Graduate/Junior Common Rooms

The role of G/JCRs is to represent the views of their students on College matters to that College and to other relevant staff and bodies within the University.

The governance arrangements for G/JCRs have been reviewed as a consequence of the Charities Act 2006 which removed the exempt charitable status of student unions and meant that student unions with a turnover in excess of £100k now fall under the regulation of the Charity Commission.

A new framework, known as the Durham Student Organisation framework (DSO), through which student organisations (other than those recognised as student unions) operate within the organisational and governance structure of the University, was developed during 2011 jointly by the University and the Presidents. All G/JCRs voted on whether to opt into this framework or to follow the charity route.

The JCRs of the following ten maintained colleges voted to opt into the DSO framework with effect from 1 August 2011:

The G/JCRs of the following four maintained colleges opted to follow the charity route :