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This board is for university-based professionals. Find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further education forum.

parietal · 06/05/2025 22:02

VC salaries should, to some extend, be also considered in relation to the number of staff in the university and the size of the overall budget. In the world of business, someone managing a staff of over 5000 people with a budget of £50 million (I'm guessing the numbers) would have a pretty large salary.

The wide range of variability in VC salaries is odd, and it would still be better if there were higher tax brackets at the top end of pay to reduce the massive pay packets in business. but otherwise I'm not sure we can conclude much from this.

DeskJotter · 06/05/2025 22:22

parietal · 06/05/2025 22:02

VC salaries should, to some extend, be also considered in relation to the number of staff in the university and the size of the overall budget. In the world of business, someone managing a staff of over 5000 people with a budget of £50 million (I'm guessing the numbers) would have a pretty large salary.

The wide range of variability in VC salaries is odd, and it would still be better if there were higher tax brackets at the top end of pay to reduce the massive pay packets in business. but otherwise I'm not sure we can conclude much from this.

Much larger budget than that. Ours has ~3,000 staff and a budget of £360m.

titchy · 06/05/2025 22:30

parietal · 06/05/2025 22:02

VC salaries should, to some extend, be also considered in relation to the number of staff in the university and the size of the overall budget. In the world of business, someone managing a staff of over 5000 people with a budget of £50 million (I'm guessing the numbers) would have a pretty large salary.

The wide range of variability in VC salaries is odd, and it would still be better if there were higher tax brackets at the top end of pay to reduce the massive pay packets in business. but otherwise I'm not sure we can conclude much from this.

£50m is tiny! Queen Mary London’s income is £700 million - and nowhere near the largest provider.

Your point is correct though, salary should be related to income, no. students and staff and complexity. A small uni on one campus is not comparable to a large one with several UK and overseas campuses.

titchy · 06/05/2025 22:31

UCL’s income is £2bn!

Original poster
Mumteedum · 07/05/2025 06:42

Thanks @bge

Interesting. Our VC not listed because we do better in grad outcomes but ours is certainly on a whopping salary. He was earning over 300k a decade ago.

This link between graduate outcomes and vc salary seems an odd one. The rhetoric from the last government was all around graduate salaries and low value degrees. I had thought labour had dialled this down , but perhaps not fully going by this.

I would have thought it more interesting to look at VC salary as a proportion of total staffing costs or else against income. I think they're bloody tone deaf though when laying staff off or reducing salaries by making people go on fractional posts as I've read on MN.

These top level educational salaries seem to be disproportionate compared to regular academic staff. Same goes for executive head teachers. They're sapping a fortune out of the sector. The amount of PVC salaries and Directors of this that and the other seem crazy, when students see little benefit from them

We've shed a few PVCs since budget worries kicked in. They come, write a few reports, cause some chaos in handing down edicts on their latest big idea and then bugger off to the next uni offering the next rung in the ladder. They never seem to stay long.

OP posts:
TURNYOURCAPSLOCKOFF · 07/05/2025 06:51

Why is it an issue...it's a private company that people choose to give their money to...?

It's hardly compulsory to attend university, plus you have a huge choice...

bge · 07/05/2025 07:21

I do think those universities mentioned are terrible, to be honest, and people spending £50k of government money to attend is a bit of a scandal. They will evidently end up getting a job they could have got anyway and the money will never be paid back. I don’t know. I feel like as academics we are meant to defend the whole sector but I don’t feel like defending these places

titchy · 07/05/2025 08:07

It’s worth noting, as no-one else has on this thread, that the data on progression to graduate level employment or further education is based solely on a survey - which has a pretty poor (just over 50%) response rate. The survey takes place 15 months after graduation - had a grad job for a year after graduating, then a one month gap during the survey period, while having a second graduate job lined up - tough you count as unemployed. Having a gap yar funded by daddy during the survey period - hurray that counts as graduate level activity….Mature student with kids unable to relocate and in a non-grad job in your target company so you can prove your worth and get a part time grad level job - you’re a failure.

Its not exactly robust data.

ParmaVioletTea · 07/05/2025 08:10

I don't have a problem with my VC earning ca. £300k - I wouldn't want that job for all the money ... (although I doubt my current VC's ability - in the scheme of things, they're mediocre).

I used to be on the treadmill path to at least PVC - I've been an HoD and School Head of Research several times over. I stepped sideways back into funded research, and I'm so pleased I did.

We need good academic leaders, and we need to pay them for the work they do. Yes, we all work more than the hours we're paid (if we were paid overtime or TOIL or worked to our paid hours, UK HE would collapse in a week) but we can generally choose our priorities. VCs can't: one VC of my acquaintance told me once at a smallish social occasion (in his house), that he had had one evening at home over the last year. And that included weekends. Imagine having only one night in 365 nights at home. Not for me.

Igmum · 07/05/2025 08:17

Parma are you me? I’ve also been HoD 3x plus other roles and have strongly resisted attempts to push me further because those jobs are dull, dull, dull.

Agree with your points but I would add that too many on this list are heading obscure limited companies that are milking the system. If they want to pay themselves that, fine but I don’t see why their students should be eligible for loans and I would examine their degree awarding powers extremely carefully.

bge · 07/05/2025 08:22

Exactly!

DeskJotter · 07/05/2025 13:35

For what it's worth, I think VC salaries are a total distraction - I am very happy for my (excellent) VC to earn circa £300k. And I think plotting them against one metric is particularly stupid.

ParmaVioletTea · 08/05/2025 13:36

Indeed, @DeskJotter There are many overpaid people at my university (I'm thinking of a Pro-VC for Education at my place who's completely reorganising our teaching year, and who has never actually taught an undergrad class in their life), but even my mediocre VC is worth the money for what they have to do.

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