| Does anyone else work at a University? 10:59 - Aug 1 with 2163 views | unbelievablue |
Interested in whether you are secure in your role given the pressures in the sector?
We (at UCL) are a little more immune than most due to prestige (arguable how warranted it is) and the research income we receive but starting to hear rumblings about restructures, cuts etc. if student numbers fall further.
EDIT - I am about as secure as it gets due to the nature of my role, luckily.. [Post edited 1 Aug 2024 11:00]
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:06 - Aug 1 with 2080 views | BlueOx1066 |
*Laughs in postdoc at the idea of having job security*
I've not heard too much serious rumbling here other than the departments trying to cut down on even the tiniest spending they see as unneeded, but like you I think we're fairly immune to wider sector effects because of reputational stuff. |  | | |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:07 - Aug 1 with 2070 views | Samuelowen88 |
Work at Sheffield,
I'm lucky in the fact that I'm funded by external research, so secure until that funding/project ends. Of course always working on the next one.
I wouldn't want to be uni funded, not secure atm I don't think. But of course they'll cut useful people and keep the useless ones, and there's always lots of money for some silly restructure plan that will make everything worse. |  |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:10 - Aug 1 with 2044 views | unbelievablue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:07 - Aug 1 by Samuelowen88 |
Work at Sheffield,
I'm lucky in the fact that I'm funded by external research, so secure until that funding/project ends. Of course always working on the next one.
I wouldn't want to be uni funded, not secure atm I don't think. But of course they'll cut useful people and keep the useless ones, and there's always lots of money for some silly restructure plan that will make everything worse. |
And they'll use a consultancy like PwC or someone for the restructure, at huge cost... | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:11 - Aug 1 with 2044 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
We're fcuked. If a University doesn't go bust in the next two years, I'll be amazed.
At my University we are just getting over the last VC who was a vanity VC. £5m on a new building, two years later, £5m of cuts required, people lost their jobs, two years after that £7m on a building, two years later, £7.5m of cuts required, people are currently losing their jobs.
I've felt 'unsafe' for the last two years, and now we are looking at merging courses. I reckon I've got 4 or 5 years left, 2 years of recruitment, and then three to teach out. |  |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:12 - Aug 1 with 2032 views | unbelievablue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:11 - Aug 1 by Cheltenham_Blue |
We're fcuked. If a University doesn't go bust in the next two years, I'll be amazed.
At my University we are just getting over the last VC who was a vanity VC. £5m on a new building, two years later, £5m of cuts required, people lost their jobs, two years after that £7m on a building, two years later, £7.5m of cuts required, people are currently losing their jobs.
I've felt 'unsafe' for the last two years, and now we are looking at merging courses. I reckon I've got 4 or 5 years left, 2 years of recruitment, and then three to teach out. |
Really sorry to hear it. | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:17 - Aug 1 with 2020 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:12 - Aug 1 by unbelievablue |
Really sorry to hear it. |
It would help if the last VC hadn't seen advertising as 'unnecessary'.
Students don't even know we exist. The University of Bristol advertises its open days at OUR train station. | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:44 - Aug 1 with 1938 views | giant_stow |
Not directly but I run 4 websites for different schools in one lower ranking uni. I've just lost one site and know another is under threat, as the course it supports maybe getting the axe, despite that course having a very successful track record. Sounds like very tough times in the sector. |  |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 22:56 - Aug 6 with 1554 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:11 - Aug 1 by Cheltenham_Blue |
We're fcuked. If a University doesn't go bust in the next two years, I'll be amazed.
At my University we are just getting over the last VC who was a vanity VC. £5m on a new building, two years later, £5m of cuts required, people lost their jobs, two years after that £7m on a building, two years later, £7.5m of cuts required, people are currently losing their jobs.
I've felt 'unsafe' for the last two years, and now we are looking at merging courses. I reckon I've got 4 or 5 years left, 2 years of recruitment, and then three to teach out. |
I'll raise your £5M and see you for £450M for a whole new campus in 2015 (EU Investment Bank and EU Structural Funds of course). So good timing in terms of accessing the funding before the idiots voted us out, but a bit of a bguger in the current climate in terms of servicing the debt  .
I can't say much more about levels of cuts, but I'd envy yours. We're taking the hit this year on professional services. Our last round was a couple of years ago and involved a lot of academic departments - so we've lost grant income from senior profs let go, just to compound things. Although research is subsidised, it's obviously still importance for REF, etc, as you'd know.
Worryingly for the sector, we're in a better position than many as we've been restructuring and cutting since before covid hit. The demographic dip hit us hard. You've summed up the mood in the sector well though- it's fcuked.
I'm not sure if you're at Cheltenham/Uni of Glouc. I did my undergraduate there 89-92 in Geography and Geology. Started off at the College of St Paul and St Mary and then it became Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. Happy days at the Park Campus and Shaftesbury Hall mainly, plus Francis Close Hall and Rosehill. Cheltenham races week, summer balls at the race course. Lovely prosperous town, amazing local area for field trips. Genuinely the happiest years of my life. It's the place where I've most felt at home. I was last there for our L1 match and loved having a few hours to revisit the old haunts. The development around the back end of the high street behind the brewery is great. It seems to have really come on since my time there and it was good then. Parking is fking extortionate though - never been anywhere like it! |  |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 23:02 - Aug 6 with 1517 views | lowhouseblue |
personally secure fortunately. i don't think universities will go bust as such - but only because they will be forced to cut back, downscale and merge before they technically get to that point. fortunately there isn't any longer (i assume) uss deficits associated with at risk institutions so that's one less sector wide risk. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 23:06 - Aug 6 with 1491 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 23:02 - Aug 6 by lowhouseblue |
personally secure fortunately. i don't think universities will go bust as such - but only because they will be forced to cut back, downscale and merge before they technically get to that point. fortunately there isn't any longer (i assume) uss deficits associated with at risk institutions so that's one less sector wide risk. |
Hopefully not, but cash borrowing rules have been tightened too. So it's far from a guarantee that none will go bust. Luckily a lot have reserves, but those are rapidly running out. I reckon we've got maximum 2 years for things to improve or there will be widespread bankruptcies. | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 23:21 - Aug 6 with 1372 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 22:56 - Aug 6 by Swansea_Blue |
I'll raise your £5M and see you for £450M for a whole new campus in 2015 (EU Investment Bank and EU Structural Funds of course). So good timing in terms of accessing the funding before the idiots voted us out, but a bit of a bguger in the current climate in terms of servicing the debt .
I can't say much more about levels of cuts, but I'd envy yours. We're taking the hit this year on professional services. Our last round was a couple of years ago and involved a lot of academic departments - so we've lost grant income from senior profs let go, just to compound things. Although research is subsidised, it's obviously still importance for REF, etc, as you'd know.
Worryingly for the sector, we're in a better position than many as we've been restructuring and cutting since before covid hit. The demographic dip hit us hard. You've summed up the mood in the sector well though- it's fcuked.
I'm not sure if you're at Cheltenham/Uni of Glouc. I did my undergraduate there 89-92 in Geography and Geology. Started off at the College of St Paul and St Mary and then it became Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. Happy days at the Park Campus and Shaftesbury Hall mainly, plus Francis Close Hall and Rosehill. Cheltenham races week, summer balls at the race course. Lovely prosperous town, amazing local area for field trips. Genuinely the happiest years of my life. It's the place where I've most felt at home. I was last there for our L1 match and loved having a few hours to revisit the old haunts. The development around the back end of the high street behind the brewery is great. It seems to have really come on since my time there and it was good then. Parking is fking extortionate though - never been anywhere like it! |
Yes at UoG. Currently in the process of closing Hardwick Campus which we were dumped in when Pittville Campus was closed initially to sell for housing and then when we couldn't sell it, became a student village, run by UniLiving, and therefore, giving us zero profit each year on student accommodation.
We haven't had student balls a the the racecourse since 2009, sadly.
Parking in Chelt, very much like in Ipswich is all about 'where you know' | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 00:03 - Aug 7 with 1318 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 23:21 - Aug 6 by Cheltenham_Blue |
Yes at UoG. Currently in the process of closing Hardwick Campus which we were dumped in when Pittville Campus was closed initially to sell for housing and then when we couldn't sell it, became a student village, run by UniLiving, and therefore, giving us zero profit each year on student accommodation.
We haven't had student balls a the the racecourse since 2009, sadly.
Parking in Chelt, very much like in Ipswich is all about 'where you know' |
Those are places that we didn't own when I was there. It's a shame about the summer balls. The highlight of the year was taking on the first couple of fences of the Gold Cup course while off your face on purple nasty (snakebite and black to everyone else). I never worked out whether it was better to be the 'horse' and risk sprained ankles or the 'jockey' and end up being thrown into the stakes of the fence! Happy, but painful days.
I showed my age with the parking. Naively thought I could park behind FCH like I always did 30 years ago. Residents parking wasn't a thing then. | |
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 09:09 - Aug 7 with 1095 views | Plums |
We've just had nearly 300 accepted for 'mutually agreed resignation' but that won't save enough. I and most of my professional services team are on FTC which end next year. As you can imagine, it's incredibly nervous times - despite our excellent track record.
UK Higher Ed is one of our national success stories in terms of exports and soft power - to see it being trashed is heartbreaking. [Post edited 7 Aug 2024 10:09]
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| Does anyone else work at a University? on 09:17 - Aug 7 with 1073 views | thebooks |
Similar here. There’s an efficiency “process” underway, but we’re not in as bad a position as a lot. We do have a big international cohort, though, and obviously that has dropped off a cliff.
Job security? Dunno. I could argue that we have two people doing a lot of crossover stuff for my role. |  | | |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 09:20 - Aug 7 with 1047 views | thebooks |
| Does anyone else work at a University? on 11:17 - Aug 1 by Cheltenham_Blue |
It would help if the last VC hadn't seen advertising as 'unnecessary'.
Students don't even know we exist. The University of Bristol advertises its open days at OUR train station. |
This “colonising” of other uni’s stations is pretty common, especially around Clearing.
We spend eyewatering amounts on paid search and social ads and I’m not sure how effective they really are. That’d be a good place for us to save. | | | |
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