Russell Group defends ‘pay boom’ for top staff

Figures show that leading Russell Group universities spent £382 million (US$613 million) on the highest paid academics and managers last year – twice as much as in 2003-04. It also emerged that the proportion of university spending on top staff – those paid at least £100,000 a year – increased from just 1.8% to 3.8%, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph.

Over the same period, average pay for vice-chancellors increased from less than £200,000 to almost £304,000, it was claimed.

The Russell Group, which represents institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, University College London and Imperial College, insisted that attracting “first-rate leadership and academic talent” was essential to allow universities to compete on the global stage. It was also claimed that many vice-chancellors have had their pay frozen or cut in recent years.

But the disclosure prompted claims that Britain’s best universities were “indulging in a real boom in pay” for a small section of senior employees. The report, by the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts, which lobbies on behalf of students, said: “At most universities we’ve seen year-on-year increases in student fees and hall fees, combined with real terms pay cuts and attacks on pensions for lecturers and cleaners alike."
Full report on The Telegraph site