In my last Bulletin column (5 November) I wrote: "We cannot afford to run financial deficits greater than those already planned and approved by Council. It looks likely that this year's tuition-fee income and research income will fall short of target, so adjustments will be needed to keep our finances on track. Some desirable expenditures will have to be deferred, and significant economies sought. All proposals to re-fill vacant posts will be carefully scrutinised. Economising is never fun, but it is necessary. The central objective as we make plans for the next two years will be to maintain the momentum of academic investment for the future."
A month on, the scale of the financial problem we face has become clearer, and I wrote to all members of University staff last week. The details were set out in my letter to staff and are given on page 1 of this Bulletin.
Expenditure is running at too high a level, and income has fallen short of expectations. The biggest part of the income shortfall results from the fact that recruitment of postgraduate students and overseas students has fallen when all the indications were that student numbers were increasing. This unexpected change in student numbers seems to have happened at other universities too, though that does not make the financial consequences any easier.
To safeguard the long-term future of the University, we need to make savings of around 4% out of total spending of nearly £100m. We are still at an early stage of identifying how such savings are to be achieved, though an across-the-board cut of 4% in everything would not be a sensible strategy. Nor would it be reasonable simply to cut staff numbers and to distribute an unchanged workload over a reduced number of staff. We have to look for smarter, more economical ways of managing the work of the University.
As I wrote in my letter to staff, I am conscious of all the hard work and efforts of all staff in making Sussex such a successful university. I'm also aware that the changes of the past two years have been stressful for many, and that the new financial situation will be particularly unwelcome against that background. I hope we can all work together in a co-operative spirit to tackle this challenge. If we can do this, we should be confident that the University will emerge strengthened from the process.
****
Last week I met more than 100 students concerned about the current work being undertaken on East Slope. The site looks as if we are preparing to build a huge car park across the entire hillside. Fortunately, this is not so. Topsoil has been removed from the hill so that the works associated with the new teaching block and student residence beside Bramber House can be carried out in an environmentally friendly fashion. The lower part of East Slope will accommodate a replacement car park, but most of the hill will be returned to nature when the project is complete.
There have also been discussions on the concerns of Crèche parents about the proposed replacement car park on the West Slope. We are still looking at how the concerns of parents can be addressed, and I hope to be able to report progress to a meeting with parents next week.