Who we are and what we do

Information about the University, its structure, functions, locations, and contacts.

How the University was established

The University of Liverpool was incorporated by Royal Charter (PDF) in 1903 (company number RC000660).

The University is an exempt charity under the terms of the Charities Act 2011 (HMRC charity exemption number X7758). Further information about the University’s charitable status is available in the Governance section of our website.

How we are governed

Our governing body, with ultimate responsibility for the conduct of all the affairs of the institution, is the University Council. The Council is also the Trustee Board and its members are the trustees of the University. The Council has a number of committees, including Finance and Resources, Audit, Education, and Research and Impact. There are 21 members of Council with a lay majority. Elected and appointed members serve for renewable three-year terms. Council meets six times per year (four business meetings and two away days).

We publish minutes from Council from the 2014-15 academic year to date. Minutes are not published online until they have been formally approved by the Committee at its next meeting.

Senate, subject to the oversight of Council, is responsible for: promoting research; promoting and regulating learning and teaching; and maintaining the quality and standards of the University’s academic provision. It has 87 members. Senate is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor and normally meets four times per year.

The governance structure is laid down in our Royal Charter (PDF), Statutes (PDF) and Ordinances (PDF) from which both Council and Senate derive their powers. 

Council and Senate are supported in their work by a range of more specialist committees within our committee structure (PDF).

The Vice Chancellor, who also acts as the Accountable Officer to the Office for Students (OfS), is supported in the role by the Provost/Deputy Vice Chancellor and the University’s Senior Leadership Team. 

Senior Leadership Team (SLT) is the University's key operational management committee. SLT takes decisions on major institutional operational matters and strategic issues where doing so is time critical.

All governing documents can be found in the Governance area of our website.

Organisational structure

The University comprises: 

Location

Our main campus is in Liverpool city centre with a further Veterinary Science campus nearby in Leahurst (Wirral). Along with city centre student accommodation, we also have student villages at Greenbank Student Village, about 3.5 miles from the city centre.

View directions to the main campus, parking, accommodation and information for disabled visitors.

The Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) is based at Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

Online programmes are delivered in partnership with Kaplan Open Learning, an affiliated college of the University.

Contact details

How to find contact details for our colleagues and departments:

Organisations linked to the University

Information relating to organisations which the University has responsibility for, those it works in partnership with, those it sponsors,and companies wholly owned by it.

Page updated: 14 February 2024

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