Cutting unfunded research ‘hits Newcastle Russell Group standing’

Newcastle University’s plans to reduce the proportion of its research that it supports from its own resources is a “terrible look” for its vice-chancellor, the current chair of the Russell Group, and its standing in the cluster of UK research-intensive institutions, critics have warned.

In a memo sent to staff on 22 January, the north-east university set out plans to make savings worth £20 million by cutting about 300 full-time equivalent positions – about 5 per cent of its 6,000-strong workforce.

Half of the job cuts will fall on academics and half will occur in professional services, with a reduction of 40 posts in its Academic Hub, which provides study skills training and advice, with a further 55 professional service jobs going from individual faculties.

The greatest number of academic roles were expected to go from the university’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, where – based on indicative figures – around 65 academic roles are likely to be lost, while approximately 45 will go in its Faculty of Medical Sciences and around 40 from its Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering.

While staff from Newcastle’s University and College Union branch were already balloting for industrial action, the university’s plans to make staff savings by “creating greater efficiency in the delivery of the university’s taught programmes by reflecting market demand and, through reducing the proportion of research activity that is currently unfunded” has now prompted consternation among research-active academics.

According to the memo, “unfunded research is defined as research not directly charged or recovered from externally funded research grants and contracts” – a definition which some worry would effectively lead to the end of the traditional “40-40-20” workload that is standard for most teaching-and-research academics working in Russell Group universities.

That workload model sees staff devote two days a week on average to teaching, two to research and one to administration and service commitments.

“If we give up the 40-40-20 model then Newcastle is only going in one direction in terms of our research,” a Newcastle academic, who did not wish to be named, told Times Higher Education.

“If you can only work on research if you’re lucky enough to be funded with an external grant – and you might as well buy a lottery ticket as apply for a grant these days [given the low success rates] – it will fundamentally change what we are as a university.”

Under several financial pressures, some research-intensive universities – such as the University of Kent – have sought to lower the “baseline” for research hours for many staff from 40 per cent to 20 per cent, with those winning research funding able to maintain their research hours.

Bournemouth University has also proposed to cut standard research hours allocations by 50 per cent as part of efforts to save £15 million, according to reports.

Newcastle’s plans are significant given its vice-chancellor, Chris Day, has chaired the Russell Group since September 2023, underlining its positioning as a research-intensive university, the academic said.

“We make a lot of our position in the Russell Group, but it’s already hard enough to do research in some semesters with the sheer number of teaching hours staff take on – this will make it extremely difficult to do research,” they said. “It’s not what you’d expect from a research university, and it’s a terrible look for a Russell Group institution and its president.

“If this is happening at the university led by the Russell Group chair, then you hate to think what will happen elsewhere.”

According to Times Higher Education’s Research Excellence Framework 2021 ranking, Newcastle finished joint 33rd overall, although it finished top nationally for English language and literature and 7th for modern languages.

Asked by Times Higher Education if Newcastle intended to alter existing contracts, the university said it had no plans to do so, though these do not include time allocations for activities for academic contracts in any case.

A Newcastle University spokesperson said: “Our top priorities remain protecting the student experience and maintaining academic excellence and research intensity across our diverse disciplines, which are vital for our future success.” 

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com