According to a new report by the University and College Union (UCU), Salford University spent £516,000 on salaries for its Vice-Chancellors in the last academic year.
It means the university tops the UK league tables for the highest salaries paid to top-level academic staff.
As well as paying its now-departed Vice-Chancellor Martin Hall, and his successor Professor Helen Marshall £516,000, Salford splurged £3.7m on management consultancy fees, the second highest bill in the UK.
The UCU investigation found Salford also paid out £10,948 in Vice-Chancellor expenses, over £8,000 more than the national average of £2,205.
Salford’s bill for air fares in 2014/15 was £1,738 and, like Manchester Metropolitan, was one of just 21 universities who allowed the vice-chancellor to fly exclusively in business or first class.
The union said greater sanctions were needed to ensure universities “justified some of the spending that has embarrassed higher education in recent years.”
The report is released as the government consults on whether or not to exempt universities from freedom of information legislation and the scrutiny of senior pay in universities is back in the spotlight.
UCU regional official Martyn Moss, said: ‘The time has finally come for a frank discussion about pay and transparency in higher education. The huge disparities in the levels of pay and pay rises at the top expose the arbitrary nature of senior pay in our universities.
‘While some continue to enjoy inflation-busting pay hikes and all the trimmings of first class flights, staff pay continues to be held down. It is deeply worrying that ministers are considering relaxing the freedom of information rules as they are the only thing we have to hold universities to account.’
A spokesman for Salford University told us:
“The University of Salford Vice-Chancellor’s salary is among the lowest for a UK university and this has been the case for many years. For the record, Martin Hall’s basic salary was £219K (total emoluments £252K) and Helen Marshall’s is £200K basic (total emoluments £204K pro-rata), one of the lowest in the sector. The figures quoted by the UCU distort the fact that 2014/15 includes one-off compensation payments for loss of office.”
“We seriously doubt the accuracy of the average spend by universities on consultants given that many of the large universities have not supplied data to the survey and there is no way of knowing if the figures for each institution are calculated on a like-for-like basis.”
“Like the figures quoted on consultants, there is no way of knowing whether VC’s expenses are being compared on a like-for-like basis and are thus potentially misleading.
“The UCU reports that the University spent £1,738 on Vice-Chancellor’s air fares – this is significantly lower than the average for the sector.
“The University of Salford is committed to cutting costs without compromising quality and to striving to provide a first class value-for-money service to students and our many partners in the wider community.”
