Staff missed out on new tuition fee income, says UCU
10 September 2013
UCU today said that although universities have ploughed new tuition fee money into improvements to attract students, they have neglected their key resource - staff.
A report from Universities UK, Where student fees go*, details how universities are spending their new income from tuition of up to £9,000 a year. The report gives examples of how the money has been put into improving estates, employability initiatives, and widening participation through outreach in poor areas.
However, when it comes to teaching and learning, an area where the report acknowledges fee-paying students now have increased expectations, the focus of spending has been on facilities and infrastructure at the expense of staff, says UCU.
University staff have suffered four years of pay erosion representing a real terms pay cut of 13% in the value of their take-home pay. For this academic year (2013-14), they have been offered another below-inflation pay increase of just 1%.
UCU head of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said: 'University staff are the backbone of our institutions and, despite facilitating improved educational achievement, they have seen none of this new money. In fact, we would argue they have subsidised the improvements listed in this report as they have seen a four-year erosion in their pay - equivalent to a real terms pay cut of 13%.'
* Where student fees go is launched on Tuesday 10 September 2013 at Universities UK members' annual conference, held this year at The University of Leicester. The report will be available to download from www.universitiesuk.ac.uk on Tuesday.
However, when it comes to teaching and learning, an area where the report acknowledges fee-paying students now have increased expectations, the focus of spending has been on facilities and infrastructure at the expense of staff, says UCU.
University staff have suffered four years of pay erosion representing a real terms pay cut of 13% in the value of their take-home pay. For this academic year (2013-14), they have been offered another below-inflation pay increase of just 1%.
UCU head of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said: 'University staff are the backbone of our institutions and, despite facilitating improved educational achievement, they have seen none of this new money. In fact, we would argue they have subsidised the improvements listed in this report as they have seen a four-year erosion in their pay - equivalent to a real terms pay cut of 13%.'
* Where student fees go is launched on Tuesday 10 September 2013 at Universities UK members' annual conference, held this year at The University of Leicester. The report will be available to download from www.universitiesuk.ac.uk on Tuesday.
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