THE UNIVERSITY and College Union (UCU) has called for immediate transparency from Coventry University after its recently published Annual Report and Financial Statements revealed a concerning warning from auditors regarding the institution’s financial stability.
The report, which was published more than four months late, includes a statement from the auditors noting that ‘a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the Group and the University’s ability to continue as a going concern’ should it fail to meet student recruitment targets and cost-savings.
This revelation comes as the university has already placed 340 staff at risk of redundancy, raising serious questions about the financial health of the wider Coventry University Group and the potential long-term impact on jobs, students, and the local community.
UCU is seeking urgent clarification from senior management on the full implications of the report and the steps being taken to secure the institution’s future.
The union met with university leaders yesterday, Monday 14 April, to demand greater transparency and assurances for staff.
Commenting on the situation, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘This report will cause deep alarm for staff, students, and the wider community.
‘It is simply unacceptable that hundreds of staff are facing redundancy while serious concerns are being raised about the long-term viability of the institution.
‘Coventry University must come clean about the scale of the challenges it faces and engage meaningfully with staff and unions to chart a sustainable way forward.
‘We will not allow our members to be treated as collateral for years of questionable financial decisions.
‘UCU has consistently raised concerns over governance and financial management at the university and is now demanding full disclosure and accountability from the institution’s leadership.’
- Staff at Keele University have overwhelmingly backed strike action in a fight to protect jobs and student provision, the UCU has announced.
An overwhelming 75% of UCU members who voted said yes to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 55%, while 89% also backed taking action short of strike, which could include working to rule.
Strike action is now set to take place on Monday 28 April, Tuesday 29 April, Thursday 1st May, Tuesday 6th May and Thursday 8th May.
The dispute is over Keele University’s plans to merge the school of humanities and school of social sciences and reduce academic staffing in the newly merged school by £1.85m, equivalent to around 24 full time jobs.
Savings of £400,000 to academic staffing costs have already been made in Keele business school, through voluntary redundancies.
Management’s rationale for making the cuts is that it has not met its own arbitrary goal for student recruitment since 2023/24, but accepts that prior to this it had strong growth, including a 24% increase in market share for domestic students.
Meanwhile, the latest accounts show unrestricted reserves of over £218m.
UCU leader Grady said: ‘With this vote for strike action our members at Keele have resoundingly rejected management’s proposals to slash jobs and cut student provision.
‘We hope management now begins meaningful negotiations to protect jobs, courses and the future of Keele University.’
- The University of Derby has announced plans to make half of its most senior academics redundant, putting some of its most experienced researchers, teachers and experts at risk.
The compulsory redundancies come after the launch of a voluntary redundancy scheme which has already seen several senior staff decide to leave. This signals a worrying change in strategic direction at the University – away from being a top ranked teaching institution under-pinned by research.
UCU said the move would cause lasting damage to Derby’s academic reputation and warned it could undermine its Gold-rated teaching status.
A UCU spokesman said: ‘This is an unnecessary attack on some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable staff and will have implications.
‘A university is only as strong as its academic base, and axing half of its senior academics is a dangerous and short-sighted move.
‘We are engaging with the University’s HR department in the hope of finding an alternative way forward.
‘There is no justification for compulsory redundancies at this time. Rather than slashing jobs, university leadership should be joining us in demanding proper funding for the sector.’
- A ballot for industrial action opened on 7th April at the University of Edinburgh in a dispute over £140 million cuts and the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.
The ballot will run until 20 May and could pave the way for industrial action, including strikes. UCU members are being asked if they are willing to take part in strike action and action short of strike.
In an earlier consultative ballot, 75% of members said that they would be willing to strike and 85% said they would take part in action short of strikes, such as working to contract and refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary duties.
The ballot follows the principal of the university, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, announcing to staff in an email on 25 February that he was looking to make cuts of £140 million, a move which the union said would see the biggest ever cuts made in Scottish higher education history.
Mathieson had also said that cuts of this magnitude could not be made by voluntary redundancy alone and refused to rule out compulsory redundancies, as demanded by the union meaning that staff could be forced to leave their jobs.
The ballot opens as the UCU branch at the University of Dundee recently ended 15 days of strikes over plans there to cut 632 jobs.
The union said that, while there appears to have been serious mismanagement at Dundee, there is no need for cuts at the University of Edinburgh where there is no deficit.
The unions have expressed doubt over the need for cuts and said that, instead, if the principal is determined to make savings then he should do so by using reserves and by cutting back on building and capital expenditure.
The university has published accounts showing it has net assets in excess of £3 billion making it one of the richest universities in the country.
UCU branch president, Sophia Woodman, said: ‘There is no need for the university to be making cuts of £140 million. In fact, without a deficit, there’s a strong feeling among staff that this is both an unnecessary and a manufactured crisis.
‘The UCU branch is as determined as anyone to ensure the long-term feasibility and health of Edinburgh University but that should be a future where staff and students, and teaching and research are at the forefront.
‘Cuts of the size university senior management are planning will have a devastating impact not just on the university’s future, but also on the city and our local economy.
‘University senior managers need to listen to what staff are telling them, rule out compulsory redundancies and engage with the union to find a better way forward.’
UCU general secretary Grady, said: ‘Making cuts of £ 140 million when there is no need to do so is nothing short of academic vandalism.
‘Edinburgh University is one of the Scotland’s oldest and most respected universities with an unparalleled reputation internationally. Professor Mathieson needs to reconsider these brutal cuts and do his job in protecting staff jobs and the university’s reputation and future.’
- The UCU states: ‘The planned cuts form part of a wider crisis across UK higher education. UCU estimates up to 10,000 academic jobs could be lost across the country due to chronic underfunding and mismanagement.
‘UCU is calling on the government to step in with urgent emergency funding to protect jobs and safeguard the quality of education and research across the UK.’
The jobs massacre taking over higher and further education must be defeated by UCU national strike action, which must be supported by Trades Union Cngress (TUC) general strike action.
