Laura Pennie

Laura is the Interim Academic Registrar, responsible for leadership of the Directorate of Student Life and Registry Services. The Directorate comprises: 

• Registry Services including Student Records; Graduation and Assessment; the Office for Student Appeals, Complaints and Conduct (OSACC); Quality Assurance; and centralised support for the Academic Administration team.

• Student Life including chaplaincy; counselling; diagnostic assessments; disability and wellbeing; Student Centre and reception; international; mental health; safeguarding and prevent; and student finance advice. 

Laura's role also extends to include close working with the Centre for Academic and International Partnerships, the Apprenticeships Hub, and the Centre of Excellence for Learning and Teaching. She is involved in driving forwards a number of pan-institutional projects. 

Laura is an active member of the Academic Registrar's Council (ARC), and a Board member for the Cambridge Access Validating Agency (CAVA). She has presented at national conferences on a number of occasions, and in 2023 contributed to HE Professional's 'Student Complaints Conference' as a panel member. 

Laura is an active member of the Association of Higher Education Professionals (AHEP, previously the AUA), and was awarded Member of the Year at the national conference in 2023. She is currently the AHEP Ambassador for UoS, with aims to grow membership numbers and the engagement opportunities for professional services staff. Over the last two years Laura has led a working group to deliver the University's Professional Services Conference, bringing development and networking opportunities to colleagues at all levels across the organisation. 

Laura joined the University in 2007, originally working in the Admissions team and subsequently within the then newly established Infozone (Student Centre) as Infozone Manager. She moved to the role of Head of Academic Services in 2014, and was subsequently appointed as Deputy Academic Registrar. Laura took up the role of Interim Academic Registrar in July 2024.  

Prior to joining UoS Laura graduated from the University of Kent with a BA (Hons) in Comparative Literary Studies and Classical and Archaeological Studies. In 2021 she completed an MSc in Higher Education Leadership, Management and Administration. Her final project focused on complaint making behaviours of widening participation students in UK HE.