Author: Shaun Williams, Executive Director Engagement and Advancement
- This week’s meeting included one of our regular updates on our Strategic Major Projects portfolio. These are extremely useful updates on the status of our Strategic Major Projects, and were accompanied by an update on our long-term estates capital programme and IT portfolio, and faculty strategic initiatives updates from each of our Deans in turn. Taken together, they provide a very comprehensive and holistic overview of all our strategic initiatives, all underpinning the delivery of our University Strategy. UEB also heard that the Vice-Chancellor last week held the first of more than 30 Town Halls he will be holding with schools and directorates over the next three months, to provide an update on delivery of the Strategy and to hear from colleagues. UEB will be regularly considering any common themes which emerge at these meetings.
- UEB noted that our campus University and College Union (UCU) branch has formally lodged with the University its disagreement over some Modernising the Governance changes, and Marking and Assessment Boycott grievances. We will continue to talk.
- UEB discussed the annual review of our summer and winter graduation ceremonies, including a number of recommendations for continuous improvement informed by feedback from students and staff, which will now be considered further. Moving graduation ceremonies to Southampton’s O2 Guildhall, and a return to Winchester Cathedral for Winchester School of Art’s summer graduations, has been considered highly successful.
- UEB noted the recent UK Higher Education Financial Sustainability Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which makes for both encouraging and sobering reading. The strengths of the sector are evident – around 285 HE providers across the UK, with 2.9M students enrolled, contributing £71BN to UK GDP in 2021/22, and with 80% of research activity either world-leading or internationally excellent. The report also highlights that universities are feeling considerable pressure given constraints on their ability to generate income, increasing investment requirements, and an escalating cost base. This is placing strain on margins and driving greater reliance on cross-subsidisation, particularly from international student fee income, which has led to increasing concern about over-reliance. Domestic tuition fees are now worth less than £6,000 in 2012 prices (when fees were capped), it is estimated that £6.6BN of investment is required to decarbonise HE estates in the UK, and staff costs account for 54% of total expenditure leading to a material cost base exposed to inflation and salary negotiations.
- After the regular review of the University Risk Register, UEB were delighted to hear that Southampton’s Saints football team has set a new club record of 21 games without defeat, rising to third in the Championship table. An early return to the Premiership would be good for the city, and does actually have an influence on our overall attractiveness for some prospective students.