The key function of the Council & Academic Branch is to provide secretarial work at meetings of the Council, the Senate and their sub-committees. The branch helps carry out the activities of the Senate sub-committees such as Academic Development and Planning Committee (ADPC), Senate Research Committee (SRC), Senate Higher Degrees Committee (SHDC), English Language Teaching Committee (ELTC), Senate Library Committee (SLC) and Publications Committee (PC), and Honorary Degree Committee. The tasks of convening meetings of all these committees on approved dates, recording proceedings, preparing minutes of all meetings, conveying decisions taken at these meetings to relevant authorities to take necessary follow-up action on time are distributed among four Senior staff members in the division. For the Senate Research Committee, it performs under the guidance of the Committee such tasks as the awarding of research grants to academic staff members and monitoring the progress of research undertaken by grantees until completion.

Moreover, during the period prior to the annual Peradeniya University Research Sessions (PURSE), the division becomes the Secretariat, coordinating activities of all sub-committees and providing the necessary assistance to the relevant authorities in calling quotations for various goods and services needed for the activities of the PURSE. With regard to the grant of fellowships, the division calls applications for Higher Degree Fellowships of Gate Mudliyar, A G. Tillakeratne, E. W. Goonathilake, Hilda Obeysekera and the University Research Fellowship, make necessary steps to select candidates for these fellowships, inform the selected candidates, maintain personal files for each selected candidate and monitor their research work until the completion of fellowships. With the amalgamation of the Council Division to the Academic Division since 2002, the division has been entrusted with the task of attending to matters related to Council meetings. Based on the decision taken at the Council, this division convenes council sub-committees appointed for various purposes by the council.

As per the decision taken by the University authorities, in any calendar year, it is mandatory to have at least 10 meetings of the Council and the Senate. However, special meetings are also arranged based on the requirement, if authorities deem them necessary. All the Senate sub-committees are held quarterly except for the Honorary Degree Committee and the ADPC, which are held annually and once in two months respectively. Preparation of documents including printing, compiling and binding etc. for all these meetings are done by the division.

In addition to the above activities, the division is involved in the preparatory work for the Annual General Convocation of the University. Of the activities related to the Annual General Convocation, the division has a major task of coordinating all the sub-committees, and prepares the detailed programme and Volume III of the Convocation. The Deputy Registrar attends meetings of Organizing Committees of General Convocation and those of PURSE as the Secretary. Further, she becomes a member of the Ceremony Sub-Committee and the Logistic Sub-committee, being involved in activities which come under the purview of these two sub committees such as sending invitations to special guests of the Vice-chancellor and Deans of Faculties, making arrangements for academic procession, arranging the stage and allocating seats for academic staff. She also takes part in organizing the Convocation for the External Graduants annually.