The University of York has announced £15m of financial improvements for the next financial year in order to return to a financial surplus. These measures include boosting domestic undergraduate recruitment, reducing operating costs and collaborating with other institutions.
An email sent to University staff by Charlie Jeffery on Wednesday 12 February blamed a “steep drop in international student applications”, and criticised the “broken” income sources used by Russell Group Universities like York.
These include: "visa fees and restrictions introduced by the last UK government; a sharp fall in currency values relative to the pound in India, China and elsewhere over the last 18 months (which makes study here more expensive); and lower cost competition to recruit students, especially from China, in Hong Kong, Malaysia and elsewhere in South East Asia."
Jeffery states that a financial surplus was necessary to “protect the quality of our research and teaching, and pursue our purposes as a University for public good”. The email announces a mix of cost-cutting measures and new sources of income, “to move beyond this broken-down model of university funding.”
The University aims to boost student numbers through transnational education partnerships, an expansion of York’s online education scheme, and building connections with other universities worldwide.
The email also announces “additional savings in staff costs.” This includes ring-fenced voluntary severance schemes “in specific areas”, and voluntary measures like flexible retirement to reduce staff costs.
However, Jeffery confirmed that there would be no closures of academic or professional services departments.
Jeffery concluded the email by announcing that:
“We have to take action again as the inherited funding model continues to break down. We are, in effect, charting our way out of a broken model.
“I know that having to take this action is disappointing and concerning. But through hard experience we have built an understanding of how to manage difficult situations. Our aim is to act promptly, avoid the extent of difficulties we can see elsewhere in the sector, and protect the quality and purposes of our work at the University of York.”
