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| New universities regulator warns of senior pay crackdown | New universities regulator warns of senior pay crackdown |
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| Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, tells MPs she will act if universities fail to curb high remuneration | |
| Richard Adams Education editor | |
| Tue 12 Dec 2017 15.32 GMT | |
| First published on Tue 12 Dec 2017 15.15 GMT | |
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| Universities need to curb the high levels of pay for vice-chancellors and other senior staff or face a crackdown, the head of the new higher education regulator has told MPs. | Universities need to curb the high levels of pay for vice-chancellors and other senior staff or face a crackdown, the head of the new higher education regulator has told MPs. |
| Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of the Office for Students (OfS), which will take over regulation of the sector in April, said the public was right to be concerned about excessive remuneration for university leaders and outlined plans for the sector to have to justify all pay above £150,000. | Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of the Office for Students (OfS), which will take over regulation of the sector in April, said the public was right to be concerned about excessive remuneration for university leaders and outlined plans for the sector to have to justify all pay above £150,000. |
| “We are waiting to see whether the sector can address this, seriously address this, and address the levels of pay and ensure that they are justified. And if they are not, the OfS will have to intervene,” Dandridge told the education select committee. | “We are waiting to see whether the sector can address this, seriously address this, and address the levels of pay and ensure that they are justified. And if they are not, the OfS will have to intervene,” Dandridge told the education select committee. |
| Her comments in a hearing on value for money in higher education come after intense scrutiny of the pay deals of vice-chancellors, whose salaries and benefits are rising rapidly at a time when wages for other university staff are being pegged back. | Her comments in a hearing on value for money in higher education come after intense scrutiny of the pay deals of vice-chancellors, whose salaries and benefits are rising rapidly at a time when wages for other university staff are being pegged back. |
| There has been official criticism of the process by which the vice-chancellor of Bath University increased her pay to the highest of any university leader in the UK, at £468,000, while the average has crept up to about £280,000. | There has been official criticism of the process by which the vice-chancellor of Bath University increased her pay to the highest of any university leader in the UK, at £468,000, while the average has crept up to about £280,000. |
| “There is a sense in which some senior salaries have got out of kilter and there is a legitimate public concern about the levels of some of the salaries,” Dandridge told the committee. | “There is a sense in which some senior salaries have got out of kilter and there is a legitimate public concern about the levels of some of the salaries,” Dandridge told the committee. |
| “We are proposing that anyone being paid more than £150,000 per year will be required to justify it, and the OfS will look at that justification to make sure that it is appropriate. | “We are proposing that anyone being paid more than £150,000 per year will be required to justify it, and the OfS will look at that justification to make sure that it is appropriate. |
| “There is an issue that needs to be addressed and it is something that we at the Office for Students, I think, have to take very seriously. If the pay can’t be justified then we will have to get into a discussion with the institution about what happens next. But we have an array of tools and responses available to us to deal with it.” | “There is an issue that needs to be addressed and it is something that we at the Office for Students, I think, have to take very seriously. If the pay can’t be justified then we will have to get into a discussion with the institution about what happens next. But we have an array of tools and responses available to us to deal with it.” |
| The OfS, set up under recent legislation, does not come into existence until the new year. | The OfS, set up under recent legislation, does not come into existence until the new year. |
| “I think it’s really critical that they try to sort this out themselves, acknowledging the wider public concerns,” Dandridge said, noting that new proposals for setting senior pay were being drawn up by the Committee of University Chairs (CUC). | “I think it’s really critical that they try to sort this out themselves, acknowledging the wider public concerns,” Dandridge said, noting that new proposals for setting senior pay were being drawn up by the Committee of University Chairs (CUC). |
| “We have high hopes that it is going to be robust and deal effectively with the public and political concerns that have been raised. | “We have high hopes that it is going to be robust and deal effectively with the public and political concerns that have been raised. |
| “So yes, we have the powers. Yes, I think there is a problem. Yes, I think at the OfS we’ve absolutely got to be prepared and deal with and tackle this.” | “So yes, we have the powers. Yes, I think there is a problem. Yes, I think at the OfS we’ve absolutely got to be prepared and deal with and tackle this.” |
| The OfS chief executive, who has been criticised for being too close to the sector by the former Labour minister Lord Adonis, also suggested that vice-chancellors’ pay could be linked to the size and scale of each university. | The OfS chief executive, who has been criticised for being too close to the sector by the former Labour minister Lord Adonis, also suggested that vice-chancellors’ pay could be linked to the size and scale of each university. |
| “Some of these universities are huge, billion-pound, international operations, and some of them have far fewer responsibilities,” she told MPs. | “Some of these universities are huge, billion-pound, international operations, and some of them have far fewer responsibilities,” she told MPs. |
| The CUC, which represents the non-executive chairs of universities’ governing councils, said it was preparing proposals for publication next year, including greater transparency in pay setting and publishing a ratio of vice-chancellors’ pay to the median earnings of their workforces. | The CUC, which represents the non-executive chairs of universities’ governing councils, said it was preparing proposals for publication next year, including greater transparency in pay setting and publishing a ratio of vice-chancellors’ pay to the median earnings of their workforces. |
| But the CUC’s evidence to the committee defended current pay levels, arguing that UK vice-chancellors are underpaid compared with those in countries including New Zealand and Australia. | But the CUC’s evidence to the committee defended current pay levels, arguing that UK vice-chancellors are underpaid compared with those in countries including New Zealand and Australia. |
| “Given the data available, the CUC sees no evidence that most vice-chancellors are paid an unreasonable amount for the challenging work they do,” it argued. | “Given the data available, the CUC sees no evidence that most vice-chancellors are paid an unreasonable amount for the challenging work they do,” it argued. |
| The MPs also questioned Dandridge over a report last week by the National Audit Office, which criticised universities over value for money and offering little in the way of guidance for applicants. | The MPs also questioned Dandridge over a report last week by the National Audit Office, which criticised universities over value for money and offering little in the way of guidance for applicants. |
| Dandridge said she took the NAO’s report “extremely seriously” but disagreed with some parts. “It would be a mistake to think that everything is a disaster in our higher education system,” she said. | Dandridge said she took the NAO’s report “extremely seriously” but disagreed with some parts. “It would be a mistake to think that everything is a disaster in our higher education system,” she said. |
| Asked about the dominance of Russell Group universities, Dandridge said there needed to be “very much better information, advice and guidance” for applicants to choose the most appropriate places to study. | Asked about the dominance of Russell Group universities, Dandridge said there needed to be “very much better information, advice and guidance” for applicants to choose the most appropriate places to study. |
| Amatey Doku, the National Union of Students vice-president for higher education, said: “I don’t think just saying that we need more information for students, in terms of trying to dismantle the elitism in the system, goes far enough.” | Amatey Doku, the National Union of Students vice-president for higher education, said: “I don’t think just saying that we need more information for students, in terms of trying to dismantle the elitism in the system, goes far enough.” |
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