgent problem, whatever the hour, via the Porter’s Lodge (01223 339339). A list of the current Tutors is pigeonholed to all students at the start of each year, and is posted on the notice boards outside the P’lodge.

During vacation periods, postgraduate students can contact the Graduate Tutor by email or visit the Tutorial Department in person during normal office hours (Second Court, N staircase, First Floor).If you find yourself in need of help urgently out of office hours, then you can phone the Porters’ Lodge.

College Contacts

Upon your arrival in College, you will be assigned a College Contact who is a Fellow of Jesus College. Your contact will be from your faculty or a related subject area. The role of your contact is to provide an informal and friendly point of contact within the College Fellowship should you need some simple advice. This role exists as a backup to your main ports of call through either your supervisor or the College Welfare Tutors, or you may wish to discuss academic or professional matters of the sort not normally covered by your faculty supervisor or the College Welfare Tutors. The second role of your contact is to support the social engagement of new postgraduate students in the College. This is done in a variety of ways, and may include an invitation from your contact to attend undergraduate events in College, or an invitation(s) to separate postgraduate-only events.

The Porters and the Porter’s Lodge

The College Porters are responsible for the college’s safety and security. Jesus has a fantastic group of Porters who are friendly, helpful, and good natured. They can be found at the Porters’ Lodge (P’lodge) at the end of the Chimney, at the main Tower Gate. Their office is open and staffed 24 hours a day, both in term and out. As your first point of contact with the College, the Porters are a great source of knowledge and are definitely the people to ask when you don’t know something. The telephone number of the P’Lodge is 01223 339339 – useful to know in an emergency, for example if you or one of your housemates burns the toast and sets off the fire alarm, the Porters will come round and turn it off, saving you from the noise (if not the embarrassment!)

At the Porters’ Lodge, you can:

  • Check out a spare key if locked out (note: unless prior arrangements have been made, only the resident of the room may collect a spare key or access card from the Porters’ Lodge; when a spare key or access card has been signed out the resident is allowed 72 hours to return it. When away from College on vacation or research, all keys to rooms in College must be returned to the Porters’ Lodge, as well as when you finally vacate your room. Lost keys and keys not returned incur a charge of £30. Lost access cards incur a charge of £10 for a replacement.)
  • Get replacement light bulbs
  • Send and receive mail
    • Royal Mail: Standard postage rates apply; cleared in time to catch postal collection
    • University Messenger Service (UMS): This is mail sent to Faculties, Departments and Fellows of other Colleges, etc. It is not to be used for sending mail to other students in other Colleges. There are two deliveries/collections of UMS daily Monday to Friday.
    • Inter-Collegiate Mail Service (ICMS): This is mail which is sent student to student. There is one collection daily Monday to Friday.
    • Collect parcels (check your pigeonhole in the MCR for the parcel slip). You should use the following address for your mail:
       (Your name) PG
       Jesus College
       Cambridge
       CB5 8BL
       UNITED KINGDOM
  • Register your bicycle
  • Reserve tennis or squash courts
  • Notify them of any emergency situation

East House/Bursary

East House is where you need to go to pay College bills, or fees, or to pick up grant or scholarship cheques. The finance office is on the first floor on the left, and is open Monday to Thursday: 2:30pm-4:30pm (around the time bills are due, these hours are extended to 10:00am-12:30pm and 2:30pm-4:30pm Monday to Friday).

College Council

This is not really a person or a place, but it is worth a mention and fits this category more than the others! It is the decision-making board of College, where any important changes to most aspects of the College (from building work to provision for students) are agreed upon. It meets on specific dates throughout the year and feeds off recommendations made by lots of different committees, many of which are attended by postgraduate representatives from the MCR Committee. Council approves everything that happens in and to College, and minutes are available in the library and on JNet, the College’s intranet. There are four Junior representatives on Council: The JCSU President, one elected undergraduate rep, the MCR President and one elected postgraduate representative. These representatives also act as Trustees of the College.

Who’s Who

  • The Master: The Master of College is a Very Important Person. She is also extremely approachable, so don’t be afraid to talk to her! If you get an invitation to meet with the Master (e.g. for drinks as a second or third year PhD student), make every effort to attend and RSVP if you are unable to attend.
  • The President: Head of the Fellowship (the academic Fellows of College)
  • The Senior Tutor: Responsible for the Junior members of College (ie undergraduates and postgraduates); besides his academic duties, he is in charge of parking permits.
  • The Graduate Tutor: Oversees the postgraduate students.
  • The Deputy Graduate Tutor: Assists the Graduate Tutor.
  • The Senior Postgraduate Administrator: Often your first point of contact with the Postgraduate Tutors, and receives emails sent to them.
  • Assistant Graduate Turor: Responsible for the Postgraduate Development Programme
  • The Dean of College: Responsible for discipline and party permits.
  • The Chaplain: Responsible for the Chapel.
  • The Senior Bursar: Oversees the College Finances. (See also the Financial Tutor, below.)
  • The Tutorial Administrator: Oversees housing and various other administration.
  • The Financial Tutor: Responsible for all matters relating to financial hardship: applications to Access Funds, Supplementary Maintenance Committee, the General Scholarship Fund and other special College funds, as well as making special arrangements for paying your College bills.
  • The Head Porter and the Porters: Responsible for College security
  • The College Nurse: Assists/advises/administers medical treatment; manages the twice weekly physiotherapy clinics, and can refer you to other medical professionals when necessary.
  • The College Mental Health Nurse: Can offer confidential support, assessments, and advice on a range of mental health and wellbeing concerns, from academic stress to emotional difficulties.
  • The Head of Housekeeping: Responsible for the cleanliness of accommodation.
  • The Head of Maintenance: Responsible for the upkeep of College buildings.

More information about all these people can be found on JNet.

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