Financial update: all-staff talk September 2024
25 September 2024
For the first all-staff talk of the new academic year, Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort provided an update on our financial position.
The talk followed the conclusion of our undergraduate student recruitment cycle for 2024/25, with sector-wide challenges negatively impacting our student numbers.
Dominik Zaum, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Planning and Resource), outlined the driving factors that left us short of our student recruitment targets, despite a well-executed recruitment and Clearing campaign. These factors significantly affected most mid- and lower-tariff universities in the UK and were detailed in a recent update to staff.
Dominik explained that our very stretching recruitment targets for 2024/25 were set based on data and insights about growth markets. He acknowledged that, with hindsight, these targets had been optimistic and that more modest targets were likely to be set for future years.
Income from a growth in student numbers was intended to be used to partially address our financial operating deficit, offsetting some of the need for additional cost savings. Circumstances mean we must now deliver some cost savings more urgently, with the aim of making sure that our financial outturn this year is equal or better than last year’s £30m deficit.
The goal remains to return to a surplus position over the coming years and ensuring our financial sustainability long term.
Decision timings
Robert explained that discussions around cost saving measures will take place in the coming weeks, including consultation with the University and Colleges Union (UCU) Reading branch and the Staff Forum on proposals impacting staff, and with the members of the Senior Leadership Group, which includes all Heads of Schools and Directorates.
Proposals include a deferral of the national pay award and a targeted voluntary redundancy scheme. Incremental pay increases are not affected.
Cost saving proposals that will require scrutiny by Senate and Council – including the voluntary redundancy scheme - will be taken to Senate on 30 October 2024, with decisions on them due at the Council meeting on 20 November 2024.
Further information will be shared with staff following the Council decisions.
These decisions will be made with a view to reducing both the in-year deficit and finalising our budget for 2025/26 in March 2025.
Robert acknowledged the lack of firm decisions to share at this stage will be a source of anxiety to some colleagues and emphasised the importance of line manager support and colleagues using our staff wellbeing resources, including the Employee Assistance Programme, if they need to.
Q&A
More than 1,300 colleagues attended this session, and almost 200 questions were posted in the Q&A by colleagues – far above average.
This meant we were unable to put all questions to the speakers in the time available, with common concerns and queries summarised and presented in the usual way in order to represent the main themes.
The Q&A is moderated and all questions were published (some after a slight delay), except one which was responded to directly.
We recognise that some colleagues were understandably eager to get answers to their questions, and so we will publish further responses to areas of concern raised in the Q&A in a separate article in the coming days.