DECISION MAKING BY UK UNIVERSITY LEADERS IN

Transcript:DECISION MAKING BY UK UNIVERSITY LEADERS IN:
DECISION MAKING BY UK UNIVERSITY LEADERS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES HEATHER EGGINS UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE & STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY THE INTERVIEWEES Chairs and Members of Governing Bodies of UK Universities and Vice-Chancellors/Principals Responsible for the strategy of the university Their task “to assure the financial stability of their institutions to enable them to ‘teach, research and innovate” 20 in-depth interviews from Oct. 2018 “The range of uncertainties has never been wider” GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES Economic Geopolitical Coronavirus UK UNCERTAINTIES Sterling Poor economic outlook post-corona Brexit fallout: ‘no deal’ risk “Will the government allow any university to go bankrupt?” Institutional Uncertainties Pensions Continuing impact of Brexit: EU students, research funding, collaboration, EU academic mobility Ongoing concern relating to AUGAR Review Competition for home students:fines, control of numbers International students The ongoing effects of coronavirus “The mission now is to pay the mortgage” MONEY THAT HAS TO BE FOUND Repayment of interest and capital on long-term loans due to recent expansion of university estates Payment for major ongoing building projects: risk of penalties if cancelled Staff salaries Staff pensions Maintenance costs of estate and of the delivery of courses “We can build in short-term resilience but if income goes down, there are only so many levers you can pull” Losses and extra charges: an example of one university Loss of Horizon 2020 and possible EU research funds Loss of students; loss of Erasmus progamme EU students (5%) International students(20%) Rise in employers’ pension costs Weak sterling causes extra costs in supply chain Stock market drop affects portfolio valuation “Our thinking is much more strategic than 20 years ago” Risk Register: “Need to check risk register regularly – must only take actions that support what you want to do” Continuous monitoring of cash flow Scenario Planning Pro-active lobbying Appeal to Welsh, Scottish and Westminster governments Carefully targeted marketing THE COVID19 CRISIS “Mitigating strategies for the ‘What Ifs’” Task force to which all areas contribute Risk outcomes under different scenarios E.g. No EU students, no international students Risk groups and teams for each group Restructured traditional lines of reporting Mental health management PRESERVE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL “The university is an oil tanker that is slow to turn” Actions Be ‘under borrowed’ if at all possible Aim for low gearing and low borrowing Close the capital programme; cost in ‘bare maintenance’ No new appointments; no replacement appointment Redundancies Close departments not covering costs Consider mergers KEEP AFLOAT “Be resilient