Russell Group vice-chancellors¡¯ average pay packages have hit ?400,000, despite the financial crisis in UK?higher education.

Analysis of the 2023-24 accounts of 19?members of?the prestigious mission group published to?date show that the median pay package of?vice-chancellors ¨C which typically also includes benefits such as housing and pensions ¨C was ?400,000 in?2023-24.

This was up 1?per cent on the figure of ?396,000 across the same 19?institutions in?2022-23, and a 5?per cent increase over two years.

Front-line higher education staff received a minimum pay rise of 5?per cent in?2023-24.

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However, the final average vice-chancellor pay rise across all 24 Russell Group members ¨C and across the sector as a whole ¨C will not be known until early next year.

The extent of the financial crisis in UK higher education is being laid bare by the publication of 2023-24 accounts, which reveal large deficits at a?number of?universities, including Russell Group members. Many institutions are making job?cuts.

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The university allocating the most?to vice-chancellor pay out of the 19?analysed to date was the University of Leeds, which spent ?694,000 on its two leaders during 2023-24. As Times Higher Education has reported, former vice-chancellor Simone Buitendijk left with a?final pay packet worth ?434,000, including ?288,000 in ¡°contractual post-employment notice pay¡± and ¡°compensation for loss of?office¡±.

The largest individual total remuneration went to Deborah Prentice at the University of Cambridge.

Her remuneration package of ?577,000 for her first full year as vice-chancellor included a?base salary of??409,000, along with ?42,486 in relation to relocation expenses, ?29,177 in accommodation, utilities and property taxes, and personal travel costs of??22,564.

This was followed by ?573,000 for Irene Tracey at the University of Oxford, who received a salary of ?410,000, and an accommodation payment worth ?100,000.

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The vice-chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge also received the largest base salaries of the group, followed by Michael Spence at University College London (?398,000).

The median vice-chancellor salary paid by the 19 Russell Group members stood at ?327,000 last year ¨C up 3.5?per cent from ?316,000 in 2022-23. It?was also 9?per cent more than the ?300,000 that the same universities paid in?2020-21.

The London School of Economics and Political Science paid a total of ?528,000 to interim vice-chancellor Eric Neumayer and his permanent successor, Larry Kramer. Within that, the institution paid Professor Neumayer ?47,000 for working in the LSE summer school and for an annual review, while Professor Kramer received ?47,000 in a joining fee.

The lowest total package was again at the University of Manchester, where Dame Nancy Rothwell received ?268,000 in?her final year as?vice-chancellor.

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com