University of Essex to implement pay freeze for staff; cites 38% decline of international student applications

The University of Essex (UoE) has stated its intention to implement a pay freeze for its staff due to a significant 38% decline in international postgraduate applications. 

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Anthony Forster announced this through an email stating that promotions and pay reviews would be postponed immediately.  

In addition, this means that the nationally agreed pay award for staff might be delayed for up to 11 months.  

Consequently, university staff express concerns as their institution grapples with an anticipated budget shortfall of nearly £14 million, as Nairametrics learns for the upcoming year. 

What they said 

 Professor Anthony Forster, the vice chancellor of the university stated that as a result of this situation, there might be a potential shortfall in next year’s budget: 

• “….as a result of this, it is possible we may have a shortfall [in next year’s budget] of £13.8m with £6.4m of this sum covered by our contingencies, leaving £7.4m to find“, he stated. 

He however clarified that the decline in applications from international postgraduate students was not specific to Essex but rather a widespread issue affecting the entire sector. 

Lorcan Whitehead, co-president of the University and College Union at UoE, said:  

• “It’s going to come out of the blues for the staff to suddenly have this email with these quite drastic measures. 
• “We want more information about what the rationale is for these decisions [and] whether there might be some alternatives.” 

Reduction of international student numbers 

The VC believes the drop in international students may be due to a combination of government visa policies and the university’s recruitment strategy. Claudia Bradley, a third-year journalism student, also agrees saying: 

• “The university is always welcoming to international students [but] a few of the international friends I’ve made have always struggled with some aspects of their visas, such as costs.” 

In a statement, the university representatives expressed concern over the uncertainty surrounding international recruitment at the postgraduate taught level, echoing the situation faced by other UK universities.  

They noted that if student enrollments exceed current predictions, several financial decisions could be reconsidered. Additionally, they clarified that there are no plans to initiate voluntary severance or compulsory redundancy schemes, and based on their three-year forecast, a return to a growth trajectory seems probable. 

• “Like all UK universities, we are seeing a lot of uncertainty around international recruitment at postgraduate taught level.
• “If student enrolments are higher than we are currently predicting, we will be able to reverse a number of our financial decisions.
• “We are not opening voluntary severance or compulsory redundancy schemes – and our three-year forecast indicates it is likely we will return to a growth trajectory”, they said. 

Regardless, The Department for Education has affirmed its commitment to the higher education sector saying, 

• “We will continue to provide significant financial support of nearly £6bn per year to the higher education sector. 
• “We are clear that domestic students should be the priority. We are clear that the purpose of student visas is education rather than immigration.”

(Nairametrics)