More jobs going as Kent seeks to save another £19.5 million

The University of Kent is looking to save £19.5 million by opening a voluntary redundancy scheme, marking a successive year of cost-cutting at the institution.

In an all-staff email seen by the Times Higher Education, Kent says the voluntary redundancy scheme will run until 16 February, by which time it hopes to have achieved the desired savings. 

The cuts come on top of significant staff and course closures seen last year at the university, when dozens of academic posts were put at risk of redundancy, with the university announcing it would be closing its courses in art history, anthropology, health and social care, journalism, music and audio technology, philosophy and religious studies. 

The email outlines that “like many other universities” Kent suffered from a shortfall in international recruitment, which was down by 16 per cent this year, and a “fundamental shift in competitiveness” for domestic students. 

It continues: “This has a knock-on effect on our income and while we had anticipated this and put measures in place to control costs, the impact of both reduced fee and associated income is far beyond what we can cover without taking steps to address the shortfall.”

Kent says it further plans to hit its saving targets, which it hopes to achieve in three weeks’ time, by not filling vacant roles.

A Kent spokesperson said that the “short-life voluntary severance scheme” aimed to “support with necessary pay cost savings this year”.

“This is in response to a sector-wide fall in international recruitment across the UK, with increased competition for home students as a result,” they said.

“We remain on track with ambitious changes being introduced from September to better meet student and employer needs, including a revised curriculum, new academic year structure and increased employability and industry links built into our courses.”

In its most recently published financial statements, for 2022-23, Kent reported a “significant” underlying deficit of just over £12 million, and warned that this could spiral to £31 million in 2023-24.

Kent’s vice-chancellor, Karen Cox, stepped down in May last year.

The cuts come as a further blow to the Kent region, with Canterbury Christ Church University also announcing it was looking to make “pre-emptive” savings of £20 million, equating to hundreds of full-time equivalent roles.

This week Newcastle University announced that around 300 roles were at risk after a shortfall against projected international student recruitment left it with a £35 million hole in its budget.

One vice-chancellor has estimated that job losses across the UK sector could hit 10,000 this year.

However, early indications suggest that this year’s January international recruitment window may prove brighter for universities, with one dataset suggesting that there has been an increase in the number of overseas students entering the UK to start courses in January.

juiliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com