Vice-Chancellor's Introduction
This is my final bulletin of the year, and while it has been another challenging period for all of us, I am hoping that this Christmas will be much better than last year with a proper and well-deserved rest with family and friends.
I am sure you may have felt ‘here we go again’ with the emergence of the Omicron variant and the Government’s implementation of ‘Plan B’ for England. Thankfully vaccinations and booster jabs offer us a greater degree of protection than we experienced last winter. We must remain positive this isn’t a lockdown and education has been specifically exempt from some restrictions to enable us to continue to support our students. I don’t know how long Plan B will last but we will let all colleagues know any changes as and when they happen.
I will provide an update on recruitment numbers and our financial position. It is not overall a positive read, but it is important that we are clear and open about the challenges we face and understand where we currently are. With that information we are able to make plans to address the situation and it reinforces the need for each one of us to focus on our four strategic priorities. The Portfolio Review is one of a number of strategic initiatives and there is an update here and also a reminder of the support that is available to course teams. This review is very much a team effort and I urge you to make the most of the support available.
In this bulletin I also provide further detail following the announcement that planning permission for the new iconic and sustainable academic building on the Victoria Park site has been approved. Thank you to all involved with getting the project to this stage.
I will also be hosting my final all staff online Q&A for 2021 on Thursday 16 December. This will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions that you have of me and other members of UEB. We’ll be sharing details shortly including a link to send through questions ahead of the event. I hope that you will be able to join me.
On a lighter, and considerably more festive note, you will be able to see the University’s endeavours on University Challenge over the Christmas period. We are represented by four fantastic alumni chaired by Dr Nira Chamberlain, and we wish them luck - go Pompey!
I look back to January this year when we were back in yet another lockdown and our teaching and assessment plans were again being changed by Government guidelines. We got through that and then the spring brought a new, and unwanted challenge, of the cyber attack just as we were working hard to get our students through the academic year. We got through that too and we had the highlight of the in-person graduation in the summer - it was truly a feeling of life returning to what we know. The autumn has brought its own challenges, but it has been wonderful to see students and staff back on campus after nearly two years that felt often chaotic as we navigated the unknown. It is not surprising that everyone is exhausted and in need of a break. I know I am.
I want to extend my thanks, and that of my colleagues on UEB, for all your hard work and for all that you have achieved despite the challenges. It makes me incredibly proud of our University community.
I hope that you are able to take a break this year and spend some much needed time with loved ones. Best wishes for the festive season and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Our student recruitment position for 2021/22
The admissions cycle for 2021/22 was an unusual one impacted by Covid-19 in so many ways, including by having to run open days virtually and the effects of teacher assessed grades on A level grade inflation.
We now have actual student data for 2021/22 which confirms our estimates of the recruitment position during the summer. Unfortunately we have under-recruited by 1,000 full-time home undergraduate students compared to target. This shortfall is compounded by a higher than normal withdrawal rate, resulting in fewer students continuing into years 2-4 in 2021/22. We also have experienced a shortfall of 300 in full-time home postgraduate student recruitment which unfortunately adds to the financial challenge for us.
International recruitment has, however, proved more buoyant and we expect to recruit at or above target once enrolment to January/February start courses is complete. This will at least provide some compensation for the reductions elsewhere within what otherwise is a difficult student recruitment position. Data for other student categories including postgraduate research, part-time and degree apprenticeships is still being finalised, as a number of courses start later in the academic year.
I would dearly love to be able to follow this with positive news for next year but unfortunately at this stage in the cycle we are already experiencing a further significant decline in UK UCAS applications for 2022/23. I know we are all focused on this issue and supporting recruitment throughout the cycle and doing all we can to convert applications - clearly never before has this been more important for us.
On a brighter note, our two most recent Open Days attracted a record number of registrations which is positive. The recent PGT Open Evening attracted more than 500 registrations and an outstanding attendance. These now need to convert to applications, but they do demonstrate that we can be an attractive prospect for potential students.
Engaging as many prospective students as possible in these initial conversations is just one of the things that we are doing. The Portfolio Review will also play a critical role in ensuring improvements are delivered across the University to ensure the best possible student experience, attractiveness of our offer and excellent customer experience.
It continues to be very challenging and concerning, but by all of us working together collaboratively and leaving no stone unturned in addressing the problem, I am sure that we can turn our position around.
2020/21 end of financial year position
We all know how challenging the last year has been for the University and the HE sector more widely. For some universities this has created financial pressure with the costs of implementing Covid measures and the impact of reduced student recruitment numbers in some areas exacerbating already challenging financial positions.
In June 2020 the Board of Governors approved a one-year Covid-19 financial strategy for 2020/21 including a substantial deficit. This deficit budget was mainly caused by uncertainty in student recruitment, with Universities UK forecasting a significant downturn in student recruitment and higher levels of withdrawals, as they anticipated students not being prepared to study online. There were also estimates of the costs of implementing a vast range of Covid measures. Ultimately student recruitment was more buoyant in 2020/21 and our operating costs reduced as travel, printing costs and other expenditure were not required. We ended the 2020/21 year with an operating surplus of £12.7m.
We have been able to weather this storm and continue to find ourselves in a robust financial position at the end of the latest financial year, as a consequence of prudent management of our finances over a number of years. This has meant taking some difficult decisions and ensuring our financial resources were targeted where they were most needed and would have the biggest impact.
We need to continue to be prudent in our financial management and ensure financial investment decisions are focused upon our strategic imperatives and where we can have the most impact.
Portfolio Review progress and support
I do hope you have heard me talk about the Portfolio Review in my VC Address and during all staff online Q&A sessions.
It is more important than ever that we develop an attractive, high-quality portfolio of undergraduate courses, given our current student recruitment position. This is fundamental if we are to successfully meet our four strategic imperatives. This is why as an institution we have engaged in the current Portfolio Review, and everyone has a role to play across all our Professional Services and Academic teams.
The Portfolio Review is a large and intensive undertaking. Not only does it consider courses themselves but it has also identified other aspects of our applicant and current students’ journeys that need urgent and significant improvement. We are now working on all of these important issues that need to be addressed. All actions being undertaken as part of the Portfolio Review are focused around the first three of the University’s four Strategic Imperatives:
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Reverse the ongoing decline in applications and boost conversions.
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Pursue educational excellence, improve student experience and reduce variation in outcomes
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Rapidly improve graduate employment, including through student enterprise.
We need to act now, it cannot wait. I know a huge amount of work is being undertaken across the University in support of our need to boost recruitment and improve student experience. It is essential that we make a step-change in these areas. It is everyone’s responsibility as members of the University to play our part in putting the student first.
In my early face to face discussions with Departments I must say how impressed and encouraged I am by the way colleagues in academic and professional service areas are responding. Through acknowledging the issues and initiating changes to support our strategic imperatives, we will secure the short term and medium term benefits that will support the necessary improvements across the University.
When considering a review of courses I understand that such a large and complex undertaking can be daunting. I want to reassure you that support is available to colleagues to help with engaging successfully with the review process as well as devising and more importantly implementing effective action plans.
But we’re not expecting colleagues to do this on their own. We have put in place support and training to develop the most appropriate actions to make the step-change that is needed to deliver the required change.
Here are some examples of the support on offer to help you with:
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Review and design of modules and courses - Enable workshops will support a team approach to course design. Contact Sarah Eaton, the AcDev Team or in Technology and HSS the Faculty Learning Designer
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Improving teaching practice - participate in structured peer observation to help gain feedback and guidance - speak to the AcDev Team for information
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Reviewing assessment design - you can ask for bespoke workshops similar to Enable or TESTA. Speak to the AcDev or TEL Teams. In Technology and HSS, speak to the Faculty Learning Designer
All these support programmes are designed to be highly interactive and flexible. They are a great way for teams to get involved in the design and development of courses.
Another Learning and Teaching Conference event will be held in January. This will provide a further opportunity for academic colleagues to share best practice and experiences. More details will follow.
Victoria Park Building
You will hopefully have seen my email issued last week confirming that Portsmouth City Council has given planning permission for our new Victoria Park building. This new flexible teaching, research and collaboration space will be an incredible new sustainable facility for both our Faculties of Business and Law, and Humanities and Social Science.
The building is a significant investment but we must continue to build for the longer term future of the University. Our students want and expect modern cutting edge facilities.
As with our Sports Centre our aim is that the building will be built to a high specification and sustainability standards.
I am grateful to all colleagues especially Fiona Bell and her team for steering us through this process which included an extensive consultation programme discussing the design detail with staff, students and local stakeholders.
Now that planning consent has been granted, work can start in spring 2022 with the aim of opening the building in 2024.
Christmas University Challenge
Every Christmas nearly 3 million people watch the special series of Christmas University Challenge on BBC2 when teams of distinguished graduates from UK universities face stern quizmaster and renowned broadcaster Jeremy Paxman.
This year I’m delighted to say that four of Portsmouth’s notable alumni are joining forces to take part as a team captained by Dr Nira Chamberlain, President of the Institute of Mathematics.
Joining Nira are Tayo Oguntonade, presenter of The Great House Giveaway on Channel 4, Prof Christine Helen Foyer, professor of plant sciences at the University of Birmingham, and Poppy Jaman OBE, mental health advocate, national policy advisor and social entrepreneur.
It will be broadcast at 8.30pm on Monday 27 December on BBC2 and is regularly one of the channel’s most-watched programmes over the Christmas period. Please join me in wishing our alumni the best of luck.