It administers the Sorbonne, the Villa Finaly in Italy, the Château de Ferrières (until 2012), the Domaine de Richelieu in Indre-et-Loire,[3] the Jacques Doucet Library and other assets bequeathed to the former University of Paris.

The chancellery also represents the eleven universities that own the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.

It is responsible for a posteriori control of the actions of Parisian universities, as well as those of the Paris inter-university libraries, particularly with regard to state investments.

The Minister responsible may also, by decree, entrust the Chancellery with the management of the assets of other Grandes Écoles and universities, which constitutes an exception to the rule.

When the Sorbonne was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century, the rector-chancellor was given luxurious premises in the north of the building, known as the Palais Académique (English: the Academic Palace).