VC Bulletin February 2024

Vice-Chancellor's Introduction

The sector is facing significant challenges. We have seen a reduction in international student recruitment due to Government policy, a reduction in home student recruitment due to the rhetoric about going to university, and an increase in pension charges - particularly the 5% extra charge for universities for teacher’s pension schemes starting in April this year.

Other universities like Coventry, the Open University, Wolverhampton, Leeds Beckett, London South Bank and York all announced significant deficits last year. We had a particularly difficult student recruitment round in September and January and we are now a university with more than 3,000 fewer students compared to this time last year, which has a significant impact on our income. We have some money saved up to deal with it but it will quickly run out if we use it in the long term.

We cannot provide our education and professional services in the same way at the same cost as we have done in the past. As I talk to colleagues I’m aware of the anxieties and concerns about all of the changes going on. It’s so important we work together collaboratively. The best thing we can do is work together - not harder, but smarter.

Don’t forget we are a successful university. Our teaching is gold-rated, we are a top 3 modern university for research power and our students rank us in the top 20 in England for academic support and learning resources. We need to continue to do a fantastic job, invest in our future while accepting that financially we have to be very careful. It is not easy, but we have no choice. We have to move forward in a positive way.

In this Bulletin there are greater details about Reset, our January recruitment and what we are doing to boost student numbers for September. With change as a theme, we also have updates on the awarding gap, a new framework for our research themes and a consultation for new and enhanced buildings as part of our Estates Masterplan.

There are many positives across the University, and I’ve highlighted some below including building our research partnerships, innovation in preparing students for the world of work, the great success of the Stargazing event at the Historic Dockyard which was such a showcase of the excellence of our colleagues. And let’s not forget our wonderful students. Please nominate them for a Student Impact Award by 13 March to recognise their achievements and contributions to our city and wider region at a new award event on 30 April.

Reset

As I mentioned in my introduction we, along with many other institutions in the sector, are facing a challenging environment. I want to reassure you that we do have a robust approach to deal with this through our Reset Programme. The current focus on the Reset Savings Programme is just part of this. Ultimately by embracing Reset we will change how we operate so that we are able to do so within the resources that are available to us, while maintaining the quality of teaching and research for which we are so rightly proud. Doing so will ensure our University is sustainable long into the future.

Reset is not just about savings as it will:

• Improve the efficiency and quality of our processes
• Reshape and improve the agility of our organisational structures
• Enable us to deliver quality outputs whilst being financially sustainable
• Better harness new and emerging technology
• Deliver a campus fit for the future

To enable us to be financially sustainable we must live within our means. In response to falling student numbers, and therefore income, the Reset Savings Programme has driven an immediate reduction in our spend. This has been achieved by all budget holders securing a 10 percent saving. I have, however, said before that we cannot simply cut our way out of this situation. The immediate savings enable us to manage our immediate deficit and provide space for us to move to the next stage of reshaping the University in a way that not only reduces our overall cost base on a permanent basis, but also supports our overarching mission to become a Top Modern University. This is ‘Phase 2’ of the Saving Programme. Led by Paul and Sherria we are exploring a number of options to transform all areas of the University, academic, research and professional services.

This will include driving efficiencies in our processes, reviewing our course portfolio and models of delivery. It will also mean changes to our operating model.

I want to reassure you that this isn’t a knee jerk reaction. We have always recognised that we need fundamental change to set us up for the future and achieve our vision. The worsening recruitment position and challenging climate for the HE Sector has increased the urgency of action. I fully understand the desire to know more and we will share more information with you once we have reviewed any proposals to ensure they are achievable whilst maintaining an appropriate balance between quality and cost.

I fully appreciate that any uncertainty is unsettling and we hope to begin sharing more about our plans and timing soon. I am also aware that you too will have ideas, some which can be implemented locally in discussion with managers, and some which may require cross-university action. Such ideas are encouraged as often it is colleagues experiencing the day to day operations that know where the inefficiencies are. In the meantime can you please feed suggestions through managers while we consider an alternative more holistic approach to capturing ideas.

Overarching financial picture of the University

The Higher Education Sector as a whole has experienced and continues to be subject to increasing financial pressures which means that it has to operate within tighter financial constraints.

Our University is no exception.

We can all contribute towards helping to improve the overall financial position of the University but in order to do so, we need to help you understand the financial implications of activities you carry out on a daily basis and the ways in which you can help improve the financial position.

Explaining this within the overarching financial picture of the University as a whole is something we know our colleagues are interested in and in order to help raise the level of financial awareness across the University, Simon Taylor (Interim Director of Finance) and the Finance Leadership Team will be developing some material to be presented by them in various forums and shared with teams in order to facilitate this.

Student recruitment

As you will know we have significantly under-recruited for both the September and January recruitment cycles. This shortfall is around 1,500 students below target for each of our home and international markets, the University being now more than 3,000 students smaller than at this time last year.

This is a challenge seen by many in the sector and the market has been particularly impacted by Government changes in policy in relation to visas. With fewer international students now coming to the UK to study as a result of these changes and home participation rates in HE showing signs of falling, this leads to an increasingly competitive market.

Colleagues across the University are working hard to address this and reverse the decline. We have launched our innovative ‘Connected Degrees’, revised our tariff offering and amended our offer strategy. Marketing and Communications have put in place a number of activities to boost recruitment. This has included the development of many marketing enhancements to our Open Day and Experience Days and reviewing our advertising activities. I know there are many activities taking place across the University to support a focus on student recruitment.

While it is early days, the signs are encouraging with a modest uplift in application numbers being seen year-on-year. However, the market is now very volatile and unpredictable with applicant behaviour now very different to what we have experienced in the past. This means we need to be agile and responsive to what we are observing and as such there is still much to do.

We need to convert the applications we have and we won’t truly know how successful our approaches have been until these applications become students and enrol with us in the autumn. I am grateful to you for your efforts and the positive way you are responding to the adjustments we are making to our approach.

Awarding gap

We want the best for our students, and we show great dedication in providing them with high quality learning and an enriching student experience. Yet, we know from the National Student Survey (NSS) and other measurements that we’re not consistent in all areas. One of our biggest challenges is the awarding gap which shows students from a Black background are awarded significantly fewer good degrees than students from a White background.

This is not an easy challenge for us or the sector to resolve with many factors contributing to this gap including teaching, assessments, student support, culture and wider societal bias and preconceptions. Faculties and schools are trialling different initiatives to close the gap, and are at different stages of the process of assessing what is making a difference.

UEB are acutely aware that we must lead and take ownership of this issue, understand what we should stop, start and continue doing to shift this persistent challenge. We also know that all colleagues across the University need to take responsibility and that part of the solution is to talk more openly about this challenge. The more we talk about it, the more people will become aware and understand the issues involved and collectively take action.

Please read this blog from Anne Murphy Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), which looks into these issues in greater depth. We will be providing regular updates to motivate and maintain momentum to close the awarding gap to provide the very best education and outcomes for all of our students.

New framework for our research themes

Building on the strength of our research and innovation, we have established four interdisciplinary research themes that address major issues and challenges facing the planet and humanity:

• building an inclusive and growth-led economy and society
• improving health and wellbeing
• protecting our environment
• developing enhanced technologies

These themes interact and overlap with each other, creating opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and impact. They align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the UK Research and Innovation Strategy, ensuring that our research is relevant and responsive to the needs and priorities of the world.

The University themes are moving from a leadership-based model to a project-based model, where the themes are driven by specific research projects that are aligned with the theme objectives and external funding opportunities. Funding and reporting processes have been simplified and streamlined, making them more transparent and accountable. Clear and measurable key performance indicators are being established for each theme, and a regular review mechanism has been put in place to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of the theme projects.

The funding for the themes is being reviewed, to establish an appropriate sustainable budget based on the strategic priorities and the expected outcomes of the research.

For more information regarding the themes, why these changes have been implemented and what the next steps are please read this blog from Jeremy Howells, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and External Relations). 

Building our research and innovation partnerships

While work is underway to develop the new framework for our research themes, we continue to take positive strides in increasing the quality and quantity of our research and innovation partnerships, on an international stage and closer to home.

The newly launched Revolution Plastics Institute will accelerate the fight against global plastic pollution, recognising the urgent need for novel, collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches to tackle a challenge that has persistently eluded conventional solutions. In a similarly novel way, citizen science is helping to save our seas with new research highlighting the growing trend of combining marine sports and science to protect our oceans.

Two of our academics have received international recognition for their excellent work. Professor Alex Ford, a world-leading expert in environmental science, is the first academic from the UK to join the board of the International Panel of Chemical Pollution, while Professor Kazuya Koyama has been recognised by the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics in Japan for his research on the cosmological test of gravity, which is unrivalled worldwide. Congratulations to you both.

I also wanted to highlight two local collaborations which showcase our civic role. Nurses, paramedics, midwives and other health professionals across Hampshire are taking part in internships at the University, thanks to investment from NHS England. This has a double benefit of students being taught in a university setting by clinical staff, while the practitioners get the chance to start developing their own academic career. And across the harbour in Gosport, Martin Andrews and Nicola Crowson have been working with Rowner Community Trust to encourage residents to get involved in environmental improvements across the neighbourhood.

Estates Masterplan community engagement

We are now approaching a very exciting milestone in the development of our estate, with planning applications for a number of proposed buildings due to be submitted shortly. Investing in our estate is a priority to enhance our campus and support areas of greatest student growth potential. This is crucial to overcome current financial challenges and rebuild student recruitment.

We will be holding a public consultation meeting on Tuesday 20 February 2024 but wish to ensure all staff have the opportunity to see the plans and provide comments before this is opened up to the wider Portsmouth community.

I invite you to join me and Tahir Ahmed, Director of Estates and Campus Services, for a presentation where we will be sharing the latest proposals and answering your questions.

The event will be held on Zoom at 2.00pm on Tuesday 13 February  2024 (details in your Google Calendar).

You can pre-submit any questions anonymously ahead of the session or during the event using Zoom’s chat function.

If you are unable to make the event, a recording will be made available and shared on Staff Essentials and in the staff newsletter.

Innovation in improving graduate employment

As you know, one of our four strategic imperatives is to rapidly improve graduate employment. Despite challenges, the jobs market for graduates is buoyant so it’s crucial that we prepare students for the world of work. I’m pleased to say a number of new initiatives across the University are having an impact, including:

• Our new Student Advice Team has already held 150 interviews with students this term to help them with their CVs, part-time jobs and quick queries at the Careers and Employability Service. Please encourage your students to drop by between 1.00pm and 4.00pm Monday to Friday. Early feedback has shown students value speaking to peers for advice and relatable experience, and that our fantastic student advisors have been exemplary in their professional attitude and approachable manner.
• Our final-year students have won awards for outstanding leadership, collaboration and impact in this year’s Business Consultancy Project for using expertise from their studies to support local businesses - and in turn gain valuable real-world experience to help them with their future careers.
• Assessment centre exercises will be taking place for all 780 Level 5 students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science next week to help prepare them for graduate employment opportunities. Hosted by HR and recruitment experts, the fully immersive exercise will recreate tasks expected of job applicants in many industries. This will give students real experience of going through the process and the opportunity to reflect on what skills they need to develop in their final 18 months of study.

It’s fantastic to see colleagues be so innovative in their approach to enabling students to prepare for what comes after they graduate.

Stargazing success

It was a joy to see over 800 people young and old visit the Historic Dockyard last week for the Stargazing community event. Organised by our Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation and the National Museum of the Royal Navy, the event gave families and enthusiasts an opportunity to look through telescopes, discover how sailors navigate by the stars and delve deeper into the wonders of the Universe with talks on black holes, satellites, and dark matter.

It has been a brilliant fully booked free event for many years, but each year it seems to go from strength to strength. It makes me proud to think how colleagues go beyond what is expected of them, to do the right thing and fulfil our civic duty as a university. It is one of many great examples of the good we do as a university. Thank you for inspiring our community with your enthusiasm and dedication.

Upcoming staff events

As well as the Estates Masterplan event detailed above, here are some other dates for your diary:

• Café Conversations - 15 February 2024 from 2.00pm to 3.30pm at The Terrace Café, Cambridge Road (formerly Café Coco)
• All-Staff Briefing and Q&A - 20 March 2024 at 1.30pm, via Zoom