Vice-Chancellor's Introduction
Welcome back to a new academic year. I hope you feel recharged from the summer break.
In this Bulletin, I highlight positive news of our Guardian league table ranking, our challenges in student recruitment and how we might overcome them including a significant step in developing our London Campus - reaching into an area of growing demand and population growth.
There are also important updates on our organisational ‘reset’ in Student Support Services and our printer rationalisation which has delivered considerable savings. Over the summer we appointed Sherria Hoskins and Anne Murphy to the roles of Provost and DVC Education respectively and I am sure you will wish to support them actively as they transition into their new roles.
There is a lot of change happening within our leadership team, including the retirement of Bernie Topham, and changes like this can be unsettling for everyone involved. However such changes also offer new opportunities and a chance to reflect on past achievements while at the same time looking forward to new approaches, which is in keeping with our whole reset agenda. I appreciate that in transition the immediate path ahead may not always seem clear and if you have concerns on clarity of leadership for any activity or area of work then please do highlight those concerns. What has not changed is our strategy and our four strategic priorities. As changes are made they are done specifically to support our strategy, as that is ultimately how we will thrive and build a sustainable long-term future for our excellent University.
Engaging the wider community is also an important theme for this month’s Bulletin through policymakers and global mobility opportunities for students.
While we look ahead it’s also a moment for me to reflect on the past ten years after joining the University as Vice-Chancellor in September 2013. Where has the time gone, it certainly doesn’t feel like a decade - time has just flown by!
Many things have changed; technology has advanced, our approach to teaching and research has evolved, and we’ve said goodbye to many excellent colleagues through retirement or moving onto pastures new. We have overcome so many challenges including a pandemic, a cyber attack and what feels like an ever growing menu of Government policies and announcements. Yet, every time we’ve risen to meet those challenges head on.
And in other ways things have not changed at all. We are still committed to delivering high quality learning and research and providing the very best for our students, colleagues, partners and the community. It continues to impress me how resilient, passionate and dedicated you are, how we work together as a team and how we are able to change lives for the better. Thank you for 10 years full of pride and joy and here’s looking forward to continued success in the years that follow!
Guardian league table
On Saturday (9 Sep) we received great news when we were ranked 33rd in the Guardian University Guide 2024, a rise of 34 places from our position of 67th last year. We were also ranked in the top 10 nationally across five subject areas:
- Pharmacy and Pharmacology (3rd)
- Film Production and Photography (3rd)
- Anatomy and Physiology (5th)
- Journalism (6th)
- Animation and Games Design (10th)
These league tables are a valuable source of information for prospective students to help them make the right decisions about where and what to study as they take their first steps into higher education. I am extremely pleased to see us rise once again in a significant nationally recognised and important league table.
But it’s not the only positive news we’ve received recently. In August we retained our overall 5 star rating in the QS World University Rankings, and 5 Stars in every category, including teaching, research, employability, facilities, internationalisation and environmental impact. August also saw the publication of our very positive National Student Survey (NSS) results which showed we are in the top 20 universities in England for academic support and learning resources. These recent accolades as well as our strong Research Excellence Framework (REF) results do matter in how we’re seen externally including our recruitment of students over the coming months.
You should feel proud of what we are achieving and to be part of a university which is providing such a positive experience and outcomes for our students. These successes don't happen by accident and I am grateful for all your hard work in achieving these great results which put us back on track to being positioned within our rightful place in the sector and in doing so achieving our strategic vision.
Student recruitment
August saw the culmination of our main recruitment cycle ahead of Teaching Block 1.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank staff from across the University for their efforts across the year - from colleagues engaging with potential applicants and their parents/guardians at preview days and Open Days; to the many staff volunteers from across the University who dealt with thousands of enquiries during Confirmation and Clearing.
However, it has been a challenging, and in many ways disappointing and concerning cycle of student recruitment. Although we will not know our final recruitment position until registration has been completed later in the autumn, early estimates indicate that we are likely to end up around 1,000 Home full-time undergraduate new entrants short of target; with a further shortfall in Home full-time postgraduate taught students.
Although our full-time international recruitment position for September 2023 appears relatively healthy, there are a number of external factors that will make achieving overall targets for 2023/24, including recruitment to January 2024 start courses, very challenging.
Chris Chang is leading work to improve our recruitment position in future years, in collaboration with Faculties and relevant Professional Services. Our course portfolio is key to successful student recruitment. Paul Hayes will be leading a comprehensive review in collaboration with Faculties, relevant Professional Services and with Sherria Hoskins and Anne Murphy when they take up their new roles. We have for a long time discussed and debated the size and complexity of our programme and module offerings and we now need to take radical and decisive action to reverse this worrying decline in our student numbers.
Finance will shortly be issuing budget holders with updated budgets for the new financial year, but these budgets will inevitably be subject to review and change downwards in light of the financial impact of our well below target student recruitment. Details on our approach to this challenge and further guidance will be issued as we develop an effective plan to meet our overall budget requirements for the year.
London Campus Launch
We are not standing still on our drive to improve our student recruitment. This week we will reach a major milestone in our efforts to overcome our challenges, with the launch of our London Campus. As has been outlined above and in recent years, we need to boost applications and conversions through diversifying student recruitment - including into parts of London where we have previously not had a strong presence.
Based in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in north east London, the campus will extend our reach and reputation in the capital city by moving into an area of growing demand and population growth, especially amongst the age range who are most likely to consider university.
On Friday (15 September), I and senior colleagues will be at Waltham Forest Town Hall to introduce the London Campus to a range of key stakeholders and networks within Waltham Forest and the surrounding boroughs. It’s a key moment for us to engage local schools, colleges and businesses to highlight our offer to them which in turn will develop and enhance skills, knowledge, employability, and the local economy.
As part of a phased approach, we will welcome our first students in January 2024 on five taught postgraduate courses at custom built contemporary teaching facilities in Juniper House - with undergraduate courses launching in September 2024. When the planned campus fully develops, there will be around 20 undergraduate and 20 postgraduate courses on offer covering subjects from across all our faculties. Our aim is to build capacity for 4,000 to 5,000 students by 2028/29.
This is an exciting development which will have multiple benefits for us, our partners and the local community in Waltham Forest.
Student Support Services update
As part of our organisational ‘reset’, Student Finance moved from Finance on 1 September to the new Student Support Services - bringing together a number of previously fragmented services including teams in Student Wellbeing Service, ASDAC, Chaplaincy, Res Life and the student service advisors from the MyPort Hubs.
This is simply a change in line management for Student Finance to ensure better coherence within Student Support Services. This will not affect any of the services or support they provide.
As highlighted in an all-staff email earlier in the summer, investment is being made into the new structure to enhance our student support provision and safeguarding with clear lines of accountability across these crucial services. Importantly, enhanced triaging will be introduced to help students access the services they need more efficiently as part of a ‘no wrong door’ principle.
Kevin Child, former Director of Student Services at Swansea University, is in place as Interim Director and we are in the closing stages of appointing a permanent director and two new deputy directors:
- Deputy Director (Specialist Support and Inclusivity) - leading existing specialist teams of skilled, well qualified practitioners who provide more specialist intense support.
- Deputy Director (Student Life) - leading teams who provide more general welfare, pastoral support and guidance to students.
We’ll provide updates on these important roles as soon as possible.
Our Estate Masterplan
In the July VC bulletin I provided an update on current activity being undertaken by Estates and Campus Services as part of the accelerated Estates Masterplan. I know this is something that we all feel passionate about. After all, we spend a lot of time here every week.
At that point we had 91 projects live to make improvements to our campus at pace. A number of these projects have now been completed with many more either well progressed or with clear plans and start dates agreed which we hope to share soon. These are all important projects that provide immediate benefit to both staff and students, providing better environments for everyone.
While these works are valuable we continue to look at our medium and longer-term strategic plans for our campus. We first considered our Estates Masterplan back in 2016. Since that time much has changed around how we, and many other organisations, use physical spaces. We want to have a campus that accommodates our needs but is also adaptable as our needs change over time. We also need to ensure we are driving the maximum value and the greatest possible benefits we can from our investment in our estate. Taking these factors into consideration, it is important we reflect on the changing landscape and challenges ahead as we review our plans. What does not change is the need to invest wisely in our campus for the benefit of all.
We will be ensuring that there are plenty of opportunities to learn more about our revised estates plans as they develop, but in carrying out this exercise we must focus on accelerating our campus investment to ensure we remain an attractive student destination.
Printer rationalisation savings
Significant cost and environmental savings have been made after reducing the impact of printing on campus. As part of our ‘reset’ agenda and in line with our aim to become climate positive, we have rationalised the number of printers and amount of printing in our offices and teaching spaces. Printers consume paper, toner chemicals, and power. In addition, the environmental impact of disposing of printed media is significant. The staff-facing phase of our printer rationalisation programme has now been completed including:
removal of 451 printers across 37 buildings to leave approximately 60 staff printing stations
savings of £168,000 in lease costs (over three years)
estimated savings of £130,000 in electricity (over three years)
44% savings buying paper in bulk
Total printing is down and May saw a 40% reduction on the previous year. This is likely due to a vast reduction in wasted prints as unwanted print jobs are now deleted after 24 hours.
My thanks to colleagues in Library and Information Services who have led this initiative. The next phase of the project is to merge staff and student printing which will mean further rationalisation and savings.
Engaging with policymakers and advocating for the University
An important role for the leadership team is to engage with policymakers; contributing new ideas, providing feedback on legislative changes, promoting the importance and impacts of our research, and advocating for the University and our students.
The political landscape remains challenging and with a general election on the horizon, there has been plenty to do. In the last year, we shared our concerns about the potential impact of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, and lobbied against the changes to the rules on international students bringing dependents to the UK.
I have met with Matt Western, the Shadow Minister for Higher Education, on a number of occasions to discuss proposals to tackle shortages of student housing, the future of sector regulation, and the development of new funding models.
We have worked with our local MPs and the Treasury to find solutions to post-92 universities like ourselves facing significant, unsupported, costs from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. In July, we registered our disappointment at the Government’s references to ‘Rip-off degrees’ in a cynical attempt to win headlines at the expense of universities.
Whilst the outlook can seem gloomy, we approach our policy engagement with the ambition of delivering positive change for the sector. We welcomed the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and are working with the Department of Health to ensure our healthcare courses and future medical school can benefit from these changes. We are also like many others delighted that at last a deal has been struck with the EU to allow our participation in Horizon research projects, which is a significant opportunity that we as a University must take advantage of.
Rest assured that we will continue to advocate on behalf of the University, our staff and our students to secure much-needed change and better recognition for the work that we do and the contributions we make to society.
Turing Scheme
I am pleased to inform you that we were successful in securing Turing Scheme funding for the 2023/24 academic year. The Turing Scheme is a UK Government funded programme, which provides funding for global mobilities. While studying and working abroad, our students develop their global mindset by learning new skills, embracing new cultures and experiencing a different style of teaching and working. Each year, all eligible organisations across the UK enter into a competitive application bid in order to secure funding for the upcoming academic year.
It was a highly competitive process this year with a higher than ever level of interest across the sector. We were awarded 63% of the original bid, but we were very bold in our funding request and the results achieved in terms of absolute funding, put us ahead of other institutions in the country. This will allow us to support a large range of study and work abroad opportunities for our students this coming year.
Our Global Mobility team is the main lead of the Turing Scheme programme and has the responsibility of compiling all the student data and submitting the bid on behalf of all Faculties. If you wish to know more about the Scheme, please do not hesitate to contact the Global Mobility team via email goabroad@port.ac.uk.
Upcoming staff events
Dates for your diaries:
- All-Staff Briefing and Q&A - 15 September at 10.00am access online via Zoom.
- Cafe Conversations - 19 October at 1.00pm, location TBC.
Vice-Chancellor's Annual Address:
- 17 October at 3.30pm in Park 1.09. This is an in-person event. Booking details TBC.
- 19 October at 3.30pm in Anglesea 2.08. This is an in-person event. Booking details TBC.
- 1 November at 2.00pm in CCIXR, Eldon. This is a live broadcast. Viewing link TBC.