At least two thirds of vice-chancellors at cash-strapped universities took pay rises last year, new analysis has revealed. The Mail has more.
Of the 66 institutions known to be making redundancies or taking cost-cutting measures, 43 gave their vice chancellor a pay bump.
Some were awarded massive pay package boosts of up to 26%, with many pocketing total deals well over £400,000 a year.
The average salary increase across these institutions between 2021/22 and 2022/23 – the latest available data – was 8.3%.
It comes after Universities U.K., which represents vice-chancellors, said some sector finances had deteriorated “fast” and called for government help.
And on Thursday, the consultancy Public First called for a £2.5 billion fund to provide state-backed loans for universities to avoid them going under. It warned ministers must make a plan to prepare for the threat of at least one university collapsing due to financial woes.
Last night, a spokesman for the University and College Union (UCU) said: “The public will rightly be appalled when they see the engorged salaries vice-chancellors are raking in, despite presiding over a broken sector.
“Thousands of staff are at risk of being made redundant, tens of thousands more are on insecure contracts.
“Vice-chancellors urgently need to reign in their own pay packets and start protecting jobs, courses and student provision.”
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “Taxpayers will be bristling at the brass neck of university bosses who come cap in hand demanding a bailout while their own wallets get wider.”
The figures were revealed by Daily Mail analysis of pay rise data compiled by Times Higher Education, and separate data published by UCU academics.
In one stark example, Teesside University, in the North East, announced a “university-wide voluntary severance scheme” earlier this year in the face of “current challenges”.
Despite this, the vice-chancellor’s total remuneration package rose by a staggering 17%, from £312,139 in 2021/22 to £364,305 in 2022/23.
Meanwhile, Bradford University is facing a funding black hole of £10 million and announced job losses in March.
Despite its financial difficulties, its vice-chancellor’s total pay package increased by more than 11% to £290,000 between 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Swansea University is haemorrhaging 200 staff in cost cutting measures brought in by vice-chancellor Professor Paul Boyle, who saw his total pay package increase by more than 9% to £359,000 in 2022/23.
At the beginning of the year, Leeds Beckett University opened a voluntary severance scheme.
But its vice-chancellor Professor Peter Slee saw his total remuneration jump by 6.5% to £313,000 in the year to 2022/23.
Meanwhile at Nottingham University – where the vice-chancellor’s package rose by 8.4% to £361,181 a year – hiring freezes, budget cuts, the axing of hundreds of fixed-term contracts and a redundancy scheme have been ushered in as the university hurtles towards an end of year budget deficit.
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